Review of Prism+ E55 4K Smart TV

My decision to get this TV

I have seen this ad on my Facebook Feed for many weeks, and when my 5 years old 50" Sony TV finally was turning off by itself every few minutes, I decided that I seriously consider buying a new TV.

To be honest, I wanted to simply go to the store to get a TV as I needed to replace my TV, but this is a special period in Singapore. The Circuit Breaker where all the electronic stores like Harvey Norman, Best Denki, Courts, and Audio House are not open.

I went online and did my research and was planning to get another Sony TV as I had one remote control my PS3 and my TV before, but I could not really find one. Then comparing some 55" TV, I narrowed it down to a few brands -- Xiaomi, Samsung, Philips, LG, and Toshiba.

The various online sites seemed a little off the mark in terms of experience. Going to Lazada made me interested in yet another brand. TCL which seems to have a 55" at a decent price $699 and it has a useful feature of using the mobile phone as a remote. (like Xiaomi) Sadly, TCL TV was out of stock.

Looking at my other options, many of them say that the delivery time was 14 days. I did not really want to wait 14 days and decided to go to Shopee to search and somehow, the Shopee site was not stable and failed to load on various occasion and when it loaded, the cluttered page layout did not motivate me to even want to look at my options. I clicked on the Xiaomi TV which was in Singapore and the delivery date was in 25 days.

I checked the other online stores, and either their search function sucks, or they really did have not many options. Best Denki has TV sets for sale, but there is not much description available, and I don't even know how big the TV is. And finally, when I found the TV that was within my budget, I found that the delivery time was actually also about a week.

At this point, I decided to check and compare the various specifications of the TV and I did compare the Prism+ TV as well. Noting that some of the newer appliances did not really last as long as the older ones, I decided that 3 year warranty offered by Prism+, a relatively unknown brand was something that would give me some peace of mind.

I ordered the Prism+ TV on April 20, and the expected arrival date was in May - Late May. I was willing to wait and I just had to use my Mac Screen as a TV for the time being.

I was surprised as I got an email that my TV was coming, and it did arrive at my house about 2 weeks after I paid for it online.



Unboxing.

I bought the TV with a fixed stand, and the serviceman came and installed my TV quickly. There was no problem at all as I had many holes in my wall already and there were some that would fit the new mounts.

There was nothing special in the unboxing. I was disappointed to see styrofoam still used in the packaging. Looking at the whole TV and how it was brought out, it felt the same as my other TVs and I was not impressed by anything during the unboxing.


Specifications.
HDMI                       2
HDMI ARC             1
USB                          2
AV In                       1
Audio Out               1
VGA                        1

Functions: 
YouTube, Amazon, Netflix App
Can play most video formats, menu is not great but good enough to use and navigate.

Warranty:
3 years.


So again, there was not much that surprises me or impresses me, but at $599, I can't complain.




Review

After using my TV for a few days, trying out the various functions, here are some of my thoughts.


Pros: (Why I like this TV)

The pixels look pretty sharp and even with the sun shining into the house, I still had enough contrast to watch the TV. Image quality is amazing.

This is an IPS screen, so it has very good viewing angles. watching the TV from the side is also good enough. The color is vivid from all angles as you would expect from an IPS display.

There are built-in Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon buttons, so checking something on YouTube is quite easy. However, you run into the same problem as the other TVs which is the lack of a keyboard makes typing and searching hard. I added a wireless keyboard to the USB and this problem was solved.

The menus on the TV was quite intuitive. I could connect the WiFi without looking at the manual.

There is a ScreenCast Function which I can easily cast the screen of my PC to the TV. The display is good enough to display my UHD display as well.

I love that it has HDMI ARC connection. So when I connect the soundbar, I can use the TV Remote to control the volume.

It plays many different video formats, and I've even tried .mp4 .mkv and .avi files. It all works.

At only $599, I don't think any other IPS displays come close with all the SMART TV features.


Cons: (What can be better)

No Optical Port. My soundbar actually connects to the optical input and I cannot find one on the TV, so I have to use the HDMI ARC for the sound. Since there are only 3 HDMI outlets, one will be used for sound in this case.

