The picture above is dominated by my giant 65″ TV, but you’ll notice two little speakers sitting in front of the screen (click for a larger view).  These little beauties are Mod 2 speakers from Orb Audio, a US-based “high-end speaker manufacturer who has proven that price does not equate to quality in the home audio industry.”  You’ll also see the Orb Audio Booster Amplifier in the right side of the TV cabinet (green lights identify it).  What you can’t see is the Super 8 subwoofer sitting on the floor behind the cabinet.  Orb Audio has added a couple of amplifiers to their offerings, and they offered The Gadgeteer the opportunity to review their Booster Mini Amplifier.  I was very excited to be selected to do the review, as it had been a few years since I had any sort of audio setup in my house.  I’d been making do with the wimpy built-in speakers in my TV and in my computer.  How do the Orb Audio Booster Mini Amplifier and Orb Audio speakers perform?  As a hint, we’ll find out their beauty is more than skin deep.

Most images can be clicked for an enlargement.

Orb Audio states their goal has always been “to turn the normal practices of many speaker manufacturers upside down, and to deliver speaker systems with the finest quality components, an attractive, upscale design and an affordable price.  The only way to accomplish all of this was to be different from the other players in the industry, make our speakers in the United States, and to sell them to our clients directly to avoid substantial (and totally unnecessary) markups.”  You won’t see Orb Audio products in a local store, unless you happen to be in New York City or Los Angeles.  If you wonder how you buy speakers without hearing them first, don’t worry.  You’ll get 30 days to try them out in your home before you commit to the purchase.

I’ve lusted for the Orb Audio speakers since Julie reviewed them with her own amp back in 2008.  I live in a small house with my family, and space is at a premium here.  The small size of these speakers is just what I needed, and I loved the sleek, round metal design.  I didn’t have an amplifier at the time, and I was paralyzed by the prospect of finding just the right amp to go with the speakers.  In 2008, I had a big rear-projection TV that had decent speakers, and I could listen to music with headphones, so I forgot about buying any A/V equipment at the time.

When I replaced my old TV with a flat-screen TV, I started thinking about home theater systems.  I didn’t want to buy one of those boxed systems.  I didn’t want a cheap system, but I didn’t want to buy a huge, expensive system, either. In the years since Julie’s review, Orb Audio has started offering some third-party home theater amplifiers that they have tested and determined to work well with their speaker systems.  I didn’t want to start with something as expensive as those amps, but I was intrigued by their own Booster Mini Amplifier.

The Booster Mini amp has entry-level home theater features.  You can use it with your TV, but you’ll only have left/right front channels.  There’s no surround sound with the Booster.  It was designed for use with computers, TVs, and MP3 players.  Just like with its bigger, more expensive cousins, you can hook up multiple sources and control playback with the included remote control.  You can add a subwoofer for fuller sound.  The Booster is great in the living room, bedroom, or anywhere you want music without investing a huge amount of money and needing a lot of space.

When I was selected to review the Booster Mini amp, I went to the Orb Audio website and ordered a Quick Pack set of Mod 1 speakers in hammered earth color to use with the amp. The beauty of the Orb Audio system is its modularity.  You can start small, like I planned to do, with just an amp and one pair of single orb speakers.  As you desire, you can build your system by adding a subwoofer, converting the Mod 1 speakers to Mod 2 or even Mod 4 speakers, adding a center channel speaker, or rear surround-sound speakers (with amps that have these other channels, at least).  I was going to start small with just one pair of Mod 1 speakers, and I planned to add a subwoofer later.

Imagine my surprise when a couple of big boxes arrived; Orb Audio had sent along some speakers and a subwoofer, too.

The Booster Mini amp is small, and it’s constructed of black aluminum.  It measures about 6″ wide X 6″ deep X 1.75″ tall.  The sides, bottom, and top are all solid metal with no grids or grills.  The front is simple with no gauges or dials.  You can see the power button at the far left (bottom) with a large IR sensor located above it.  Next is a status light (red when off, green when on), a button to select the input source, and four lights to indicate which source is currently selected.  There are two volume buttons, a mute button, and finally, indicator lights to show volume level (green, orange, red).

On the back, you can see there are four inputs: two sets of left/right RCA connectors and two headphone-style 3.5mm audio inputs.   With the Booster, you can connect a TV, DVD player, cable box, game console, or MP3 player, just like you can with larger amps.  Orb Audio says many people won’t even use 90% of the capabilities of bigger amps, so they created a small amp with the most essential features: multiple inputs, subwoofer support, remote control, and the like.  There’s also a connector for an IR blaster (not included) next to the subwoofer connector.  There’s a switch that lets you indicate if you are using the Booster with large speakers or small ones like the Orb Audio orbs.

You don’t connect the speakers to the Booster with RCA plugs.  You use bare speaker wire inserted into professional-quality speaker connectors.  Because it can be hard to connect speakers when the amp is installed in your equipment cabinet, Orb Audio uses a wiring harness that can be removed to connect the wires.  Once they are connected, you just snap the harness into the green connector seen above.

The Orb Audio website didn’t list technical specifications for the amp, but it does say the Booster produces 20W per channel.

You see the harness, complete with speaker wires, plugged in the back of the Booster here.  You’ll also see the DC power connector to the right of the harness.

There are only connectors for two speakers, left and right channels only.  There are no connections for a center channel speaker nor for rear surround-sound speakers.

This picture shows the beautiful Mod 2 speakers in hammered earth.  I had purchased a pair of hammered earth Mod 1 speakers, and Orb Audio included a pair of Mod 1 speakers in hammered earth in the kit they sent me.  They had also included a pair of Mod 2 speakers in bronze already installed on the optional stainless steel BOSS tabletop stands.  The bronze speakers are beautiful, but I had wanted the hammered earth in my living room.  I was able to captialize on the modular system, and I converted my two sets of Mod 1 hammered earth speakers into a pair of hammered earth Mod 2 speakers.

Technical Specifications for Mod 1 and Mod 2 Speakers

• Speaker type: Magnetically shielded full-range satellite speaker.  Crossover-free design for coherent, lifelike sound.
• Driver: Advanced high-excursion 3″ full range polypropylene driver cone with Santoprene surround.  These materials maintain their sonic characteristics over long periods of time and also through a broad range of temperatures and operating environments.
• Magnet assembly: Fully shielded, high-density neodymium magnet with proprietary voice coil in high tolerance gap to create strong, highly focused magnetic field.  Compact magnet design allows for maximum free internal volume and extension of low midrange performance.
• Binding posts: Custom gold-plated brass binding posts (fits up to 14 Ga. wire)
• Frequency response: 80Hz – 20,000Hz (120Hz-18,000Hz optimal)
• Efficiency:  89dB
• Impedance: Mod1:  8 ohms nominal; Mod2:  4 ohms nominal. (Mod2 is compatible with all popular receivers & amps rated at 6-8 ohms)
• Power handling: 15 – 115W (also compatible with most higher wattage receivers, max. recommended volume setting of about 3/4 will be LOUD!)
• Speaker dimensions: 4 3/16″ W x 4 3/16″ H x 4 7/8″ D
• Construction: American carbon steel, assembled in USA
• Finishes: metallic black, pearl white, hammered earth, polished steel, antiqued bronze, antiqued copper
• Included accessories: 16 gauge American steel adjustable desk stands (available in black and white)

This is a pair of Mod 1 speakers in bronze on the standard black tabletop stands.

I was worried about the magnets in these speakers, because I was going to set them on the TV cabinet in front of my TV.  Because of the strange shape of my cabinet, the speakers couldn’t be placed beside the TV.  The tech specifications say that the  neodymium magnets are fully shielded and have a very focused field.  I tried testing the magnets by seeing if a hairpin would stick to the speakers anywhere.  The same hairpin that stuck to the magnets in the Smart Cover on my iPad 2 didn’t stick at all to these Orb speakers.

