I have looked for a solution for a long time to connect my laptops to my various TVs.  I have avoided buying converter boxes because I simply didn’t want the hassle of buying yet another device to go in my entertainment center and then have to fish the cables out when I wanted to move it to another TV.  I just wasn’t interested, and the prices were always a little too high.  So the Hammerhead VGA to HDMI converter from Sewell intrigued me.  Could big things possibly come in small packages?  Let’s find out.

Let’s talk first about the specs of this little powerhouse.  It comes in the box with a VGA cable, a 5 ft 3.5mm audio cable, a 2.5 ft mini USB cable (used for power from the PC), and a user’s manual.  When I say ‘user’s manual’ I use that term loosely because the user’s manual is pretty much a joke.  It not only didn’t help me figure out how to connect the device, I could barely read the text inside it because the text was so small.  User’s manuals are not universally included anymore, but if you are going to include one you need to actually make sure it is useful.

On the Hammerhead, you will find a mini USB connection on the side (used to draw power from the PC), a VGA input on one end, and the HDMI output and stereo audio input on the other end.  I should mention that Sewell says that the power connection via USB may be required if the VGA port on the computer can’t push the video and/or audio signals strong enough. The only way you will know if the USB connection is required is if you try to use the Hammerhead and the audio or video signal won’t work.  I did not need the USB connection in my testing. There is an indicator light on the Hammerhead that shows you when the Hammerhead is functioning, and the Hammerhead can support computer monitors up to a 1920 x 1200 resolution @60Hz.

I also wanted to post here the list of the computer monitor resolutions that the Hammerhead supports.  This list is directly from Sewell’s website:

640*480@60Hz, 640*480@72Hz, 640*480@75Hz, 640*480@85Hz
720*400@70Hz
800*600@60Hz, 800*600@72Hz, 800*600@75Hz, 800*600@85Hz
1024*768@60Hz, 1024*768@70Hz, 1024*768@75Hz, 1024*768@85Hz
1152*864@75Hz
1280*720@60Hz
1280*768@60Hz, 1280*768@75Hz, 1280*768@85Hz
1280*800@60Hz, 1280*800@75Hz, 1280*800@85Hz
1280*900@60Hz
1280*1024@60Hz, 1280*1024@75Hz
1360*768@60Hz
1400*1050@60Hz
1440*900@60Hz
1600*1200@60Hz
1680*1050@60Hz
1920*1080@60Hz
1920*1200_RB@60Hz
1920*1200@60Hz

Performance

So how did the Hammerhead perform?  Fantastic. I tried the Hammerhead on 3 of my HD TVs, each a different brand, and it worked superbly on all 3.  The image is just great, and I couldn’t be happier.  The first HDMI cable that I used would not transfer the audio signal – even with the help of the USB power cable, so I swapped the HDMI cable out for another HDMI cable and it worked just fine.  The first cable was a 50 FT cable and it was old.  I am not sure if the length or the age of the cable caused the audio signal problem, but the second 6 ft. cable worked just fine without the need to use the USB power cable.

The only other problem I had was that the gold screw posts on the side of the Hammerhead that you use to secure the Hammerhead to the VGA cable are not easy to use at all.  My fingers couldn’t twist the posts to actually get them to connect to the VGA cable because they are awkwardly positioned. Or perhaps my fingers are just too fat. I eventually gave up. But that was not a deal breaker for me.

Bottom line

The Hammerhead is an excellent device that delivers an excellent video signal. Its construction is solid, and the small size makes it perfectly portable and easy to store.  You’ll need more space to store the HDMI cable than the Hammerhead.  And the list price of $65.95 is just right for my budget. I believe you can even find it for less than that online.  I highly recommend this product.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Audio, HDMI, TV

Sewell Hammerhead VGA to HDMI Converter Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 23, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Using an SD-Card, FlashDrive, or even a multi-Terabyte USB HardDrive, the CiragoTV Mini lets you playback videos, pictures and music that you downloaded or created at your computer on your television in beautiful 720P or 1080i ( and 480i & 480p for any tube owners ). This isn’t a networked UPNP media playback system with wireless or even ethernet: it’s a far simpler solution utilizing the classic SneakerNet to transfer files on a storage device. For around $70 retail, you’ll get a box a little bigger than a deck of cards with AV and HDMI output, a remote, AC adapter, and some composite AV cables. Plug your SD card ( Or USB hard drive/flash drive ) into the CiragoTV Mini, and it’s quickly being shown on your television in excellent quality. Read on for more information…

