Rating: 
Summary: A trick to the small c: drive
Review: At first when I got this Sony computer, I was very dissappointed with the size of the c: drive. I mainly got this sony because I wanted to copy my vhs tapes to dvd. The click to dvd goes through both drives to work and c: did not seem large enough to do this. For reasons that was my own fault, I had to do a full recovery on the computer. To my surprize, while doing the recovery, the computer will ask you what size you want your c: drive to be. You have a choice between 15, 40,80. I choose 40 and am delighted with the results. It did not affect my D: at all and I have plenty of room to run and edit tapes on my click to dvd. Sony really should make this known that you can change the size of the drive. Every since then , all programs run great . the only downsize is that it takes a little longer for the computer to boot up. With how much improvement it has made on the computer, I am willing to wait the extra minute it takes to boot up.
Rating: 
Summary: Only 4 Stars because I've not yet tackled VHS tape to DVD
Review: I bought this unit after I read the other reviews, posted by those good people who took the time to share their opinions and helped me decide, as well as be informed as to what to expect. So now I want to share my experience in hopes that I might be helpful to the next person considering a similar unit.
I'm a writer/editor/web designer, and this one is my fourth Sony Vaio; it arrived only a few days ago, so am not yet finished testing. I bought it from an Amazon.com Marketplace vendor, www.garnetpc.com, an impressive, well-run outlet. The Sales Manager answered all my questions thoroughly, then the unit arrived in excellent condition. I opened the box, set it up in a jiffy, turned it on, connected to Road Runner, whooped when I saw its speed, virtually plug'n play use, and quiet operation.
On the down side, the bundled software is not impressive. On the pro side, the potential is there and will not bust your budget. After I tackle the scary task of transferring VHS to DVD, I shall return for an update. Cheers!
Rating: 
Summary: Dead on arrival and service made me wish I was dead
Review: I ordered a refurbished Sony VAIO PCV-RZ44G. Since it was refurbished by Sony I figured I had little to worry about. The computer did not work when it arrived and I was told that I had to have it repaired not replaced. I just completed my fifth phone call to Sony and still no resolution. They are horrible for service so just watch out and cosider all of the new great non-Sony computers that you can get from Amazon first.
Rating: 
Summary: Sony TV's can't be beat, but your computers suck
Review: I tend to avoid Sony Computers and External Burners like plague (The the Dream system (5.1DVD/CD player) is an incredible product for the price- and Sony's excellent camera's have the patended night-vision). I've had a alot of problems with my Vaio Tower. It does have every connection imaginable, but it won't run so many non-Sony programs like Stomp Music products, external burners and scanners, and at least 4 DVD importing programs that I tried, I did eventually get Sony's Vegas, but no DVD import, ridiculous. Vegas does work great for editing and other stuff. But alot of irritating things just "happen". I've seen a couple of strange failures in the laptops of people I work with, more so than others at least. There ARE people out there who swear by these, so that may be you too and I'm no guru, but I know a thing or two about computers and I don't like'em at all. Caveat.
Rating:
Summary: MULTIMEDIA PC
Review: i took a month to go through this computers pros and cons and this is my review.
HARDWARE : this pc has many ports(see technical details), these specs are the at the top. from the editorial review "one step down from the exceptional top-of-the-line VAIO PCV-RZ46G". the hard drive is 160g but 14g is for c:/(if you feel the c is too small backup of your data and put only what you want the hard drive) or like a pc hardware fan said move it over to the d drive.SOFTWARE : this comes with windows xp(pro) media centre, which is great. you can watch dvd's,tv,play music and videos and even watch a slideshow. the media centre allows you to record live tv and rewind and pause tv just like the tivo.
as for sony software the click to dvd has a simple interface which allows you to customise the menus and chapters(not too much though you can't use your own music and pics),it has creative playcentre which is good for ripping mp3's and drag and drop which allows you to easily burn cd's and dvd's.
i haven't used sonicstage or picturegear studio.
if you want to make vcd's then you'll need to download some programs. as for video editing you get windows movie maker 2.
i had some difficulty when it came to capturing clips but after it seems easy. use click to dvd or wmm2. OVERALL : this pc is great. if you don't like the software then there are a lot of free choices so start downloading. also the hardware is great. its a sony pc and sony boasts quality and they back it up. that's why it deserves a 5.
Rating:
Summary: General overall usage
Review: I was a bit leary in regards to this PC after reading some of these reviews, however, I am just a "General" user, I'm not using this PC for a business, just to have nice, easy to create pictures and videos on discs. After toying around with this PC I found it extremely easy to use, loading programs was very fast and easy and the picture downloading time was very fast! For just an overall general usage of this computer, I am very impressed.
Rating:
Summary: Dead On Arrival
Review: I was excited to get my Sony PCV RZ54G on a Friday. I'd have the entire weekend to have fun. Unfortunately the fun was cut short -the power died! The evening tech support consists of people with whom I faced a language barrier. My friend gave me his Sony DreamSystem and passed up a Sony plasma for a Gateway b/c it didn't work. I have a Sony camcorder that failed within a few months of purchase. I would expect to be able to trust Sony's name, but I believe that trust is gone. I'd give this PC more stars if I could. I'm giving it 2 instead of 1 b/c the error could be unique, not a sign of their product. Who knows?
Rating:
Summary: You think you are going to edit video-and you would be wrong
Review: The Vaio is cool, it's got a ton of space and a real pretty light. Every connection you could want, except for Optical in/out (only on the newer model -1300bucks?). The problem is the software that comes with SONY products. In all my cases, they have been completely unusable. I've had NO success editing or even capturing video with SONY software. Even with a Vaio, SONY DVCAM deck, AND their lousy software. Their burn programs also refuse to burn wav files that weren't imported using their software, which is a bummer. They're horrible programs, ALL of them. If your going to get this computer, make sure your going to use good NON-Sony editing software that will work with the SONY hardware, which is practically non-existent. So, good luck with that. As for the computer, The 160 Gig hard-drive is actually 144. 15 for C drive and 129 for "D" drive which is where your video is stored (roughly 10 gigs per hour of high quality video). After loading programs, your C drive will be around 10 gigs which is half the required space of a two hour video. For some reason all video programs (I've tried 4) need to run the video through the C:drive to write to a DVD-R. So despite the fact that you have a gargantuan hard-drive, YOU STILL MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH ROOM TO BURN A 2HOUR DISK. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO BURN DVD'S!!
Rating:
Summary: Vaio: Style...WITH substance.
Review: This is a great computer! It is great! I enjoy watching TV on my computer and later recording it to DVD! Awesome! The only problem is, however, that I had trouble transferring my VHS tapes to a DVD! I would definitely reccommend this PC to anyone! The programs are great that Sony provides. I hope you purchase this computer!
Rating:
Summary: Great Computer!
Review: This is a great computer! It is great! I enjoy watching TV on my computer and later recording it to DVD! Awesome! The only problem is, however, that I had trouble transferring my VHS tapes to a DVD! I would definitely reccommend this PC to anyone! The programs are great that Sony provides. I hope you purchase this computer!
|