The back of the speakers are threaded; you attach the speaker stands here.  The standard tabletop stands and the plastic-capped attachment screws are shown in the middle photo.  The speakers attach to the BOSS steel stands using screws and a plastic spacer.  You’ll need a Phillips-head screwdriver to assemble the Mod 2s on the BOSS stands.

These gold-plated posts are the speaker wire attachments.  For Mod 1 speakers, you simply push down on the top and insert the speaker wires to make the connection.  The posts are marked red or black on the top.  To prevent damage to the speakers or the system, be sure you check out the online installation guides before hooking things up.  Mod 2 speakers require an extra step.  You have to use jumper wires (included) to connect the two speakers together.  Again, follow the directions found at the Orb Audio site.

I guess it goes without saying, but the difference between Mod 1 and Mod 2 setups is that you get more volume from more speakers.  There’s also a slightly extended frequency range with the Mod 2s.

And speaking of extended frequency ranges, you probably noticed in the technical specifications for the speakers that the lower end starts at 80Hz.  If you use only orb speakers and no subwoofer, you’ll probably still get better sound than you get from your computer or TV speakers, but it will be missing the thumping bottom end.  To be sure that I got to hear the Booster Mini at its best, Orb Audio also sent along their Super Eight Custom subwoofer.

Front of the Super Eight subwoofer

Technical Specifications for Super Eight Custom Subwoofer

• Speaker type: High-performance ported bass-reflex design.
• Port type: Precision-tuned flared snorkel port.
• Amplifier type and power:  Custom high-power BASH digital hybrid amplifier with digital switching power supply for enhanced peak power output.  200W (continuous), 450W+ (peak)
• Amplifier THD: <.05% (100hz at full power)
• Amplifier S/N: >95dB
• Driver: Super long-throw 8″ high-performance driver with composite paper/high density ABS cone.  This yields rigid, lightweight design with excellent low frequency performance and increased detail and musicality.
• Magnet assembly: 30 oz. ferrite magnet
• Frequency response: 28-180hz.  Adjustable Crossover (40-160hz)
• Max. SPL peak: 111dB
• Max. long-term SPL: 107dB
• Dimensions: 12″ H x 11 3/4″ D x 11 1/2″ W (optional 1″ feet); 26 pounds

Features

• Adjustable phase (0-180)
• Adjustable crossover (40-160hz)
• Temperature protect circuitry
• Auto/On/Off Power
• RCA gold-plated stereo line level inputs
• High level gold-plated inputs and outputs
• 12dB/Octave hi-pass circuit

Bottom, showing the snorkel port. The optional feet are installed.

The back of the Super Eight has a multitude of controls.  Refer to the installation booklet, available on the Orb Audio website, for instructions.  You’ll also notice that the subwoofer has its own 200W amp inside, so you don’t have to wonder how a 20W Booster is going to drive a big subwoofer.

The thick black cable on the left connects the subwoofer to the Booster amp.  The cables on the right are speaker cables for the Mod 2 speakers.  I don’t know if they always come attached to the wiring harness, or if Orb Audio sent them that way to be sure they were hooked up properly for the review. 

I’m thinking it was the latter, since the Booster box had another wiring harness in it, along with a screwdriver sized to fit the screws on the harness.  There were also two booklets, the power supply for the amp, and a remote for the amp.  (Not pictured: power cord for the subwoofer.)

This system will be used in my living room as the sound system for my HDTV.  I connected the audio out from my TV to one of the Booster’s inputs using RCA cables.

I’d also like to use it for my music library in iTunes on my computer.  Unfortunately, my desk is on the opposite side of the room from my TV, and I don’t want to have to drape a 15-foot audio cable across the room.  I also don’t want to have to take my computer over and connect it to the amp while I’m listening to music.

I got an Apple Airport Express Base Station so that I could stream music wirelessly from iTunes to the Orb Audio system.  I plugged the Airport Express into a power outlet and spent about a minute connecting it to my wireless network.  I then connected it to the Booster amp using a audio cable.