Since CiragoTV Mini’s sole purpose is to play media, in my opinion there are just two concerns; The first is what formats the device supports. My video files are in a multitude of formats, so having a device compatible with the majority of my files is seriously important. I don’t want to re-compress anything if possible. And the second is the playback quality; how well does it play on my current TV and on the flatpanel I’ll eventually have in my living room. In both areas I’ve been satisfied with the CiragoTV Mini, but thats because most of my files are in SD formats. But even a few DVD’s compressed down to around 256MB ( created back when my PSP had a 512MB MemoryStick Duo ) looked decent and surprisingly viewable, even on an a 720P plasma.

I have to admit something here; I still have a 32″ tube television. It’s a nice one, but it’s still ancient technology. I used this monstrosity for all the screenshots below and some of the testing. But we also spent a night watching this through the HDMI output on a 720P 42″ Plasma TV, and even though most of my files were SD the output scaled nicely. Of course the higher resolution AVI files played back beautifully on the plasma TV, and we quickly realized we’re probably the only people in Brooklyn without a flatpanel TV. Hopefully Santa is going to rectify this.

I ended up playing files in Divx, AVI, MPEG 1,2 & most 4, and almost all played without problems or hiccups. There were a couple known-bad files I tried to play, and mostly these just refused to play. But a couple times I needed to unplug the device’s power cable to play new files after it ‘froze’. Overall the playback quality was impressive considering most of my video is SD, and I found the UI completely useable although it could look better ( IE: more modern – reminds me of XP ). There is built in support for VOB files & and subtitles too- along with customization of the colors involved which is nice. But the bad news is MKV and M4V files both fail to play back, which could be a serious limitation. Since I’ve been dealing with a tube TV, and most of my files are AVI or Divx SD, I can play almost everything in my library. But a close look at the device’s playback compatibility and your video file formats is a must before purchasing.

Included in the box is the CiragoTV Mini unit, a remote, a AC Adapter, and an A/V cable with composite video & RCA Right and Left audio connectors. On the front of the unit there is an IR sensor, a USB port, and a SD/MMC card slot. On the back is an HDMI output, but the cable is not included, and there is an A/V port for the included composite ( not component ) cable. There is a small wall-wart power adapter included that also plugs into the back. The remote’s batteries are pre-installed and protected by a plastic tab you remove to activate the remote, and the video/audio cable is about six feet long. The digital output is, obviously, sharper and cleaner than analog.

Overall, I’m really enjoying this little box, more than I thought I was going to. The small size of the CiragoTV Mini makes it totally portable, it’s a little bigger than an older iPod, so taking it with you to a friend’s house or a hotel makes watching your media on any tv completely possible. I’ve got about a dozen 1GB to 4GB SD cards floating around, and copying files to one of these cards and popping it into the CiragoTV Mini is almost second nature to us now. Plus the USB port lets you to also keep a huge hard drive plugged in as a permanent addition to your media center and use the SD cards just for new files. The flexibility of the USB and SD/MMC reader plus the great output makes this a real winner in my opinion – I recommend this device as long as it will play back your videos in your existing library & please remember to check for format compatibility before purchasing.

The front of the unit has an IR window ( With the red/blue power indicator LED inside ), the USB port, and the Card slot. I tried a USB Flash Drive, USB Hard Drive, and a USB Card Reader; all worked without problems in a FAT32 format.

The reasonably long AV cable and power adapter, the remote, and the CiragoTV Mini. You get an idea of how small this device is from the picture. The little rubber feet on the bottom helped it stay put on a wood shelf and on the metal top of an A/V receiver.

The remote has some nice features; a USB device button to switch between media containers, mute and volume, but no fast forward. You have to open the menu while video is playing to fast forward in 2x, 4x, and 8x increments then one more press puts in back into normal playback speed.

The main menu lets you select media types to playback, look at the files through a file-system browse, or setup the CiragoTV Mini.

The CiragoTV Mini will work with almost every SD and HD set out there with the composite and HDMI outputs.

