Salton Breadman
Toastmaster
Canon SLR Camera
Title: Electronic products..
Toshiba Theater wide TO-40H80...........
Toshiba Theater wide TO-40H80
MSRP: $ 2999.99
Lowest Price*: n/a
Advertised Price*: n/a
Consumer Guide Rating: BEST BUY
Review: The Toshiba TO-40H80 combines exceptional performance, great picture, and several slick features into a stylish pedestal-style dark gray cabinet. It is also HD-Ready, which means that if you attach an HDTV set-top box (like Toshiba's new DST-3000) you'll receive full 1080i HDTV.
This set is part of a new breed of widescreen televisions that clearly show-off the benefits of a widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) TV, especially in a smaller screen size TV. This 40-inch wide high-contrast, dark-tint screen with a Power Focus Plus HD lens system offers exceptional images, and can display up to 1,280 lines of resolution. Utilizing its proprietary Improved Intelligent Digital Scan Conversion (DISC.) that combines Vector Progressive Scanning (480p) and New Advanced Video Noise Reduction, picture quality was exceptional, especially from HD and normal DirecTV satellite images. With a viewing angle of 160 degrees, people sitting on the side had no problems seeing images on the screen.
The set offers several image improvements including a 3-D Y/C comb filter with vertical contour correction, digital scan conversion circuitry, velocity scan modulation, color temperature control, black level expander, a color detail enchanter, vertical contour correction, and video noise reduction. Together, they produce a picture that is bright, sharp and crisp. With its protective screen, the set gives off the illusion of a direct-view model. It is certainly a hard task for any rear projection TV.
The set offers several convenience features including dual-tuner picture-in-picture (which can be displayed in two full-size 4:3 images side-by-side), digital convergence (that makes fine-tuning the convergence of the CRTs quite easy), XDS, parental lock, 180-minute sleep timer, trilingual displays, and a swivel base. Audio is beefed up with a 28-watt sound system that features SR surround sound, and SBS (sub-bass system) that enhances the bass frequencies. You may also attach speakers to the set's external speaker jacks for improved sound. However, like most upscale televisions, it cries out to be a part of a Home Theater system.
Inputs include two A/V/S-video inputs, dual RF inputs, two A/V outputs (rear), and front A/V jacks (including S-video). The 40H80 also features two component video inputs (called Color stream by Toshiba, which are progressive scan quality), which can be used with their DVD players and HDTV set-top boxes. Used in lieu of S-video, these jacks produce a much better image. An illuminated universal remote is provided with color-coded keys in different sections of the remote, which was very easy to use.
Because it features a 16:9 aspect ratio, letter boxed images show less black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Virtually all movies on DVD also include an anamorphic mode. If you set your DVD player to this mode, and use this TV, it will fill up the entire screen. The 40H80 offers three viewing modes: normal 4:3 television mode (with white bars on each side of the screen), a “Full” mode for tapes and discs in a squeezed anamorphic mode, and THEATER WIDE that stretches letter boxed images to fill-up the screen. You may also enlarge standard 4:3 images to fill the screen. On some 16:9 sets, images can be cropped giving the appearance of “talking heads.” This was not apparent on this set. Little distortion of the 4:3 image was noticeable, which makes the engineering commendable.
If you're in the market for a 36-inch direct-view set, this model is a definite alternative because it doesn't take up any more floor space than that large direct-view set and it only weighs half as much. It is housed in an attractive dark gray pedestal-style cabinet that is built on casters.
Overall, the set offers exceptional value. If HDTV and DVD are in your future, this is clearly a set to consider!
Warranty: Parts: 1 year; Labor: 90 days
Specifications: Depth: 18 2/5 in.; Height: 44 1/10 in.; Weight: 134 lbs.; Width: 37 4/5 in.