I still have one RCA connector and one audio connector free on the Booster for future expansion. 

I put the Super Eight subwoofer on the floor behind my TV cabinet.  (Please excuse the dust.)  My cabinet fits catercorner across one corner of my living room.  The Super Eight is small enough that I’ll be able to push the cabinet back into place in the corner.

Because of the elongated diamond shape of my cabinet, you can see that the Mod 2 speakers block a bit of the screen.  I have ordered some floor stands from Orb Audio, so I’ll be able to place the speakers to either side of my TV.  I’ll try to add a picture of the speakers on their new stands later.

You can see the Booster amp in its new home in my cabinet.  Luckily, I don’t need an IR blaster for this setup.  The remote works well with the amplifier behind the glass doors of the cabinet.

Okay, I’ve written books about this system – now how does it sound?  It sounds just as good as it looks – and it looks gorgeous.  I don’t know all the fancy audiophile terms to describe performance, but I’ll try to tell you how the system sounds.  I’ve tried playing back music from iTunes, I’ve watched TV shows, and I’ve watched DVDs.  Everything sounds wonderful.  As I listened, I tried a couple of different settings for the subwoofer to get the bass to the volume level I preferred.  I tried listening to the music with the subwoofer turned off, too.  The Mod 2 s sounded good by themselves, but the subwoofer adds a whole new dimension to the music.

I listened to classical music, rock music, live music, and vocal music.  It all sounds rich and warm.  Even at a moderate volume for both the speakers and the subwoofer, I get room-filling sound.  (For reference, my living room is 17′ X 13.5′.)  Next I raised the volume until the indicator lights on the front of the Booster went into the orange range, then I backed it off one click into the green range.  (It was loud enough that I sent my husband outside to see if we were blasting the neighbors.)  I never heard any distortion from the speakers at this level.

Between songs, the speakers were quiet as death – no hiss or hum at all.  Music was clean and clear and bright, but never shrill.  Acoustic guitars sounded like someone was sitting in front of me playing.  Vocals were rich.  Both Josh Groban and Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s voices were deep and resonant enough that I could feel their lower notes. I heard things in live music that I had forgotten were even there.

The balance between the Mod 2 speakers and the subwoofer was perfect.  The bass was full and thumping, but it never overpowered the mid and high ranges.  I could feel the bass notes, but they never caused any rattling or buzzing.  It’s been a long time since I’ve heard music played back on really good speakers, and it was wonderful to experience it again.

The stereo separation is limited right now by the placement of my speakers, but I’ll be able to move them a bit once I get the floor stands.

The speakers also worked well with my TV and DVD player.  As I mentioned, the Booster doesn’t do surround sound, but the Booster amp and Orb speakers sound worlds better than the built-in TV speakers.  Action sequences have more excitement to them with the added clarity, volume, and bass.  Dialogue is clearer and easier to understand, too.

I think the Booster amp is a great entry-level amp for your home theater and audio system setup.  It has plenty of power to produce room-filling sound that improves on anything you’ll get from your standard TV or computer speakers.  Paired with the Orb Audio speakers and subwoofer, you’ll hardly notice it’s missing middle and rear channels.  It works well enough that I doubt I’ll ever be tempted to “upgrade” to another amp.  I love the speakers.  I love the way they look, I love the sound, and I love the size.  I’ve never had a subwoofer before, and I’ll admit I was a bit worried it would be too loud.  It’s amazing how much dimension it adds to the overall sound of the music.  I like the Booster Mini Amplifier and the Orb speaker system.  It brings a whole new level to my enjoyment of music and movies.

And I didn’t want to waste the Mod 1 speakers, so I ordered a couple of Orb Audio’s Mini-T amplifiers to use in other rooms in my house.  I’ll review the Mini-T soon.

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

Tagged: Home Theater, Speakers

Orb Audio Booster Mini Amplifier and Speaker System Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 8, 2012 at 11:00 am.