The unit also supports 7 languages.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Reviews

Tagged: HD, HDMI, Media player, USB

CiragoTV Mini Media Player Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 1, 2009 at 1:26 pm.

Have you ever wanted to connect your laptop to your TV, but wanted to keep the laptop next you on the couch instead of placing it across the room where the TV is located? I have a gadget that should solve that problem. It’s the new AT-HDAIR wireless USB to HDMI or VGA adapter from Atlona Technologies. Plug a small USB adapter into your Windows laptop (sniff, no Mac support) and then connect the receiver to your HDTV or projector. The adapter even supports audio. Press release after the jump.

Atlona Technologies officially releases the new wireless USB to HDMI or VGA adapter, now with Audio.

Atlona Technologies officially releases the new wireless USB to HDMI or VGA adapter, the AT-HDAIR, now with Audio.

Atlona Technologies has been known for their innovative product lines as well as constantly paving the way for new and updated technology in the AV world.  With the introduction of the HDAiR, a wireless USB to HDMI or VGA converter, earlier this year, Atlona has caused quite a stir among computer users looking to integrate their computers into their HD audio video systems. After its release, users from around the world responded to Atlona’s customer survey asking what additional features could make the HDAiR even better. The overall consensus was to add audio support.  Atlona has responded by releasing the all new HDAiR with the ability to output audio in both 3.5mm analog, as well as embedded on the HDMI output.

Compatible with both XP, Vista, and Windows 7, this one of a kind device will allow users to connect any USB enabled computer or laptop wirelessly, to any HDTV or projector via VGA or HDMI. This unit wirelessly transmits high resolution signal from a small USB adaptor connected to a computer, to a receiver unit placed next to the display, making it perfect for taking the traditionally personal computing experience and making it a communal experience.
Like the older model AT-HDAiR, this newer model with audio still uses chipsets developed by Wisair to transmit USB protocol over Ultra wide band (UWB) frequencies.

The new AT-HDAiR, is capable of extending any computer wirelessly from the display at lengths up to 30ft with HDTV resolutions up to 720p or PC and VESA resolutions at 1440×1050.  Both HDMI and VGA output connections are active at the same time, therefore HDAiR receiver could be used to power up 2 displays at the same time with identical content. The latest addition to this wireless adapter is that is now able to output digital audio through the HDMI as well as a 3.5mm stereo jack. With the addition of audio to this new version, the HDAiR is perfect for viewing continuously popular streaming media from HULU or Youtube, as well as computer based leaning programs such as Rosetta Stone or Lynda online training.

With quick and easy installation, the all new HDAiR with Audio opens up a word of possibilities. For home, business, and educational users providing a cost effective and convenient solution to integrate PC’s and laptops into HD audio video systems.

Atlona’s all new AT-HDAiR with audio is officially available just in time for the holidays with an MSRP of $219.00.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, News

Tagged: HDMI, Spotlight Gadgets, Wireless

Look Mom, no wires – AT-HDAIR Wirelesss USB to HDMI Adapter originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 20, 2009 at 7:55 am.

The Cirago CMC1000 Multimedia Center is an enigma. I’ve never heard of the company, or the product. Google found a few online sites that carry it, so I can tell you the 500GB model I am reviewing sells for under $190 online, and its 1TB version goes for about $60 more. It sure seems like a product that someone might like, I’m just not sure who that person is.

The little box arrived for review, and I spent a good few minutes examining the package before I even opened it up. What was this beast? Was it a media player? A PVR? A NAS? Checking the specs and the marketing-blurbs on the box didn’t help much.

Top of the fold (as it were) the first feature is Record Video or Timeshift Live TV. That means there is a tuner or three in this box, right? Well, not exactly – look on the back, and (again, right there on top, first thing you see) there is a section for Digital Video Recorder. Records Live TV it says, very confidently. But how? Down at the bottom of the feature list we see Video Input: AV. OK, you now have my undivided attention! Looking at the back of the unit as pictured on the box, I see – no, it can’t be – a composite video connector + L/R RCA audio jacks over a label saying AV Input! Is this 2009? Well at least I can set aside all worries about HD video recording, clear QAM tuner issues, or Cable Cards! The rest of the specs and connectors seem somewhat plausible, except for one last detail. The networking spec says 10/100 wired Ethernet, and they helpfully include an 802.11b/g USB dongle for wireless support. Yikes. Let’s hope we don’t need to move big files onto this thing over a network!