The remote feels cheap and there is no quick screen resizing option on the remote.

The TV does not have much of a base in terms of sound, and this is solved by having a soundbar. The sound from this TV is decent. (This is expected as most TV do not have an impressive sound)

There are no apps to use my phone as a remote. (not really an issue here)

The black is not as "black" and you have to play with picture mode and contrast when watching at night. I watched some of my 4k Bluray and the AI for dynamic display was not smart enough, but with a few tweaks and turning on the HDR, you do get a pretty solid display for that price. Not perfect, but it can be tweaked. Tip: Turn off the backlight when watching at night.

This is a pre-order, so the uncertainty of when it is coming really tests your patience, especially when your TV is down.

Access to the ports behind the TV can be challenging. You need small hands and arms to put your HDMI from below the TV. So make sure all your HDMI cables are connected before you mount the TV.


Overall:

Would I recommend this TV?

For the price, I believe that this is hard to beat. I hope TV can last way after the warranty as I do like the image quality. If this lasts, I would definitely look out for more Prism+ products.




-- Robin Low

Joker Movie Review

Joker is your standard villian in the DC universe, often seen battling Batman, and in this movie, it is a reboot of the villian in a different way. We use to see Joker as the man who fell into a vat of acid in the comics, but this movie adds a new twist.


And I like it.

"Joker" is set in Gotham, in an era, kinda like 1980's New York. Arthur Fleck, the main character in the movie is a disturbed man with a series of unfortunate incidents happening to him, transforming him into the Joker.

He starts off as a part-time clown, and gets beaten up to show the grim world where life is hard, unemployment is high and the city has no budgets for services. Yet there are Billionaires like the Wayne family living a a very different world.

The title Joker does not prepare you enough on how dark the movie is going to be. The whole movie has no humor and it is kinda depressing to watch Arthur getting into these situations.

Although this is a different story altogether, you still get to see Bruce Wayne and the death of his parents, which is pretty much expected. The twist of the movie blends in well with the problems we face today -- income inequality, and portrays it in a slightly manner.

It is indeed a bold movie, highlighting the plight of the villian as he becomes the joker, and a justification exercise on why the Joker ended up that way.

The pace of the movie was good. It did not feel preachy and there was not too much gore and violence. I did not feel that there was a high enough body count, but as most of the movie, it was just Arthur and not the Joker, it was ok.

I really enjoyed the movie, but I have to warn you. This movie is really depressing. It just gets worse. This is more like the beginnings of the Heath Ledger, and an interesting take indeed. 

If you are a batman fan, this movie is highly recommended.

-- Robin Low

KFC's Chizza is NASTY

How bad can it be?

I've had delicious Pizza Chicken in Taiwan before, and it was innovative and great.

Basically, it is just fried chicken cutlet with ham, cheese and pineapple on top. How can it go wrong?

Well, KFC did it. In Singapore, KFC is Halal, and they use Turkey Ham (of the worst kind),  liquid cheese sauce (not melted cheese) and canned pineapples. Even eating it fresh from the oven, it tastes pretty nasty.

I would expect KFC to know how to fry a chicken cutlet, but the breading is thick with a tiny piece of meat. I could not taste any tomatoes in there and the cheese and turkey bacon is simply foul tasting.

Costing $7.50 with a drink and fries, the price is not too bad, but sadly, this food is inedible. Don't even bother to go try this. Its a big waste of money.

By the way, I do love KFC original recipe, and I'm a big fan of fried chicken, and for me to hate this, you have to fuck it up pretty bad.

-- Robin Low

Rust-oleum Reflective Finish

Was thinking of getting some reflective paint for more visibility when riding at night. After searching for the different paints, I decided to try out Rust-oleum.

1) The Spray

To spray on the reflective paint, coat thin layers on your prepainted smooth surface. It leaves behind a translucent surface. The coating sticks well and coated in an even layer.

2) Drying

The spray paint dries well and in 15 seconds, you can apply a second layer.

3) Finish

The finish once dried provides a good layer of protection.

4) Working with the surface

I tried using 2,000 - 3,000 grit sand paper and wet sand the surface. It did not make the surface smoother, but create black blotches. These black blotches are hard to work with and hard to clean off.

