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October 19, 2007
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! Wow, folks, this past week's question on VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) phone service received a tremendous amount of participation from you, with well over 200 posts to Maria's question! I've personally never inquired about or used VoIP, but after reading so many contributions from you, I feel completely educated on the service and have a very good understanding of the pros and cons of it. And I hope this discussion topic has the same effect on the members here.
I know that in the discussion topic there are a lot of back-and-forth debates and personal opinions on how great the service is, or how poor it is--and many in between. But the bottom line is that, once you've read through them as I did, those of you who are looking into VoIP will definitely be able to make a better-informed decision as to whether the service is right for you. And as with all technology, test the waters out and try the service before you completely commit to it--you really have nothing to lose. Anyways, my suggestion is to grab a good cup of coffee, pull up a comfy chair, and start reading your fellow members' advice on VoIP. And to get you warmed up, here are few selected member contributions to get it all flowing. If you folks want to add more or share your experience on VoIP, squeeze in and get cozy, because we'd all like to hear from you. Good luck with your decision, Maria. Have a great weekend and thank you for all your contributions!
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Member Question of the Week
Hi, I need some opinions for the members who currently use
VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) or who had previous used
this service and discontinued it. My cable and broadband
provider Comcast has been pushing this service and I'm really
curious as to why. The deal sounds amazing, it's cheap and
has many features that I would take advantage of like
unlimited calling anywhere, and offers inexpensive additions
for international calls. Currently I pay a hefty amount for
my landline service and VOIP seems to be the solution.
However, I don't really know anything about the service
except that it is cheap and it uses my cable lines to make
calls rather than using the telephone line. Also if it's such
a great deal, how come none of my friends and family use it?
I'm currently only getting one side of the story of how great
it is from the VOIP companies (checked out Vonage and others
also). What's the real deal here? Is there a catch to all
this hype? Will I regret switching? I would love to hear from
the people who use VOIP and tell me exactly how it works and
what are the advantages and disadvantages of the service, so
that I can make the right choice for me. Thank you.
Submitted by:
Maria M.
Vote for the most helpful answer
 Below are the answers we've selected for you to vote on. Click on the title to read the answer by the member.
Here are the selected submissions grouped in one post.
Time to vote! Now that you've read our members' answers, which would you consider the most helpful? Click on the button to weigh in on the decision.
(Note: Below is the section to vote, please read the individual answers above before casting your vote below.)
 Answer by John.Wilkinson
Answer by Watzman
Answer by botmann
Answer by deltoncbaker
For the member whose answer was voted the
most helpful by our community, we will send
this member some cool CNET branded gear.
 Previous week's Q&AThe votes are in! Below is the answer voted most helpful by our community to last week's question.
Hi, I have a question for you guys. I am not sure which model
of Panasonic plasma HDTV I should buy with Viera line. The
50 inches with 1080p (TH-50PZ700) or the 50 inches with the
720p (TH-50PX75). Will I see a difference in screen quality
from the 720p to the 1080p if I only use the HDMI cable from
a regular DVD player 480P to upconverting the signal?
I know for sure that with a Blu-ray or HD DVD the difference
will be day and night but like I said if I only use the 480p
DVD player will it be worth to spend that money on 1080p.
Since I am not going to buy a Blu-ray or HD DVD player soon
because I don't know which format will survive. I am
only going to use a DV with the HDMI connection to upgrade
the signal from a basic 480P DVD player to hook up my plasma
TV. Any help here is appreciated!
--Submitted by:
Yves L.
720p or 1080p?
- I believe that a 60" screen is the smallest size you should consider if you want 1080p
- 46" is just too small ... IMO you are wasting your money to go 1080p at this size ... better to buy a 720p set.
- 50" may be OK if you sit about 6 feet away ... otherwise you are not going to see the difference 1080p makes.
- 60" you will see the difference if you sit close enough. The recommended distance for this size when viewing HDTV is 8 feet.
(read more)
Congratulations to the winner!
Community Buzz
 Each week we take a look at topics discussed in the forums.
Have fun and enjoy!
More from the forums
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Check out next week's question:
My question for you is photo inkjet printers vs. color laser printers. I use a ton of ink in my inkjet printers, and as you know, ink cartridges aren't cheap. Since color laser printers have come down in price quite a bit these past years, I'm interested in picking up one to see if over time (while initially it will cost more upfront for the laser printer) I can start to reap the benefit from switching to a color laser. However, I do have a few questions and hope you can help me out. How do color laser printer fare as compared to inkjet printers when it comes to printing photos? Will color laser give me the quality of an inkjet printer? How about cost per page for color laser over inkjet? What are some of the tradeoffs going to a color laser printer for photos? And are their any downsides to laser? Thank you for your help.
--Submitted by:
Edward H.
We feature a new question every Friday, and if you have the answer for our member, you can submit it above. If your submission is picked by our members as the most helpful answer, you'll receive some cool CNET branded gear.
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User name: indy1333
Location: Jackson, Mississippi
Member since: May 02, 2006
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About me: I'm a senior in high school with a video production business. I play around with 3d animation and graphics design on the side. I'm very involved in my church, using technology to help our ministry... (read more)
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Simple question, simple answer
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