With serious misgivings, I opened the box.

Sure seems like a lot of stuff in there! A rare but refeshing difference from many products is the inclusion of all the cables you’d need to hook this beast up to your home theater with the exception of a coax or optical digital audio cable. You’re given one self-assembly job – attaching the feet to the box. If you’re going wireless, you’ll need to insert the WiFi usb dongle into the side USB slot – you can do that at any time, even with the unit on.

Setup

I used the analog composite + L/R audio jacks to connect to an ancient Tube TV, and sure enough the unit was able to provide a readable menu. For the purpose of all the review shots I hooked it up to a 37″ 720P LCD using the HDMI connection.

That gives a very clean and simple hookup – the left (bottom) plug is the power connection, the right (top) is the HDMI. With that, you’re good to go with any digital TV made in the last few years. The back of the unit (shown rotated above so you can read the labels) has the Big Red Switch for power, two banks of analog outputs (composit and component), the composite + L/R analog AV Inputs, the Coax and Optical digital audio outputs, a single HDMI port, USB port, and 10/100 Ethernet port.

Turning it and the TV on, the system comes up in a conservative 4:3/480i video mode and I am greeted with a fairly simple but not too hard to figure out menu. Using the remote to navigate is straightforward for any child and many adults, as it looks much like a DVD or PVR remote.

To get the best experience you configure the video and audio to match how you’ve connected the device to your home theater, and its capabilites, via the setup menu. If for some reason the device ended up in a mode that doesn’t display on your TV, there is a “TV SYSTEM” button on the remote that, when pressed, cycles through the various video output modes. You can keep pressing that until something shows up on screen, although I admit the unit I reviewed never had a problem detecting how it was connected.

You begin with the main menu – navigate over to Setup to get started:

I apologize for the moire (squiggly lines) and slight fisheye effect on these screenshots – taking digital photos of an LCD isn’t the easiest thing in the world! On an actual LCD the menus were very clean and pleasing. Setup lets you configure Video, Audio, Recording default quality, Network connection, and some low-level system stuff like disk formatting.

Video supports 4:3 and 16:9 aspects, 480i (standard TVs) and 480p/720p/1080i (digital via HDMI or Component) output. I was pleased with the quality of the image across all modes- within the limits of the various systems, the image was clean and sharp with reasonable color and free of ghosting or other obvious artifacts.

Audio out includes analog L/R, or Digital via the HDMI, Coax, or Optical outputs. There is a Night Mode (clipping some of the dynamic range) for those with little kids and thin walls.

All in all, the output connection options are very good. The box is not able to output 1080p, but that is not likely to be an issue given the limitations of its media playback abilities. More on that in a moment. I’ll skip the tedious but typical setup of WiFi and note that you must enter your WEP or WPA key in hex – a somewhat annoying throwback to a bygone era for most home-networking appliances. On the plus side the device linked up just fine to my home WiFi. I also plugged in the wired Ethernet, which pulled an IP address from my home DHCP server just fine. Both network methods work without much fuss.

Let’s finish the tour of the box and then get on to the business of using it!

The bottom front and right side have the rest of the interesting bits of the unit. The front has 7 buttons that replicate some of the functions of the remote, along with a green power LED and a red record LED. On the right are another USB port (occupied by the supplied WiFi dongle with its own blue LED) and below that an SD slot. You’re on your own if you have mini/microSD cards or CF cards, although I can report that all my various adapters worked just fine.

One last odd thing – the box has no fan, it should have been quiet as a mouse. For some reason the review unit’s hard drive created some kind of vibration that was transmitted to every kind of surface I tried. The resulting hum was at least as loud as a cooling fan and was present whenever the unit was on.

What Is It, Really?

So, what is this thing? It’s sort of a frankenstine monster – a mishmash of functions in a small attractive box. In the end it sort of does most things kinda well, and others not so well, which I found frustrating. I found myself rooting for it to succeed whenever I tried to use it, only to find myself disappointed many of the times. Let’s start with something simple

It’s a USB Disk Drive

Connect a USB cable between the CMC1000 and your PC/Mac/Linux box and like magic, it’s a USB 2.0 disk. It performed admirably as such, giving decent read/write speeds of close to 17MB/second. There is only one small issue. As shipped the drive is completely formatted as a Fat32 disk. In that mode the unit can use the whole disk to record (more on recording in a bit) and you can copy as much as you want to it, but no single file can be larger then 4GB. If you want or need to copy larger files, you will need to reformat the drive (via that System option in Settings) to split it between Fat32 and NTFS partitions. The unit can read NTFS but cannot write it, so that portion of the disk won’t be available for recording. You can see how this is going to go by now, can’t you?

So one thing you can do is copy a bunch of media onto the internal drive – haul the thing and its brick to your PC, mount it as a disk, load it with goodies, and then bring it back to the home theater. Not the best use model, but it could work. Let’s assume you do that, and now its back over by the TV…

It’s a Multimedia Center

Time to play some media! Go to Browse Media (see the first screenshot above) and hit the OK button and you see this:

Yes, it is a simple file browser. Across the top of the menu you can filter by media type (All, Music, Photo, Movies) and on the left you select where to look (USB, Card slot, HDD – internal disk, LAN, or a playlist you’ve created before.)

If you copied stuff onto it, you’ll find it under HDD. You’ll want to do that if the media you are trying to play is to demanding to play over 802.11g WiFi, or if you can’t get a good signal to the box. With a decent signal and not very demanding content I used the LAN. The first time you connect to a device on your LAN you are prompted for a User Name/Password (if needed) and you can save that information in a “Shortcut” which you can use from then on to bypass the login. This works reasonably well.

Audio

Below is an example of playing an MP3:

You get some useful information as it plays, and not much else. It works as expected, and plays MP3, WMA, AAC, and OGG audio formats. It won’t play any DRM’d files, and can’t see shared iTunes libraries. It plays files.

Video

Let’s play a video!  Prepare yourself for some disappointment here. Video playback requires a discussion of codecs which is beyond the scope of this review. Suffice it to say that for an appliance (like this CMC1000) you’ll be able to play media it can play, and you won’t be able to play whatever it can’t. So, what can it play? It did pretty good with mpeg-ish stuff (mpg1 and mpg2 video, transport streams captured off cable, even ripped DVDs if they were copied onto the device) and it did ok with divx (some content downloaded off the Internet.) It failed at h.264 mpg4.

The browsing experience over the LAN is also a little problematic, since it wants to give you a preview for each video. Pause too long on a file name and it runs off and checks the LAN speed:

Then it gives you one of two results. The happy result is a preview of the video playing, along with media info:

The sad result is an error message (slightly misleading, if you ask me) if it cannot play that type of video:

I didn’t bother taking a photo of the video playback, as it was actually quite good (or rather, its as good as the source material) and the photos I attempted looked atrocious! If it can play your video file, it plays it quite well.

This then is the first major shortfall of this device. It failed to play quicktime/mpeg4, and other variants of h.264 videos. That’s the format used by a lot of HD video on the web, and many digital video records like my own Aiptek Action HD. In other words, I can’t view any of the hundreds of hours of video I’ve shot with the CMC1000. Not good.

There is some kind of streaming software provided on the CD – you can run this on a Windows PC on your LAN, point it at your h.264 videos, and then use the LAN view on the CMC1000 to stream them (converting on the fly to mpeg on the Windows machine) to the box. I assume it works, but frankly its not a solution to the problem.

Photo

Photo browsing from a LAN or internal store works much as video/audio. One typical use might be to view your freshly shot photos (or videos – if only it supported my video format) simply by connecting up the card from your camera.

Yes, it works. First, you get your card out, and then you plug it in. Hmmm… my Nikon D70 uses those large CF cards, guess I need to use my USB adapter. Uh, wait:

Minor annoyance – yank WiFi out, plug in card and…

Yay! The CMC1000 will happily play a slideshow of all images in a folder for you, with pleasing transition effects.

Its a VCR

I’ve finally figured out the recording model of the CMC1000. Plain and simple, it’s a VCR without the tapes. You can create schedules to record whatever is coming in via that AV composite connection at a given date and time, in whatever quality you desire. Selecting a higher quality uses more disk (the highest seems to be about 1MB/sec mpg2)

To test the function, I dug out my old DV camcorder, hooked up the analog output, and recorded a few clips. As advertised, when you select AV In from the main menu you see (side-boxed in 16:9 mode) whatever is going into that input. It’s playing/buffering, so you can Pause (up to 30 minutes or so) and then play/ff the signal. You can also simply hit the Record button to start recording (in a file with the current date/time stamp) whatever is going in.