This is like one of the Matt surface paints where you need to have a very good painting skill because when you make a mistake, you need sand everything off and redo everything again.



This is what I have done to my front fender

I have sanded down the reflective layer 3 times as I've oversprayed it the first time and I had dust stuck on the second time. It is a lot of work, but overall, it gives an ok Matt look. Does not look much different than the original paint, just a layer of Matt coating on top which looks like a pearl layer.

When you shine light on it in the dark, you can see the pearl in the paint reflect well. It works a lot better on light colored surfaces, but as you can see, it still work on black surface.

If you want a glossy finish, you need to coat a layer of gloss on top of the reflective paint, then wet sand and polish.

Overall, I'd say this is a relatively good product if you know what you are doing.

-- Robin Low

Polariod Cube Action Cam Review

I have owned the Polariod cube for a few months now, and is is pretty nifty. The size of this cube is 1.4 inches all round and it could shoot 720p or 1080p videos at 30fps or 6MP photos. It has a 124 degree wide angle lens which is rather standard nowadays.

Costing just under USD$100, this action camera is a simple no-frills alternative, but it is definitely not like any Sony or Go-Pro.

Firstly, it does not have any mounts other than the Polaroid Cube Mount, however, the bottom on this camera is a strong magnet. It is strong enough for me to mount on my Helmet with a double sided mounted steel plate, going at 160km/h.

It is available in 3 colors and it does not come with any memory card, but you can insert up to 32GB micro-SD card into it.

Like many action cams, this little unit is splash proof, and works fine after running into some rain. (I did not try dunking it into water) There are various mounts available (helmet mount, tripod mount, strap mount, etc.) for extra $$$.

Here are some videos shot with this camera. (Day and night)



I could say that used as a recording device for Motorcyclist, this is a pretty good option. It record videos in 5 minute intervals and the size is about 290MB. (1080p @ 30fps)

The night recording however does fall a little short as I could not make up the license plates of vehicles when the motorcycle is traveling on the highway.

I got about 75 minutes of battery life recording at 1080p

Pros:

Small form factor
Inexpensive
Easy to use
Nifty magnetic mount
Relatively ok battery life


Cons:

Not very good at night to be used as a recording device for Motorcyclists
Video Quality not very good
No Conventional Mounts.
Cannot change battery
No image stabilization


I would say, those who just want a fun camera, this would be it. Its small, cheap and fun.

For those expecting more, please spend more and the a real action cam.

Overall: 7/10

Robin Low

Microsoft Surface Review (If you are thinking of getting a cheap one)

I bought my Microsoft Surface on Black Friday 2013 (Not Surface 2) because finally, it is at the price I want to pay. If there are more deals coming up and you can pick one up for cheap, here is my review to help you decide.

Firstly - Looks (Exterior)


You can check it out at the Microsoft store, The Microsoft Surface looks like the Surface 2, just that the built in stand has only 1 height. Still, its looks pretty good and functional. It is rather slim and feels well built and solid.



The Specifications.

Here is the low-down that made me buy the 32GB Surface (For $200+ Tax)

1) 64GB MicroSD Card Slot (Turns your Tablet into a 96GB machine for a low cost. (I bought a SanDisk 64GB MicroSD for $35)

2) FULL SIZE USB -- OMG this is useful

3) HD Video Out -- With adapters, you can connect it to a HDMI TV or a computer monitor.

4) Bluetooth 4.0

5) A/B/G/N wireless

6) Resolution: 1366x768 (not too bad but not full HD)



What does it include?

It includes a full browser, (Can play Flash Video)
Microsoft Office 2013 - Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook, Onenote

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Initially, I did not really like the Windows 8, it felt unpolished, and FLAWED. And since the Windows 8.1 update is available, why not go for 8.1?

Here are some instructions to update your poorly made Windows 8 to Windows 8.1
->Microsoft Link<- br="">


I must say, Windows 8.1 is much better.

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After testing for a few days and a few charging cycles, here are my thoughts.

Pros:

- Good enough battery life (played 4 hours of music, 2 hours of surfing and downloads after standby for 2 days)
- Free FULL MS Office 2013!!
- Quick Startup, no wait
- Good size and looks
- Good price
- Very AWESOME Facebook App, better than PC version.
- Plays MP3s (Unlike Apple)

Cons:
- Downloading Windows 8.1 (2GB) takes Forever!
- Not a lot of apps available for Windows RT (Some work on Windows 8.1 only not RT)
- After getting Windows 8.1, Facebook and a Twitter app, my 32GB Surface has 15GB storage remaining.
- Not really that light, when you carry it and use it, it makes your fingers tired.
- Surface Pro Pen does not work on the Surface RT (disappointed)
- Turning on Tablet is fast, restarting it is not...

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I'm rather satisfied with my Windows Surface though, using it for web surfing, doing documents and listening to MP3. For it price, it is worth it.

Overall Rating 9/10 (Value buy)

-- Robin Low

Paradisus Palma Real Review

Paradisus Palma Real is located at Bavaro, Dominican Republic.

Located close to Punta Cana Airport and the region, Paradisus Palma Realis a very popular tourist spot for Americans, Canadians and Eurpoeans.

Paradisus Palma Real is a relatively nice resort, similar to many other resorts in Punta Cana. It an all inclusive Resort, which means meals, drinks and most things in the resort is free.

The beach is fantastic for sunrise. The weather when I was there was great, warm and not too humid with an occasional rain.

The facilities.

There are lots of pools... Nice pools, shallow pools... All chlorinated though. The beach is pretty, and you cna play volleyball on the beach. The Gym is kinda small, but pretty well maintained. There is a nice spa and a casino as well.

Overall, its a great place to be for 3 days and nice to chill and have fun. The bars may need more work as they do have live music and dancers, but the song selection is not great and there are not a lot of folks in November.

The Room

The room is pretty impressive, Jacuzzi bath tub, spacious areas, big beds. Showers that shoot water at you. It comes with most things you need, except a toothbrush.

7/10 in overall as I've a few light sockets which did not work, but it made up with free beer and drinks in the fridge. Some of the knobs are missing and the room is clean, but maintenance is not really that great.

I guess, its not that new as there us a cassette deck HiFi system. The Wifi in the room works sometimes, and as the room may be located pretty far from the lobby with free WiFi, it can be rather inconvenient.

The Food

Many restaurants to choose from, but food quality is rather mediocre, something you can expect from a cruise. Although you get sushi, great cuts of beef and various other luxurious foods, the taste is just average. What a waste.

Drink are pretty ok, the Pina Colada at the Lobby Bar is tasty. As all the food is free, I can't really complain that much.

The service is not too good either, rather slow and the waiters forget things. However, most tourists do not tip, and I guess there is no incentive to work hard.

Overall, I guess its a place to chill and relax. Do not worry about the cost of meals as its all inclusive. Even room service is free!

Weather, sky and beach -- Fantastic!

-- Robin Low

Overall 8/10

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC10 Review

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte caught my attention when I bought and tasted the PC5 years back, and it became my favorite whisky.

Back in 2001, Jim McEwan reopened Bruichladdich, and he visited Taiwan and launched the PC5 which I tasted. I like peated Islay Malt, but I do think Ardbeg Uigeadail 17 is a little over the top on your first sip as it is just filled with so much "Peat".

So when I tried the PC5, I realized that it says heavily peated, but compared to the Ardbeg, it is not so strong. (But you can surely taste it.) Deep rich smoke, multiple layers of peat. This is what I like about the PC5, and was very surprised that this new distillery could have such tasty 5 year old whiskey.

So as they years went by, I got the PC6, PC7, PC8, and they do taste very similar to the PC5. And I just got my bottles of PC10 and I've tried it together with a friend with an open bottle. Firstly, I must say, this is a limited run with 6000 bottles. Right from my first sip, I could actually taste sherry (unlike the other Port Charlotte) and quickly followed by the peat. The sherry wood gives another dimension of richness and weight to this typically light and piercing single malt.

