topic Re: FZ or AR series? in PCs & Accessories

FZ or AR series?

Shaggy — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:29:16 GMT

A month ago my beloved GRT716s got stolen...so now i need to replace it.

well im only looking at the blu ray versions:
FZ11Z
AR31s/AR41s

I just need some advice and some comments

Its basically boils down to my budget...
£2k and i get the AR
anything less then its the FZ

Re: FZ or AR series?

MattWilson — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:38:29 GMT

A month ago my beloved GRT716s got stolen...so now i need to replace it.

well im only looking at the blu ray versions:
FZ11Z
AR31s/AR41s

I just need some advice and some comments

Its basically boils down to my budget...
£2k and i get the AR
anything less then its the FZ

This thread may be helpful.

If you really want the Bluray drive then the AR series is the one to go for. If you want to save money on it then go for the AR31 series as they are being replaced they will be reduced and since they are almost identical so its worth saving the money.

FZ series do not have a big enough screen to truely apprieciate the HD quality of Bluray discs.

Hope you make the right decision for you

Re: FZ or AR series?

Shaggy — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:26:28 GMT

thanks

any more info would be great!

Re: FZ or AR series?

MattWilson — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:54:04 GMT

thanks

any more info would be great!

Thats ok.

1. The main question you have to ask yourself is does it need to be portable?

If the answer is yes then the FZ with its 15.4" screen is much easier to carry around with you.

If not then maybe the AR is more useful to you.

2. What do you need it for?

3. Do you need a fast CPU and huge storage or just a fast processor?

Here is the FZ spec.

Here is the AR spec.

Hope this helps with your decision

Re: FZ or AR series?

jimmylad — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:06:49 GMT

got my ar31s off ebay for £1300 delivered including a free case but......................No prob with the laptop but loads of configuration problems with vista & vaio & had to fully restore twice after a month.

Coudln't get the bluray to work & had to buy another prog to watch blu ray for £70 & the webcam doesn't work at the mo. It's not broke. just can't configure it. Also can't get the output to work over hdmi. But it used to !!

I'm sure it will all be fine in the end but everything for me has been a struggle & I'm fairly competent on a pc. Don't buy unless you are an advanced user IMHO.

Jim

Re: FZ or AR series?

jumpsuit — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:27:34 GMT

Those particular problems are amongst the most posted currently.

A little search around the forums and you should be right as rain in no time. (4th reinstall for me :smileygrin: )

Re: FZ or AR series?

jimmylad — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:42:06 GMT

wish the thread on the webcam for ar31s could help me

Re: FZ or AR series?

MattWilson — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:46:13 GMT

wish the thread on the webcam for ar31s could help me

Try reinstalling the original driver.

C:\drivers\camera\"name of your camera"\install.bat (if that one doesn't work then double click on DPInst32.exe)

Re: FZ or AR series?

jimmylad — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:04:36 GMT

tried all that and more. Unistalled it - re installed it - disabled - enabled. tried everything & ran out of ideas at the mo.

probably have to do a full restore but I sorta expect that the cam will work & something else will stop. Takes too long putting all music & photos back on along with peronal settings etc.

I bet if i bought a stand alone web cam i would just plug it in, put the disk in & have it working.

Never had any of these issues with xp pro.

One thing i did struggle with was the hotfix ( it said it didn't apply to my laptop !! )

Jim

Re: FZ or AR series?

stone69 — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:38:40 GMT

Have also an AR31S, but none of the problems of jimmylad. Blu-ray player is working, except that I had to put in the correct region setting as it was only correctly set to Europe for DVD's but to USA for Blu-ray. Camera is working fine, although I must admit I don't need it very often, but now and then I give it a try.

Basically it's up to what Matt mentioned.
If you really need it to be mobile then the FZ would be better choice, mainly due to the size of the AR (you could not really use it in a packed train) and also due to the reduced runtime on the battery.
The weight is another point, but I use the SONY backpack and with that it doesn't really matter..
I love my AR :smileygrin:

Re: FZ or AR series?

fai_lok — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 10:02:09 GMT

I have a FZ laptop... everything works great...but the wecam has just decided to work when it feels like it... when i want to use it in any application it says that another program may be using it or it is not attached - it is built in!

I tried different drivers... tried enable disable...timeout possibility... its just random as far as I can see... Its true - why have a blue ray payer on a laptop when you can even watch it porperly! only good to have a HDMI output at this stage since blue ray discs are not even mainstream winners yet!

I have HD disc possible but at least they are in a bit of use from the support of microsoft - my operating system If you got blu erays from Playstation... go for AR if you must invest so early in the HD age...! lol

Re: FZ or AR series?

Shaggy — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:52:10 GMT

does everything work with the new drivers?

Re: FZ or AR series?

davemee — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:49:51 GMT

People's experiences with the 31 seem pretty variable; I'd say it's an impressive machine and I'm glad I bought it (wish I'd have waited for the 41, but then I'd have lost a year without a laptop)

Drivers all seem pretty solid from the Sony side (once you've run all the updates properly). Vista still has a few issues that will be addressed in SP1. Blueray playback worked fine on included software.

Three things I *don't* like on the AR31 - the trackpad button placement means it's difficult to 'lounge' with the machine, the weird, snappable screen clasp, and the onboard ethernet is megabit, not gigabit. The finish and look of the machine is so damn slick you don't mind polishing those fingerprints off, and will, obsessively. It's a striking piece of kit, and it will turn client heads. Battery life is poor to rotten, i'd say 60-90 mins or so at best, if you consciously turn down the drain in windows.

Go on. Go nuts. AR all the way!