VGN-FS215Z

[azarro]

Hello everyone,

I am considering buying a Vaio Laptop model VGN-FS215Z and would be really grateful to hear about your experiences with this model from anyone who has one or has used one.

I will be buying it to replace an earlier model (PCG-K115S).

As I am in two minds whether to go for the 215Z or aToshiba Qosmio, I am particularly interested in learning about the TV tuner and recording facility.

My questions are:

1) Is it true that 1 hour of TV recording requires approx. 1 GB? (Sony have advised me of this)

2) Does the Sony Zone software handle the TV recording facility well? (Toshiba uses Windows XP Media Center Edition).

3) Is it practical to have the TV Tuner in the port replicator? i.e. does all the equipment fit in a standard case for a 15.4 " laptop?

4) Are you pleased with the overall performance of the laptop (multi-tasking), TV tuner and speakers etc.

I know that this is a bit overloaded with questions but there is no better feedback than from the horses mouth. Independent reviews, sales people etc are not as reliable as REAL CUSTOMERS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANY FEEDBACK YOU HAVE TIME TO PROVIDE ME. IT WILL BE MUCH APPRECIATED.
Please feel free to email me at
escaparse@aol.com

[davidbridgeman]

I have a Sony FS215B and am very happy with it. It is a little slower than I would have expected but I am going to double up the RAM to cure this

The AV docking station holds all the TV gismos, not the laptop it’s self.
You could add an extra external HDD to create enough room for your TV recordings as this will leave your system room to breath and not clutter the system drive with video files

Atticmaster

[spooksthehorse]

I bought one of these in June this year. So far it has been an excellent laptop for my needs. I haven't had any problems with it yet (fingers crossed).

Unfortunately i haven't actually used the TV tuner on it yet so i can't help you with that. I haven't bothered looking at the details yet.

The battery doesn't last very long though, but mine is always plugged in, so that doesn't matter to me right now.

The only annoying thing i have encountered is why i came on here. I don't know why it does it, but when i'm typing, the cursor, every once in a while jumps to another part of the text i have already written so if you don't notice, you carry on typing and it messes it all up. At first i though it was because i was pressing a key inadvertantly but after trying to figure out what i was doing i realised it is just a random thing. (It just did it whilst i was writing that sentence actually).

So yes, that's the only thing that annoys me about it, but other than that, it's been great.

[rich912]

Spooksthehorse, are you sure that you are not inadvertently pressing the left button of the touchpad whilst typing? This will shift the cursor.

[spooksthehorse]

The buttons are seperate from the touchpad and you have to give them a decent press, so i don't think it would be that. It's just totally baffling me. It started as soon as i got it, but it doesn't happen on any other computer i use.

[seb21__]

I have the same problems sometimes. But this is the wrong thread for this.:smileytongue:

[kee-lo_]

1) Is it true that 1 hour of TV recording requires approx. 1 GB? (Sony have advised me of this)

Yes thats right, but thats for DVD8 type quality (dual layer), so if you want to keep something put it on DVD5 or DivX 6 for watching on the PC / network

[spooksthehorse]

yeah i know, i was going to start a thread about it, but then forgot.

[Webster]

Hi,

I have a VGN-FS215Z.

I haven't used the TV tuner facility as yet so I can't comment on that aspect, though I have edited raw video footage with no problems.

As far as multi-tasking goes; it handles pretty much anything I throw at it without any real big hit on performance, having said that, I have upgraded the RAM on mine to 1GB which certainly helps - particularly when working with video files etc, though even before I upgraded the ram it was no slouch.

A lot of it depends on how you have your machine set up and how much unnecessary stuff you have running in the background.

Personally I think its a great laptop and would heartily recommend it.:smileyhappy: