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Andyj
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- Review count80
- Helpfulness votes80
- First reviewAugust 5, 2016
- Last reviewApril 24, 2023
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.6
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- Answer count6
- Helpfulness votes4
- First answerOctober 16, 2018
- Last answerNovember 13, 2019
- Featured answers0
- Best answers1
Watch movies at home on this Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player. It plays video from nearly any type of disc or file format and displays images in crisp detail and vivid color, creating an immersive experience with life-like visuals. This Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player also connects to your Wi-Fi for convenient video streaming.
Customer Rating
4
A decent, but simple UHD/4K Bluray player
on March 4, 2018
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
Like a few others, I had previous used an Xbox One S as my UHD Bluray player. While the interface was not user friendly to those whom might want to just "pop a disc in and go", it did the job.
On the other hand, Sony has gone the more simplistic route with this product. I have owned a couple of their 4K upscaling players (not to be confused with this product line), one of them used this similar interface. It covers the basic things, such as Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, etc. It leaves out support for other streaming apps, such as HBOGo, Amazon movies, Google Movies, and a few others.
I want to say this uses the Opera Web store, but I would have to double check. In any case, this is not a replacement for other streaming devices.
With that said, the interface is quite simple, it lends itself to the ability to pop in a disc, whether it be DVD, Bluray, UHD Bluray, and others. It supports streaming files across a network, such as images, videos, and audio.
I like this player overall, but feel that Sony has been a bit late to the UHD Bluray game, as they have had "4K" televisions since 2014/2015. The picture and sound quality are great, but not enough WOW factor at this price point. It does play UHD Blurays, including HDR effortlessly, but for the average consumer, it sorely lacks any eye candy.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Go from hundreds of mystery folders to a visual view of your photos automatically sorted by date, subject, people, and places. See your best photos auto-curated based on quality, faces, subjects, and more. Make your photos look amazing with automated photo editing options, and create and share printed artwork, new dynamic slideshows, photo collages, and gifts for friends and family.
Customer Rating
4
It does a little bit of everything
on December 29, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 is my first foray into using Adobe software.
I have a prosumer DSLR and I don't usually like to edit my library of 17000+ pictures. What caught my eye is the organizing aspect of this software. It has allowed me a generous degree of flexibility in organizing my photos with such features as facial grouping, geotagging and it making a pretty good guess that a batch of pictures were shot in the same place by the proximity of the timestamps.
The interface is informative and relatively easy to use. I have mainly used the organization portion of the software, but found the editing tools to be fairly straightforward and not complicated to try out different adjustments to your images. I will say that using the "auto edit" tool didn't produce a noticeable difference to me. Most of my photography is outdoor/nature type shots.
I would highly recommend this program to anyone that likes to tinker with their images, organize large libraries of photos and those whom like to create collages of their images.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Clean your carpets more efficiently with this Rogue robot vacuum. The intelligent mapping helps the device navigate quickly through your home, and it has a tri-clean system that agitates, brushes and uses suction to ensure a thorough cleaning. This Rogue robot vacuum returns to its base for recharging when the job is done.
Customer Rating
3
A great vacuum but...
on December 29, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
I got the Hoover 970 shortly after it launched. I think that the vacuum has a lot of potential, but it has had it's share of shortcomings.
The vacuum is able to navigate around obstacles fairly well on its own and does while learning to map out a floor-plan of your cleaning area. This is a fairly well built device, strong motor, easy to remove dirt cup, and is fun to watch it wander around. Unfortunately, what the Hoover 970 lacks is a decent app, which are the real brains behind a seemingly well designed device.
At launch, the Hoover 970 mentioned both iOS and Android support, as well as Google Home and Alexa support in its documentation, with an iOS Hoover Home app ready to go.
Unfortunately, Hoover only supported iOS at launch. It was nearly a month before the Hoover Home app for Android was released. As of this writing, the Hoover Rogue 970 still lacks support for Google Home and Alexa, so uncheck that box for adding this to your list of home automation devices. It's only saving grace is that you can schedule it to run by itself.
I would recommend the Rogue 970 if you have enough patience to wait for Hoover to smooth out the bugs and make its app more user friendly.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Make your home a more welcoming hub with this Philips Hue white ambiance A19 starter kit. Whether you desire a warm natural glow or energizing color tones, customize it just the way you like with the accompanying app. For parties, easily sync your lights to music with this Philips Hue white ambiance A19 starter kit.
Customer Rating
5
An innovative idea
on December 24, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
I've had a hard time writing a review for this product because the Philips Hue series of are so much more than just light bulbs that you can turn on and off with an app.
This kit includes the 2nd generation Philips Hue bridge and 4 White Ambiance 11W (60W equivalent bulbs).
While most off the shelf LED bulbs only work at certain color temperature, say 2200K, which is more of a yellowish glow, or 4000K which is closer to a straight white, or 6000k which starts to become a whitish blue light. These type of lights are "locked in" at the type (or color if you may) of light that they cast.
The Philips Hue White Ambiance bulbs are capable of producing color temperatures between a range 2200K to 6500K and practically do an amazing job of producing every color temperature within that range.
Yes, this kit does allow you to effective remote control your lights, but it has many options on how to do so.
So for my review, I will explain how I have used them.
I rent, so I can only alter things to a certain degree. With the four bulbs, I have placed them where listed below:
My Bedroom ceiling fixture
My Dining area fixture
Lastly, 2 bulbs in my living room ceiling fan (it has normal bulb sockets)
My Dining area fixture
Lastly, 2 bulbs in my living room ceiling fan (it has normal bulb sockets)
Within the app you can assign individual bulbs into an area. I have mine assigned as listed above to these areas. You can further create groups that include any combination of these rooms or individual bulbs. As you add more White Ambiance bulbs to your setup, this becomes increasingly useful. I might also add that you can adjust the brightness of any of these bulbs at any color temperature from 0-100% brightness.
I have found them useful as I have them setup to work with my Google Home. I can, through voice commands, turn the lights on and off, adjust brightness levels, and even switch to some color temperature presets referred to the Hue app as Scenes.
This is great if you have already laid down for the night and forgot to turn off the lights in another room, or want to leave one of the lights on, but perhaps at 5% brightness throughout the night.
The possibilities are near endless for their use and application and I cannot possibly cover even a fraction of what you can do with them in one review.
I am giving them a 5 star review, but keep in mind that that to go all in for something like a single family home, with many places to utilize Philips Hue bulbs, it definitely requires an investment. The starter kit gives you 4 bulbs and the hub to work with, but individual additional bulbs (this also works with the Hue color bulbs) can leave some with sticker shock.
Last but not least, the included bridge can support up to a recommended 50 bulbs and an absolute maximum of 63.
"Hey Google, turn off all lights" This never gets old :)
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Make the most of your morning routine with this Philips Norelco wet/dry shaver. Providing a powerful shave in the shower or out, this electric shaver delivers a full hour's shaving on one 60-minute charge. The MultiPrecision Blade system on this Philips Norelco wet/dry shaver cuts long and short hairs with fewer passes.
Customer Rating
5
One of the best electric shavers I've used
on October 26, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
I've been through a number of electric shavers over the years. Most of them end up being put aside in favor of just using a disposable razor.
Then I tried this product. While it's not perfect, it has done a far better job than any electric shaver I have used before. A nice close shave, without having to follow up with some of the tougher spots with a disposable.
It uses a Lithium-Ion battery that I've only had to charge up once (when I got it) and according to built-in display, I don't suspect that I'll need to charge it for quite a while. The shaver has a run time of about 60 minutes on a full charge.
The display also has indicators for when to clean it. Though this is recommended after each use for optimal performance. It can simply be run under the tap water from the sink and is very easy to clean.
The shaving heads can be replaced (Philips recommends yearly) and it's as simple as removing the shaving heads from the body of the shaver and popping a new one on. It also includes a trimmer that is interchangeable with the shaving heads.
While it can be locked for travel purposes, and comes with a protective cover for the top, it lacks a travel case/bag.
This is perhaps the best electric shaver I have ever used.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Stay productive wherever you go with this Acer Chromebook computer. Its quad-core Intel Pentium processor and 4GB of RAM run programs and apps efficiently, and its 32GB of storage holds personal documents and photographs. This Acer Chromebook computer has a 15.6-inch Full HD touch screen for clear viewing of videos and movies.
Customer Rating
5
A more than capable Chromebook
on October 15, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
I must start my review by stating that this is first Chromebook I have used. I will try my best to review this product based on my technical background.
Display: This model comes with a 15.6" Full HD IPS display. The native screen resolution is 1920x1080. I was pleasantly surprised, as I have used PC Laptops in the past that run at lower resolutions than this. The picture is sharp and the colors are vibrant thanks to using an IPS display. The touchscreen is an added bonus.