Sharp introduces a new audio system to complete your home theater setup.  Their HT-SL70 system includes twin sound bars and a subwoofer.  The sound bars can be used vertically beside the TV on their included stands or placed together horizontally in front of the set like more traditional sound bars.  Each slim sound bar produces 50W and is 40-3/16″ x 1-1/32″ x 1-31/32″; the 100W subwoofer is 4-1/2″ x 16-5/8″ x 12-1/16″.  You connect the system to your TV using the TV’s headphone jack or through an HDMI Audio Return Channel terminal that allows audio to be sent from your display to your receiver through the same HDMI cable already being used to send audio and video to your display.  The HT-SL70 is $299.00 directly from Sharp.  You can search for other retailers on the HT-SL70 page.

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

Tagged: Home Theater, sound system

2.1 Home Theater Sound Bar System with Subwoofer from Sharp originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 25, 2011 at 11:40 am.

RedEye products and apps from ThinkFlood have allowed you to use your iOS devices as home theater remotes for a couple of years now.  If you add some of their hardware connectivity products, you can even use them to control lights and appliances in your home.  But why should Apple users have all the fun?  ThinkFlood has just announced their RedEye application for Android smartphones and tablets.  The RedEye Android app is compatible with networked RedEye products (RedEye and RedEye Pro) and supports devices running Android 1.6 and later, including 3.0 (Honeycomb) for tablets. RedEye is currently the only remote control platform compatible with Android smartphones and tablets.  You’ll be able to define profiles for each networked system or each room in your house, and everyone with an Android device will be able to share the profiles so each has his own remote control.  You can customize button layouts for your remotes, and keyboard shortcuts in Android allow you to easily control functions.  There’s even a program guide in the application to help you plan your viewing.

RedEye hardware can be purchased online from ThinkFlood and is available from dealers and retailers worldwide, in more than 60 countries.  You can obtain the app in the Android marketplace.  See the full press release (after the jump) for more details.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Do-It-Yourself, News

Tagged: Home Automation, Home Theater, Remote control applications

Control Your Home Theater – and Even Your Home – With RedEye for Android originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 18, 2011 at 8:49 am.

Soundscience promises that these rockus 3D|2.1 speakers, designed by Antec, sound as good as they look.  The satellite midrange speakers are made of anodized aluminum to reduce vibration and minimize distortion.  The active subwoofer with passive radiator technology delivers as much bass as bigger subwoofers.  Drivers are 3D-optimized for Soundscience’s 3Dsst technology so you can envelope yourself in 3-dimensional sound while playing games or watching movies, but they can still deliver great stereo sound for enjoying music.  You’ll get a remote control pod (that’s the little thing that looks like a milk can in the picture) for volume adjustment or muting, 3D/music mode selection, and digital/analog input selection.  List price is $199.99, and you can get them directly from Antec’s online store, Amazon.com, and Newegg.com.

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

Tagged: Audio speakers, Home Theater

Soundscience rockus 3D|2.1 Speaker System originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm.

IOGEAR is introducing two 2.4GHz keyboards. The GKM581R is a full sized ergonomic on-lap style keyboard and the GKM571R is a mini keyboard with an integrated trackball and backlit keys. The keyboards require a small USB RF receiver and are compatible with both PCs and Macs. IOGEAR’s GKM571R mini keyboard will be priced a $99.95 and the full sized GKM581R will be $89.95. Both will be shipping later this year. Full press release after the jump.

IOGEAR’s 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboards Enable Comfy and Mobile Home Multimedia Navigation

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

Tagged: Home Theater, Keyboard, Spotlight Gadgets

IOGEAR Introduces Two Wireless Keyboards Perfect for Computer Based Home Theaters originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 17, 2010 at 10:00 am.

You know how you can control some smartphones with your voice? Would you like to do the same thing with your home theater? Now you can with the Amulet Voice Remote for Windows Media Center. This remote doesn’t look much different than a typical remote control, but it has a built in microphone that listens for your voice commands when you tilt it upwards. You can say “Play artist Kings of Leon” and it will do just that. Or you can say “Watch program Big Bang Theory” and it will do so. You can even skip commercials by using a command. The remote is available now for $259.

