Brite-View BV-2500 Wireless HD Video Transmitter and Receiver Kits
by Zinwell
|
List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Brite-View BV-2500 Wireless HD Video Transmitter and Receiver Kits
Customer Review: Worked Great for a Backyard Party
Summary: 4 Stars
I was planning an evening party in the backyard and wanted to show the big pay per view fight over the weekend. The problem was stringing a long HDMI cord through the living room around the walls to the backyard to a projector (Thats about 75'). I thought it would be costly (I'm skeptical of cheap HDMI cables), kind of unsightly and with 50 people walking around in a dimly lit backyard, pretty much a tripping hazard. The other option was moving an entertaiment center, going in the crawlspace of my house and deal with drilling and wiring to get a clean hard line HDMI connection to the backyard (Generally speaking, a pain in the @#$*).
I'm glad I found this thing.
Setup:
Transmitter connected to DirecTV Box in Living Room
Receiver connected to Epson 702 HD Projector
Screen: Epson Duet 80" Projector Screen
Setup is pretty intuitive. I think I browsed through the instruction booklet just looking for pictures. I connected the transmitter to a DirecTV box and the receiver to the projector. Straight line distance between transmitter (that sat on top of the entertainment center) and reciever was just under 20 feet. The only obstruction was one wall with a window (typical wood frame house) and maybe the foot traffic passing in between. The signal strength indicator fluctuated between 2 bars and 3 bars out of 3 total. I'm not too sure about the claims of 60' LOS and 30' NLS range, but I didn't need to push it.
During the 4-1/2 hour broadcast (undercard fights and main event) the signal dropped out maybe 2 times for about 30 seconds, but it ended up correcting itself. I'm not sure if that's wireless being wireless or if somebody bumped the receiver unit (there were some kids bouncing around). Maybe I could have used a different channel setup. Other than that, everything worked out fine. The image was clear. There was another TV broadcasting inside on a completely separate DirecTV box and there was no discernable video lag. The audio was piped in from another source and it synced perfectly. People were impressed that it was a projector and equally surprised that it was a wireless HD connection. That said, I'm very happy with the product.
I know Brite View just came out with another product (AirSync?) thats about $100 less. Since broadcasting to a 2nd TV is all I needed it to do, I would have purchased that instead, but it just wasn't available at the time. At $300, I think its kind of pricey for what I'm doing, but it works. Like all technology, I'm guessing the price will drop in time as more people start coming up with similar products. I've seen older wireless HDMI products for $700. That's crazy!
I guess one drawback was that the reciever unit needs a power source too. That means another power cord or getting a power strip. Electricity wasn't a problem since there was an outlet in the area. Not totally wireless but not a big deal. The only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 is the signal dropping out and the limited range. Next time I'll try to set up the reciever a little closer and see it the signal drops.
Bottom line: Good Purchase.
Customer Review: It does what it says, But you should know what you're doing.
Summary: 4 Stars
First let me say, This product does Exactly as it advertises.
The Brite-view transmits component video (YPrPb to 1080i) and/or HDMI up to 1080/24p "uncompressed" over a short distance. That simple fact blew me away. That said, I would not consider this a plug and play unit. Principally it was a simple hook-up, but some very specific challenges can be frustrating. Many of those frustrations can be pointed at HDMI as a faulty connection method.
This product was purchased for installation in the home of one of my customers. His system included a living room system with cable and DVD/Bluray that is able to be routed to his back patio for the summer. When the house was built HDMI did not yet exist, so we had run Component video to the TV's outdoor location. This was an experiment to get 1080p to his newer LED/LCD display and possibly allow for a new mounting location.
I set up the Brite-view BV2500 system with the television in the living room first, to make sure it all worked fine. The transmitter/receiver locked onto each other right away and passed 720p from the cable box. When I fired up the Bluray player at 1080p, I hit a frustration- no image/strange resolution (800x600 72hz, which there is no mention of in the book.) The Brite-view flashed the "not recognized format" error. After cycling through the video output settings, 1080p was the only output that did this. Then on the Blueray player, I turned on the 24 frame setting for 1080p and finally got the picture through. it sounds obvious, but was an elusive setting. 1080p is not as simple as 1080p. Now everything worked and looked SHARP! again, Very impressed.
Next we moved outside, a bigger challenge. The mounting position was about 35-40 feet from where the base unit was inside, with pretty good LOS through a sliding glass door. There was a longer delay with the units syncing, and I switched RF channels until I found a better signal strength. I could get the picture, but it took a lot longer to lock signal. The whole HDMI hand shake thing seemed to be what was dropping out. That and the HDMI connector had to be seated just right, a wiggle or different tension and it would drop the picture. Probably not the Brite-view's fault, just a sensitive connection. I tested with several different HDMI cables with the same results.
After I got the connections to stop being the issue, we watched for interference. If we stood between the transmitter and receiver, an occasional bit of noise would cross the screen and images were a little grainy. When the receiver was placed on the back of the tv where it would be attached, signal would drop out completely. I think we were just on the edge of how far this system will work. My customer and I agreed that this was just a little too finicky at that range to be reliable. I will be returning for refund.
Conclusion: works as advertised, probably best suited for use with a projector or adjacent wall mounted TV. 5 stars for function, 3 stars for set up.