Speed: Web browsing is snappy. Streaming video does not struggle whatsoever on this Chromebook. I have tried it with various streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Google Movies, and Youtube. I never noticed any stuttering or sluggishness with video playback.
Sound Quality: The upward facing speakers work quite well and are extremely crisp and clear. I tried playing music from various sources and was treated to loud, clean, crisp sound. I did not notice any distortion across a variety of music genres. The sound quality to me was superior to any laptop I have ever used.
Other things to note: The backlit keyboard makes this usable just about anywhere, regardless of your lighting situation.
The Bluetooth capabilities are a bit picky, but you shouldn't have any problems connecting a Bluetooth Keyboard, Mouse, or Headset with ease.
The battery life is incredibly long, as this has no moving parts. Under normal use, 11 hours is easily reachable. This is reduced some by heavy multimedia use, such as video streaming, music playback via bluetooth and graphics heavy Android games (Yeah, this totally supports the Google Play Store, another bonus!).
The touchpad is very accurate and responsive, it uses a bit of real estate on the device, but I've had zero issues with it.
This device has 2 USB 3.0 ports and 2 USB Type-C ports. It also has a MicroSD card slot for expanded storage (It has 32GB built in).
The casing itself is aluminum, which makes this Chromebook fairly light, but also durable.
It has a built in camera for video chat, but I wouldn't use it for more than that.
Overall, for this not being a traditional laptop, I find it more than adequate for my everyday portable needs.
In my own opinion, Acer did an excellent job in designing this and you would be hard pressed to find such a nice piece of hardware short of using a traditional laptop.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Take precise, intuitive control of digital projects with this wireless Logitech Craft advanced keyboard. Its creative input dial lets you make accurate object size adjustments, zoom images quickly and perform other shortcut functions with design tools in multimedia and office applications. The backlit keys of this Logitech Craft advanced keyboard automatically adjust their brightness to your environment.
Customer Rating
5
A wireless keyboard with style
on October 14, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
While this is not the first wireless keyboard I have used from Logitech, it is the first one I have used that wasn't mainly built from plastic.
The weight of this product is slightly heavier than the usual fair from Logitech. One of these reasons is because it has a built in rechargeable battery which is located at the top of the keyboard. I should also note that the charging connector uses USB-C. Not to fear though, as it comes with a cable with a conventional USB connector on the other end.
What sets this apart from my previous experiences is the build quality of the device. It has a sturdy aluminum body, a full size keyboard and is fairly thin, compared to my previous experiences.
My impressions:
The Logitech Craft Wireless Keyboard uses either Bluetooth or connects with the "Unifying" adapter that should seem familiar if you have used other wireless products from Logitech. Not only does it support Bluetooth, but can be used on 3 different devices with a simple profile hotkeys near the top.
This keyboard has a layout that for both PC and Mac users, will feel familiar and comfortable. The keys feel just about the right size, and most have divots so that your fingers will feel like you are using a wired keyboard.
This product has back-lighting and beyond that, it works by proximity as well as to self-adjusting the brightness to current lighting conditions.
It also features a dial near the top left corner, which has some level of functionality in certain apps. I didn't find much use for it, but I suspect Logitech will continue add more functionality to it in the future.
Pros:
Lightweight
Backlit keyboard that only lights up when you go to use it
Built in rechargeable battery
Slim
Sturdy
High Quality
Lightweight
Backlit keyboard that only lights up when you go to use it
Built in rechargeable battery
Slim
Sturdy
High Quality
Cons:
The dial. It works, but it feels like an afterthought. Minimal functionality right now.
The dial. It works, but it feels like an afterthought. Minimal functionality right now.
P.S. It can also be used to connect an Android TV device, a nice bonus and not marketed feature.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Keep your home spotlessly clean with this Bissell multi-reach cordless vacuum. Its four specialized cleaning attachments include a crevice tool for difficult nooks and crannies, a multi-surface brush roll for floors, and both a dusting brush and upholstery tool for furniture and other areas. This Bissell multi-reach cordless vacuum has built-in LED lights for illuminating hidden dirt.
Customer Rating
4
A decent cordless vacuum
on October 9, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
This vacuum works decently for light vacuuming or for quick cleanups and spills (no liquids).
Personally, I have found that the Bissell MultiReach works best for "touch up" vacuuming between regular vacuuming. Allow me to explain below:
1. The Bissell does a decent job of picking up surface dirt, crumbs, tracked in grass and other things of this nature. Where it struggles is getting deeper down into the carpet, where a traditional plug-it-in-the-wall vacuum with an adjustable height setting can do so with ease.