This is a frame capture from the source (16:9, squeezed to 4:3, resized to 16:9 – isn’t analog FUN?) from the recording I made in the highest quality:

The files it produces are standard mpeg2 videos – you can copy them off and play them on a PC, burn them to a DVD, whatever. Is that a PVR? Well, not in the Tivo sense, no. It’s a video recorder plain and simple. Perhaps what’s worse is its an SD-video recorder, on a “HD” Multimedia box.

It’s a handy storage thingie

If you can plug it into the CMC1000, you can copy stuff onto or off of whatever you plugged in. For example let me grab those videos I recorded and dump them onto an SD card. Insert Card:

Use  Copy Files on the main menu to select source and destination:

And without much fuss it copies the stuff over. You could use it to quickly dump your photos from your digital camera without needing to boot a PC, for example.

I was also able to copy media off the LAN onto the HDD, and vice-versa, but the painfully slow speed of WiFi (or even 100mbit wired) makes this a poor choice. Trust me, you are better off using a USB drive, or carring this thing to whichever PC you want and plugging it in directly, unless you have hours to kill while your media trickles over the slow network links.

Its NOT a NAS

The CMC1000 lacks the ability to share its hard drive on the network. Yes, you read that correctly. It seems an obvious function of a network device with a disk drive, and yet it’s not supported. The device firmware can be updated, perhaps that will come in a future release.

Does It Blend?

The Cirago Multimedia Center is in the end the sum of the compromises needed to get all the various functionalities it offers into a small, cheap box. If it does what you need, it could be a great way to get a toe into the digital media age. I can’t help seeing all the flaws, but maybe my expectations are just too high.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: A/V, Audio, HDMI, Video

Cirago Multimedia Center Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 12, 2009 at 9:36 am.

I really hate it when I get a new gadget to review and find out too late that the necessary cables to hook it up haven’t been included in the package. There’s nothing worse than making a quick trip to Walmart, Best Buy, etc. only to have sticker shock when I see how much they want to charge for HDMI, Ethernet, and other cables. You would think they were made of gold or something. Ok, some of them do have gold plated connectors, but you get my point. So here’s a quick tip… buy a couple extra cables and put them in a drawer for a rainy day. Don’t buy them from a brick and mortar store though, you can save a lot of bucks by shopping at online retailers like Optimized Cable Company. They might be generic cables that don’t have a brand name like Monster, but they are certified by the same North American plant that gives both of them their HDMI ratings.

What do you think? Do you insist on brand name cables, or are you like me and look for a good bargain?

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: cables, Gear Diary, HDMI

Save money on cables by skipping brick and mortar stores originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 13, 2009 at 2:00 am.

There’s been a lot of interest in Digital Media Adapters and several companies are promoting them; WD, Iomega, Seagate, IOgear and now a newcomer, Hi-Denvision. Today we’ll take a look at the HD-0310 and see how it stacks up. I’ve had a chance to put it through its paces with various media formats and there were some unexpected surprises.

A Digital Media Adapter allows you to move various media from your PC to your TV using the tried and true sneakernet networking. I had plans to use the HD-0310 as a transport for recorded TV shows between my full time home, where I have cable TV and my summer cottage which has very limited TV reception.

Hardware Specifications:

Memory Card Type: Direct Slot: CF Type I/II, SD, SDHC, MMC, MS, MS Pro, MS PRO Duo, SmartMedia
With Adaptor: Micro SD, T-Flash, Micro SD, xD
USB: USB 2.0
Picture format: JPEG/HD JEPG
Background Music Playback: YES
Music format: MP3/WMA/MPEG-Audio Level1,2
Video format: Mpeg1/2/4, Divx4.1/5.0/5.1, AVI, XVID, MP4, Nero Digital
Hard Disk Support: FAT32 Multi-partition
AV Out: HDMI, CVBS, YUV, YPbPr
AV Out System: NTSC/PAL
Audio Output: Digital Optical
Power In: DC 12V/1000mA
OSD Language: English
HDMI: Output: 1080P / 1080I / 720P / 480P

In the box are:

HDMI Digital Photo viewer (HD-0310)
Remote Control
AC power adapter
Composite Video cable
Operation manual

The product appeared to be very early in the production cycle, as it came in a plain brown cardboard box and the “operation manual” was mostly a spec sheet.