"Citrus, hot pepper, cocoa." Very intriguing nose sets up high levels of anticipation for the first sip, and I was not disappointed. However, I had a bigger than usual gulp, which sets of the strong alcohol alert which makes me realize what you are drinking. Adding a ball to the whiskey allows the flavor to mellow out a little, allowing you to taste the lemon or orange (and toffee?) sweetness inside.

I do like my peated flavor, and for those who think its too strong, adding an ice ball and waiting for it to chill the drink, then drinking it and letting your mouth warm up the whiskey can open up new flavors which you can enjoy.

I am pleasantly surprised and I really enjoy my PC10 Port Charlotte. Would love to get more!

-- Robin Low

Nexus 5 Review.

GENERAL	2G Network	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions
		CDMA 800 / 1900 - North America version
	3G Network	HSDPA 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 900 - North America version
		HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
	4G Network	LTE 700 / 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - North America version
		LTE 800 / 850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
	SIM	Micro-SIM
	Announced	2013, October
	Status	Available. Released 2013, November

BODY	Dimensions	137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm (5.43 x 2.72 x 0.34 in)
	Weight	130 g (4.59 oz)

DISPLAY	Type	True HD IPS Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	1080 x 1920 pixels, 4.95 inches (~445 ppi pixel density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3

SOUND	Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

MEMORY	Card slot	No
	Internal	16/32 GB, 2 GB RAM

DATA	GPRS	Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
	EDGE	Class 12
	Speed	DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi hotspot
	Bluetooth	Yes, v4.0 with A2DP
	NFC	Yes
	USB	Yes, microUSB (SlimPort) v2.0

CAMERA	Primary	8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, optical image stabilization, LED flash
	Features	Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, photo sphere
	Video	Yes, 1080p@30fps
	Secondary	Yes, 1.3 MP

FEATURES	OS	Android OS, v4.4 (KitKat)
	Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800
	CPU	Quad-core 2.3 GHz Krait 400
	GPU	Adreno 330
	Sensors	Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
	Messaging	SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
	Browser	HTML5
	Radio	No
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
	Java	Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
	Colors	Black, White
		- Wireless charging - SNS integration - Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3 player - Organizer - Image/video editor - Document editor - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa - Voice memo/dial/commands - Predictive text input

BATTERY		Non-removable Li-Po 2300 mAh battery
	Stand-by	(2G) / Up to 300 h (3G)
	Talk time	(2G) / Up to 17 h (3G)

The phone just arrived in the mail today. the 32GB version costs $399 from the Google play store.

It runs on the new Google OS, KitKat, and has an IPS 5" screen.

Out of the Box. 

The Nexus 5 is not too big. Compared to my Xperia, it has a bigger screen, but still comfortable to hold and use. The Nexus 5 looks pretty plan and simple. However, it does feel very slippery. Even though it feels well built and not as plastic as it looks, the phone feels a little slippery, but not as bad that it will fall out of your hands easily. I've placed the phone on a slightly sloped surface and the phone slides around more than my Xperia.

On the left, there is a rocker for volume, on the right, there is a power button and the MicroSim Slot. On the top, there is a regular headphone jack and the bottom there is a Nano-USB slot.

I was quite disappointed that the Nexus 5 does not have a Micro-SD Card slot. So getting the 32GB seems essential, as I have quite a bit of music which I want to access without downloading constantly.

Nexus 5 seems to have all bells and whistles all modern phones should have.

1) Wireless Charging
2) Bluetooth 4.0
3) LTE
4) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Display.

The IPS full HD screen is simply beautiful. 1080 x 1920 pixels, very sharp, very beautiful.

KitKat Android 4.4

Android 4.4 on Nexus 5 is smooth and fast. "Ok Google" is a phrase to use to get Nexus 5 to search Google, however, this does not work when the screen is off or phone is locked or in the middle of an app. I've tried using the voice recognition, and it works very well, but

Overall, Android 4.4 is like a better Jellybean, some minor improvements, and on Nexus 5, it seems to work well.

Camera

The 8MP camera is ok. The camera interface is like the one on Android 4.3, but with an added feature -- HDR.

I've used the camera but not as impressed as the one on Nokia 925 or 1020.


For its price, Nexus 5 is really value for money.

Rating 8/10 (Would be better if it had micro-SD slot and a better camera system)




-- Robin Low