2. It's handy if you spill something in the kitchen (non-liquid), but it may take more than one pass to pick it up. I tested this with a small amount of rice. It took 3-4 passes to vacuum up most of the rice. I suspect the rubber "guard" towards the front of the power floor roller caused some of the rice to be pushed away from the vacuum. I ended up having to detach the roller and attach the crevice tool to get the rest of it.
Car cleaning:
1. Connecting accessories to the top of the unit is a bit burdensome, as it requires removal of the "stick" portion of the vacuum, and attaching a separate adapter (with a smaller diameter at one end) to use any non-power accessories.
2. The connection is at a 45 degree angle. This makes for a comfortable grip while vacuuming indoors, but an awkward angle for using most of the accessories while vacuuming the car.
3. Depending on your vehicle, the 20 minute battery life, along with the sharp angle of the attachments from the upper portion of the Bissell, and the inability to easily reach some areas (such as under seats) may not be enough time to finish the job.
4. Suction: This is not your typical gas station vacuum. Don't expect to have your car looking as though the carpet has been detailed in only 20 minutes on a full charge. It definitely will take more work than that.
Overall, I wasn't particularly satisfied with how this performed with trying to vacuum my car. *Results may vary*
In general, the included accessories will cover most household needs, plus the ability to reach high places with "stick" portion of the vacuum.
Pros:
Lightweight
Cordless
Easy to use swivel design for floor vacuuming
Accessories
Convenient
Lightweight
Cordless
Easy to use swivel design for floor vacuuming
Accessories
Convenient
Cons:
No wall mount
No accessory storage, except for the crevice tool
Battery life vs charge time
Suction
No wall mount
No accessory storage, except for the crevice tool
Battery life vs charge time
Suction
In conclusion, I think the Bissell functions great for light duty cleaning and for reaching areas that would be difficulty for a traditional vacuum to reach, plus it's cordless.
I would not recommend this as being your sole vacuum cleaner.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Enjoy lag-free gaming with this Linksys dual-band Wi-Fi router. Its Killer prioritization engine works with Killer-enabled computers to minimize peak ping by up to 77 percent, and the 1.8GHz CPU delivers super-fast speeds with wired and wireless connections. This Linksys dual-band Wi-Fi router has a custom-built user interface that lets you manage your gaming network performance.
Customer Rating
5
An Amazing Router
on September 30, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
This is an amazing upgrade to over ISP's router (starts with a Q and has no external antenna).
While I initially had my doubts that the Linksys WRT32X could perform better than my "Q" router, I was completely wrong.
The WRT32X, with its 4 external antennas and dual band capabilities (2.4GHZ and 5GHZ) produces a much stronger signal than what I had settled for from my ISP.
While I can't say that I have any hardware that supports the Killer Prioritization Engine natively, the router has the capability to manually let you prioritize traffic to any connected device in descending order.
One of the nice features of the WRT32X is within the router interface itself. It will run a bandwidth test on your Internet speeds and allocates this across your devices, whether they be Wifi or directly connected.
As a test, I streamed two Netflix 4k videos over wifi at the same time, expecting one or both of them to degrade in picture quality. I was pleasantly surprised that both videos played flawlessly with this test.
I also do my PC gaming from a desktop PC. I felt that I wouldn't see much difference, because my PC is directly connected to the router with an Ethernet cable. I actually ended up with lower ping times than with just my ISPs router with the same setup.
I have absolutely no complaints as to how well the WRT32X performs, whether it be everyday use or heavy downloading, streaming or playing multiplayer games over the Internet. This router can handle anything you throw at it and it's only limits are how fast of an Internet connection you have.
If you have hardware that supports the "Killer" feature of this router, then you'll have little issue with getting that extra speed you need in a heavy network traffic environment.
If you don't have any hardware that supports "Killer", no need to worry, the WRT32X is still an easily customizable and powerful router, with plenty of advanced features, an excellent "Dashboard" screen and is beyond capable of managing anything you can throw at it.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Produce digital copies of bulk documents quickly with this Epson WorkForce scanner. It has a scanning speed of 65 ppm for text documents and 130 color images per minute, and it sends PDF copies directly to your email or cloud storage. The 80-sheet document feeder of this Epson WorkForce scanner saves processing time.
Customer Rating
5
An excellent scanner
on September 20, 2017
Posted by: Andyj
from Germantown, MD
Let me start off by saying that I have used many scanners throughout my life. Flatbed, Multi-function, single sided, double sided.