Customer Review: EASIER THAN YOU THINK!! PERFECT FOR DIRECTV
Summary: 5 Stars
WOW...
My purchase before this item was a logitech universal remote. I spent 10 hours and 2 calls to India to set up and I ended up not using the RF remote because it didn't work.
REASON FOR PURCHASE (APPLICATION):
I wanted to gift my mom the ability to watch her DirecTV in the kitchen on the new 23" Samsung I got her. We didn't want to go through the hassle of having another big DirecTV HD DVR box and more coaxial line run around the house, so I bought the Briteview.
INSTALL:
1. Plugged HDMI cable from Family room DTV receiver to back up base unit (kept the component video and audio plugged into cinema receiver for the main TV).
2. Plugged BV-2500 base unit into wall.
3. Placed Infared receiver over the DTV receiving IR port
4. 40ft away and through 1 wall I plugged receiving unit into back of Samsung 23" TV via HDMI
5. Plugged receiving unit into wall
6. Turned on both TV's and whaa-la
PRO's
* Not sure for all applications, but the DirecTV receiver was capable of sending component audio/video and HDMI aud/vid at the same time, so we could watch and adjust volume on both TV's at same time with ZERO LAG (both audio and video).
* SUPER EASY INSTALL WITH INFARED WORKING ON FIRST ATTEMPT
* HD picture quality is 1080P
* No extra running of cables for my application
* Small receiving unit makes for a clean looking install. Unit is smaller than most computer home routers.
CON's
* No HDMI out on the base unit (would make nice for lots of us who want to pass through the HDMI and don't have an AV receiver or want to change AV receiver input). Instead I have to use both HDMI and component out so.
UNKNOWN AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS
To complete the install I think I will probably need to buy an additional DireTV remote and program the 2nd TV's volume control to that.
Keep in mind your are going to be watching the SAME channel on the 2nd display if you are watching the primary display at the same time. That being said this isn't for most family's. My mom lives with just my dad and they enjoy watching the same thing.
Now my mom can cook family dinner and watch TV at the same time!!!
Keep in mind this was a gift from someone (me) who doesn't even own or watch TV.
FIRST REVIEW OF A PRODUCT ON AMAZON... WHATCHA THINK?
Customer Review: Wireless thoughts
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, let me say that I have not bought one of these. Having said that, I have worked in Communications for 30+years and have run into problems with similar items and I thought I would pass on one important thought.
.
Remember that this is a wireless product.
.
That means it transmits over a given frequency range of the radio spectrum, and that other products operating in the same frequency range might cause interference with it. According to the manufacturer, the BV-2500 operates in the 4.9-5.9 GHz range. Other products that use the same range include:
- PCs and Routers using the 802.11a standard
- 802.11n routers in certain configurations
- some Baby monitors
- some Cordless phones
- other miscellaneous devices with similar applications
The devices listed above are supposed to be limited in transmission power, so in most situations you shouldn't get interference from anyone father away than say your neighbor. Having said that, there are also applications which require an FCC license, but usually operate at much higher power:
- certain amatuer radios and walkie-talkies
- point-to-point microwave relays
- certain air traffic control radars
.
This is not to say that everyone will experience problems - certainly, most will not. But for those wondering about the occasional signal-dropouts or those that cannot get the transmitter to work at all, it may not be the transmitter or receiver that is at fault. It might be a nearby device on the same frequency. Try changing channels to see if the problem clears up. It may not ever clear up if you are in the path of one of the more powerful transmitters. (If that is the case, you will either need to go hard-wired or try another device that operates in a different spectrum.) Take a look around your house and see if you might be unwittingly interfering with your own signal.
Customer Review: Installing the BV-2500 in a motorhome: the best solution
Summary: 5 Stars
This device transmits a high-def TV signal to a remote receiver. A lot of people have older TV sets in their RVs and installing a replacement HD set is more complicated than just finding a set that will fit in the old TV's compartment. Installing the cabling to new HD sets is a real challenge and needs to be done in order to get full benefit from a satellite receiver. If the existing standard co-axial cable is used, there is no benefit to getting an HD TV as the image will still be standard definition. Running multiple component, audio and HDMI cables is expensive and very difficult even if surface mounted. I could not find any easy, cosmetically acceptable cabling solution. The Brite View device greatly simplified this problem. The BV-2500 transmitter has 2 HDMI and 2 component video/audio inputs with easy switching using its remote control. Installation is super-easy. The receiver has a single HDMI output to the HD TV. The transmission range is up to 70 feet and the video quality excellent. The small receiver (smaller than a clock radio) is easy to move from the front TV to the back TV. Just plug it into the wall, plug in the HDMI cable and viola! In our 35 foot RV, the signal easily passes through multiple walls, the refrigerator, the washer and dryer and a slide-out with perfect reception. You will need a short HDMI cable (3-4 feet each) to each HD TV set. The BV-2500 comes with a 3 foot HDMI cable that can be used to connect to a satellite receiver (or other HD receiver) or Blue Ray DVD player. If you have other devices, like a non-Blue Ray DVD player, you will need component video and audio cables to connect them to the BV-2500. (I also found that I needed a video distribution amplifier ($50 @ RS) when I split the component signal between an older HD TV (it didn't have an HDMI input) and the BV-2500 but if you are not splitting any inputs, you won't need to worry about that.)