Consumer Products:
Salton Breadman Plus TR800
MSRP: $ 129.99
Lowest Price*: $ 99.99
Advertised Price*: n/a
Consumer Guide Rating: BEST BUY
Review: The Salton Breadman Plus is an easy-to-use machine that boasts 54 bread settings, including basic white bread, French, whole wheat, fruit or nut bread, batter breads and cakes, bake only, dough only, and jam. Choose from three horizontal loaf sizes, three crust colors, and "normal" or "rapid" bake cycles. Specialty features include a digital display window with touchpad controls for crust color, loaf size, bread cycle, time, and start/stop. A separate row of indicator lights shows which function is being performed: knead, rise, bake, complete, or time delay, which lets you preset completion of baking up to 15 hours ahead of time. This unit also has a power failure backup, which stores the active program in memory and lets you return to breadmaking within an hour of the elapsed time. Start-to-finish bread baking takes as little as 3-1/2 hours in basic cycle or just over 2-1/2 hours in rapid-bake cycle.
Warranty: General: 1 year (limited)
Toastmaster 2.0-Pound Bread and Dessert FastBake 1183N
MSRP: $ 89.00
Lowest Price*: n/a
Advertised Price*: n/a
Consumer Guide Rating: BEST BUY
Review: The Toastmaster 1183N not only bakes fresh bread, but also has the capacity to churn butter and produce delectable "from-scratch" desserts, such as cakes and cheesecakes, puddings, pie fillings, and fudge. It even comes with its own 67-page cookbook, which includes an assortment of bread, flavored butter, and dessert recipes, along with color photographs. This unit features nine program options, including basic, sweet, whole wheat, French, Insta Bread, dough, butter, dessert, and Fast Bake. The Insta Bread program makes bread in just under two hours; the Fast Bake program makes a loaf in about 59 minutes. Both require extra yeast. Other features include a 13-hour delay timer, audible tones that signal when to stir or add ingredients, touchpad control panel, large viewing window, non-stick bread pan, and kneading blade. This unit bakes a 1-1/2-pound or 2-pound loaf in your choice of light, medium, or dark crust.
Warranty: General: 1 year
Cameras:
Canon EOS IX Lite SLR
MSRP: $ 450.00
Lowest Price*: $ 339.95
Advertised Price*: n/a
Consumer Guide Rating: BEST BUY
Review: Want a taste of both photographic film worlds? The Canon EOS ix Lite SLR combines easy loading APS film simplicity with the accuracy of an SLR, and has all of the features you could ever want in any camera. It looks like a tiny 35mm SLR and handles like one. But it also accepts all regular EOS EF autofocus lenses and a series of smaller Canon EF lenses made specifically for this camera. Lenses made for this SLR include a 22- to 55mm (28- to 60mm on 35mm), 24- to 85mm (38- to 105mm), and 55- to 200mm (60- to 250mm). A bulge on the front and rear of the right end make it easy to securely grip the camera body. It is so tiny that most of the controls and a large LCD panel are located on the back. The multi-mode program command control dial is similar to those found on a regular 35mm SLR. The bright viewfinder masks down to show the format and has a informational display at the base. This little gem was a joy to work with and produced excellent images when used with a standard EOS Canon Zoom EF 35- to 135mm lens. Test images made on color negative film were exceptionally sharp at the critical focus point and had a full color range. The tiny flash was efficient and covered the full image right out to the corners on interior subjects, and on outside subjects when used with fill in lighting along with bright sunlight. If you have Canon EF lenses and want to explore the ease and convenience of APS format film--while still retaining full operational control--this camera will be a decided asset.
Warranty: General: 1 year
Specifications: Battery Type: two CR2 lithium batteries; Depth: 2 5/10 in.; Film Speed: 8000 ISO,25 ISO; Flash Range: 11.5 ft.,2 ft.; Height: 4 8/10 in.; Shutter Speed: 1/2000 seconds,30 seconds; Weight: 12.7 oz.; Width: 3 15/100 in.