The connectors on the rear panel are clearly marked and easy to access.

The front of the unit provides the connectors for a USB device and the several media cards. It also has the infrared sensor and a power indicator lamp.

The remote is light and necessary. Lose it or break it and the rest of the device becomes a paper weight. The buttons are the bubble type. It also is very directional.

There are no setup instructions in the documentation, but it seemed intuitive enough, so I plugged in the power, the provided composite video cables and loaded up a USB drive with some photos and various videos in different formats. I switched my TV to the correct AV input and pushed the power button on the HD-0310 remote.

I was presented with the main menu. Notice in the upper left hand corner that the letter M from Mini is cut off. No matter what resolution or aspect ratio I set the device or TV to would fix the problem. From this screen the different media can be selected or the remote button can directly select the function. I started off browsing some jpeg photos from my library.

You can scroll through the list of photos and a preview will appear in the box to the right. Selecting the photo and hitting play will generate a full screen image. If there are additional photos on the device, they will play sequentially. There appears to be no way to display a single image for an extended length of time.

I next moved to the music feature.

I was able to play the specified formats, but as with the photos, once you select a song in a list, it and all the others play in turn. There is no repeat or random function. I was also disappointed that the mp3s didn’t display more of the ID3 tags I had laboriously entered for all the tunes.

Movie mode was next.

My first attempt was to play an avi file taken by my Canon camera. It did not play, even though avi’s are part of the specification. I was able to get an DIVX encoded avi to work fine and to my surprise, VOB files played. I was able to show a ripped DVD, however, there was a significant pause between each vob file comprising the movie. Mpeg 2 files were no problem.

The last mode test was Slide. This allows you to sequentially show photos while also playing music that is on the same attached device. A secret I found out about slide mode is that you must be in it for the preview button on the remote to work. Nowhere in the documentation does it tell you this. Preview shows 9 photo thumbnails, of which you can select one to display full size.

Up until this point I was operating the unit with a thumb-drive. It was my intention to repeat the tests using USB hard drive. I loaded up a drive and plugged it in an was told it was “unsupported USB”. That had me going for a while. I tried several other drives and got the same result. After several days I discovered on Hi-Den Vision’s web site different technical specs than the ones listed on the supplied documentation. Apparently, only FAT32 formatted media is supported. This was almost a show stopper for me.

In the interests of a complete review, I reformatted one of my drives for FAT32. It worked the same as my thumb-drive. The only problem I had with the drive was I couldn’t copy a 4+gb movie clip from the PC to the drive because of the file size limitation of FAT32. A confusing feature of the device is that you can have both a usb device and media card plugged in at the same time and using the remote, switch between them. Because the display doesn’t show which one is active, I wasn’t sure which one I was using. I also used SD and memory stick cards and both worked exactly as the other devices.

The device bills itself as a High Def player, so I gathered up a spare set of component video cables and plugged them in. In 480p mode everything operated as before, but when I switched the device to 720p all I got was a green screen with random lines running thought it. One time I was able to get the main screen OK, but when I attempted to display a photo, again the screen went berserk. I tried different combinations of turning the TV and unit on and off with no better result. My TV works fine with my Linksys Media Center Adapter using component video, so I believe there’s a problem with the Hi-DEN unit.

Finally, I bought an HDMI cable and tried it. It worked better than the component video, but every time I went from displaying one photo to another, it would present a blue screen for several seconds and then re-synchronize. I didn’t bother to check out the built in HDMI switch. With today’s TVs having multiple HDMI inputs, it seems redundant.

I wanted the Hi-Den Vision unit to be a winner, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s ready for prime time. In addition to the shortcomings noted above, many times when I pressed a button on the remote I would get “not allowed” errors displayed on the screen. I never found an explanation for the errors and sometimes the function would activate anyway.

This device has poor documentation and the learning curve is too steep. I was also concerned that the support section of their web site is under construction. With the number of similar devices available I’d suggest you look elsewhere.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Home Tech

Tagged: HDMI, TV, Video

Hi-Den Vision Digital Photo Viewer Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 11, 2009 at 12:08 pm.