This scanner is incredibly fast and accurate. It has the capability to do single pass duplex scanning. This is a feature I personally have not seen in a product before.
I have scanned forms, documents, important mail, and even photographs with the DS-860.
Because of it's pull-through design and generous 80 page ADF, the likelihood of jamming while scanning a large batch of documents is practically nonexistent.
It is very compact and easily transportable if you need to use it more than one place. It also has an an incredibly small footprint on my desk.
There are only 2 downsides I would give the Epson DS-860.
1. It does not support Ethernet out of the box, it connects via a USB cable to the computer.
2. While the Epson DS-860 is both TWAIN and ISIS compliant, the included software leaves a lot to be desired for a device of this caliber.
My takeaway:
The Espon DS-860 is surprisingly fast, very accurate, and is capable of doing both of these with a high workload (6000 pages per day). I don't have nearly enough paperwork to push this scanner to it's extremes, but it can handle what I throw at it with ease.
My Best Buy number: 2141590778
Mobile Submission: False
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Andyj's Answers
Stay connected with this Motorola Alexa wireless home phone. The built-in Alexa button lets you make calls, control smart devices and check weather and news updates, while the 2-inch full-color display makes it easy to browse through your contacts. This Motorola Alexa wireless home phone has a hands-free speakerphone for quality sound, and the backlit keypad ensures seamless operations in dimly lit rooms.
For a disabled person who cannot get out of bed, can he say " answer " and receive calls through speaker? Without having to touch the phone, can he answer, speak, or call and speak?
No, not as of yet (11/13/2019).
6 years, 6 months ago
by
Andyj
Enjoy hours of reliability and speed with this HP Pavilion desktop. Its AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 12GB of RAM let you accomplish multiple tasks at the same time, and its 1TB hard drive provides plenty of space for file storage. This HP Pavilion desktop comes with a wired keyboard and mouse for interacting with Windows 10 Home.
Can this handle two monitors with extended display (not duplicate)?
This computer has 1 HDMI port and 1 VGA port. In theory, yes as they still make monitors with a 15-pin VGA connection.
7 years, 7 months ago
by
Andyj
Enjoy hours of reliability and speed with this HP Pavilion desktop. Its AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 12GB of RAM let you accomplish multiple tasks at the same time, and its 1TB hard drive provides plenty of space for file storage. This HP Pavilion desktop comes with a wired keyboard and mouse for interacting with Windows 10 Home.
I intend to purchase the HP Pavilion 590-p0044, which comes with only 1 HDMI slot. I want to run 2 monitors independently. I'm considering buying the NVIDIA Quadro P400. Does anyone any experience in using this card?
I would hit google and check the motherboard specs before doing this. It's highly impractical to run a GPU on this machine, as the case won't fit a full length card and the PSU has zero connectors for a GPU.
7 years, 7 months ago
by
Andyj
Enjoy hours of reliability and speed with this HP Pavilion desktop. Its AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 12GB of RAM let you accomplish multiple tasks at the same time, and its 1TB hard drive provides plenty of space for file storage. This HP Pavilion desktop comes with a wired keyboard and mouse for interacting with Windows 10 Home.
If I add an hard drive do I need to upgrade power supply
No, there is a third SATA power connector inside. I've run it with both the stock 1TB drive + a 2TB HHD and currently have an SSD to replace the 1TB and still have the 2TB HDD running in it.
7 years, 7 months ago
by
Andyj
Enjoy hours of reliability and speed with this HP Pavilion desktop. Its AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 12GB of RAM let you accomplish multiple tasks at the same time, and its 1TB hard drive provides plenty of space for file storage. This HP Pavilion desktop comes with a wired keyboard and mouse for interacting with Windows 10 Home.
Does the motherboard support other ryzen CPUs? Ryzen 7?
It should, but I would not invest in upgrading this build. It doesn't have enough room for a full length GPU and has a proprietary PSU, Mobo and even the DVD drive in it has a wierd half-cable SATA power connector.
7 years, 7 months ago
by
Andyj
Enjoy hours of reliability and speed with this HP Pavilion desktop. Its AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 12GB of RAM let you accomplish multiple tasks at the same time, and its 1TB hard drive provides plenty of space for file storage. This HP Pavilion desktop comes with a wired keyboard and mouse for interacting with Windows 10 Home.
Does this computer have video optical output, microphone, headset out put
No, it has minimal audio connections. Enough to connect a headset with a mic to on the front and the back has those plus maybe a line in.
7 years, 7 months ago
by
Andyj