Ecovacs DEBOT Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Review

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This is a robotic vacuum cleaner from ECOVACS Robotics. This model is in the medium price range. It vacuums hard floors and carpet and has a spot clean mode. You can also control it by the remote control. This unit has an app that you can download from apple and google app store.

The battery seems to last for a long time. Less if you were able to use the high-power mode. The unit comes with a trey and filter to clean when you need to do so.

This unit uses Wi-Fi to connect to your phone. This way there are options you can change with the app like hard floor mode or edge mode and return to dock. The app also shows what mode it is in and how much battery is left.

The unit does a good job of finding its way around table legs and chairs and has a sensor at the front to stop it from hitting obstacles. Sometimes it does not return to the charging dock as it uses an infrared light to navigate back. The normal mode is a bit of a random pattern as it only knows where it has been, not what’s in the room. More expensive models have lidar which creates a map of the entire room.

The hard floor mode works well in the kitchen up and down in straight lines. The spot mode goes in a circular pattern. There is also an edge mode which does along the walls. Sometimes it gets stuck or the rotor gets string around it. This will send a notification to your phone letting you know what the problem is.

This vacuum cleaner is probable not suited for large rooms with lots of obstacles. More suited for rooms with hard floors and bedrooms.

A good robotic vacuum cleaner.

 

Samsung RU8000 Series 65" UHD TV Review

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The TV was easy to install with two people. Setup was a breeze. This is a 200HZ LED TV not LCD. It is a full UHD display with 4 HDMI inputs and 2 USB ports and optical input. It supports HDR10 and HDR10+. It does not support the dolby vision standard but HDR10+ is gaining more support, soon to be on google play and UHD Disks. Amazon Prime already supports HDR10+. When connected to a compatible PC it also supports HDR. The remote is small with a bixby button on top for voice recognition. This mostly works. You can even ask it the time and change settings in the TV. The sound is sufficient for TV speakers but I mostly use an AMP for the sound.

The upscaling is pretty good from HD content. It does a good job for a large screen. UHD looks excellent. I spent much time watching HDR demonstration videos on youtube and was pleased. Normal SD television looks not as good.

HDR

The HDR looks better in a dark room with contrast the enhancer turned off. The blacks are very black and bright areas of the screen are good also. If you have lights on or in a bright room leave contrast enhancer on. Its not as bright as an OLED display but in a dark room looks good.

The television supports DVB-2 when its turned on, which is the new standard of over the air TV reception. This will support UHD and HDR as well as other things.

Apps

The TV comes with Netflix, Youtube, Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Stan preinstalled. Most of these apps support 4K and HDR. The apps look good and are fast to open. There is also Disney+ and Foxtel as well as a bunch more to download. You can hire movies from the Apple TV App or Google Play. Some are in 4K HDR. I found that I had to go into settings and free up memory sometimes for the TV to work faster.

Apple airplay2

The Apple Airplay2 works well with any compatible phone or tablet. Similar to a chromecast. Any ipad or Iphone with Airplay 2 can mirrorcast to the TV.

Gaming

Gaming in 4K looks great. This TV is rated very high for PC gaming. The response time is very good and if the PC can handle it, 4K gaming looks awesome as well as HDR. The Television switches into game mode when connected to a PC. But you have to enable input signal plus for this function to work.

Overall this is a very good TV for the price. Great HDR in low light and looks stunning in 4K movies. It has a fast response time and loads of apps. If you are looking for a quality HDR TV for a lower price this is a great choice.

8/10


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Navman EZY260LMT Review

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The Navman EZY260LMT is a GPS unit from Navman. It comes with a USB cable and suction cup mount. The GPS normally mounts to a windscreen with a clear view of the sky. First of all, a few of the negative things I have found with it. The touch screen is a bit hard to push, it’s a bit slow to respond, the desktop software is a bit basic and the menu is quite basic, but easy to use.

Now a few of the good points. The maps are easy to see and the voice is clear. The GPS reception is good. The navigation is good, in the city as well. The unit I got also has lifetime updates for the maps. Has all the points of interest in its data base including hotels, motels and shopping centres and has landmark guidance for example: turn at the nearest Caltex. One more thing, there are different route options such as, avoid unsurfaced roads, toll roads and ferry’s. Also fastest, most economical routes.

The unit can save locations in “My Places”. It also uses land mark guidance.. and the map can be set in 2D or 3D. There are driving alerts such as: speed, driver fatigue, speed cameras, school zones and speed limits. There is a Bluetooth phone feature for taking calls. The unit also uses historic speed data. The voice can be changed to male and female and also different languages.

The desktop software is quite basic including the mapping software when its plugged in to the computer. Points can be saved from the desktop on the map as well. There is a backup facility and restore also.

All in all it’s a good unit. A bit slow to respond but the maps are good and navigation is good. Has never led me in the wrong direction.

7/10

ONKYO TX-SR343 AV Reciever Review

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This is a 5.1 AV reciever from ONKYO. It is one the  models that has less features than the other ones  in the range. It has a 5.1 channel amplifier with 4K compatible HDMI video in/out jacks as well as component and composite. Supports bluetooth as well as a 32 bit Digital Signal Processor. It also supports all the Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound and is meant to support Ultra HD Blu-Ray format. It also has an on-screen menu for sound and other settings. Built in with a 100 W 5 channel amplifier and supports speaker impedance from 6- 16 ohms. It also includes a basic AM,FM radio. 
The remote is easy to use although has too many buttons. Still works well after a couple of years. The amp gets hot in a tight enclosure and you will need to use a fan for that situation.
The front buttons are not overcrowded and have basic things like the input select and sound settings. There is a volume knob on the front and a 1 Amp USB socket on the back, this can be used for  a device such as a chromecast. With decent speakers it performed well at high volume for both movies and music. It has a auto standby feature as well as a link through the HDMI to the TV so when you turn the TV off the Amp will turn off as well.
There is also a composite AV connection on the front for older equipment.
Its been a good Amp and ONKYO is still a good brand. For those on a budget it is a good choice as it is on the lower range but has 4K support and 5.1 surround sound. It is quite light weight compared to older Amps with a large transformers but the size remains the same as most of the older amps. It size is 435mm wide, 160mm high and 328mm deep.
I have not tried the unit with a 4K display but it works well on a standard high definition display. 
 

Headphone Review

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Today I will be reviewing the Sennheiser HD 202 closed headphones.

These headphones dampen the ambient sounds well. The bass response is great and the cord is long enough for most purposes. They have padding at the top and the adjustments are located on the sides. The problem they may have is their size. I have average sized ears and they only just completely cover all my ears. This might be a problem for some people. After a year of use the earcups have not worn out. Because of the long cord, it comes with a belt clip that the cable winds onto if you need to walk around with them. They have a good sound at the high end and low end. They also have replaceable ear pads.

For under $100 they are a really good set of headphones.

7/10