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

Tagged: Home Theater, Spotlight Gadgets, Windows Media Center

Amulet Voice Remote for Windows 7 Media Center Now Shipping originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 8, 2010 at 9:19 pm.

Controlling a PC, Mac or Playstation 3 that is connected to your television can sometimes be a huge hassle. Wireless keyboards are too large and bulky, while regular sized remote controls are too small and limited. The GlideTV Navigator Remote combines features from both and packages them into a hand friendly design. But let’s see if it can actually do the job of controlling your HTPC.

Hardware Specs

Wireless Technology: Proprietary low power 2.4GHz wireless RF technology
Compatible with: Windows XP (32 or 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 or 64 bit), Windows 7 (32 or 64 bit), Mac OS X and PlayStation 3

What’s in the box

GlideTV Navigator
Charging station
USB Wireless Receiver
6ft USB 2.0 A – Mini-B cable
USB AC power adapter
User guide

The Navigator is a diamond shaped device made of Black plastic. The top surface has a touchpad in the center with 8 buttons surrounding it that map to keyboard functions such as ESC, back, function and Enter. The touchpad works like a mouse to move the cursor around on the screen. It’s also a button that you can press like a Left mouse button.

To the Left of the touchpad is the power button. According to the GlideTV site, this button is supposed to turn off the Navigator. When used with my Mac, pressing that button brings up the shutdown dialog box for the computer. On the Right side of the touchpad is the search button. Pressing this will bring up the web search dialog. The top GlideTV logo button brings up the home launch pad. Below the home button are buttons to control volume and below the touchpad are buttons to control your media player.

The base of the Navigator is rounded, which allows it to fit perfectly in the palm of your hand while you’re using it. You’ll also notice the contacts on the bottom. They mate with the included charging cradle.

The Navigator rests in the cradle to charge. You’ll know when you’ve placed it correctly as the buttons will light up and flash twice.

To use the remote, you first have to charge it either by connecting it to your computer with the included USB cable or to the included USB AC adapter. Once it’s charged, you can plug the USB wireless receiver into your computer and then visit the GlideTV website to download the appropriate software for your Windows or Mac computer. There’s also a Firefox extension that can be installed to allow you to get the most from your couch surfing adventures.

Here is the home screen that will be displayed in full screen (at least on my Mac) when the logo button is pressed on the Navigator. Using the touchpad, you can bring up the Applications and Websites lists. You can also search the internet and customize some of the settings.

The default set of applications is shown above. You can easily edit this list as you see fit.

The same goes for the websites lists. Clicking one of the website buttons will bring up that site in your default web browser.

The search feature will bring up an onscreen keyboard and will allow you to conduct various searches.

Clicking the button to the Right of the search field will let you choose where you’ll search from. That’s a pretty cool feature if  for example, you usually just search for videos to watch on Hulu. Clicking the Hulu button will cause all further searches to only go to Hulu until you change it to another search engine.

Using the GlideTV Navigator to control a computer from across the room is really easy. Using the touchpad to move the cursor around the screen feels pretty comfortable when using the thumb of the hand that you’re holding it in. The size is perfect for me and I was able to easily reach all the buttons with my thumb. I do wish there was a way to customize the cursor speed though as the touchpad is FAST. Another customization feature that is lacking is the ability to reassign the buttons surrounding the touchpad. Since I’m a Lefty, it feels weird to hold the Navigator in my Left hand and have to press the Right shoulder button to move back one webpage. I wish the Back button were on the Left shoulder instead.

I didn’t notice any problems with range and was able to control my Mac from more than 20 ft away. The large full screen menus make it really easy. I also didn’t have any problems with battery life. That said, I just placed the GlideTV in the charging dock whenever I wasn’t using it.

The GlideTV definitely blows the EFO Wireless Keyboard I reviewed a few weeks ago out of the water, even without the physical keyboard. I guess that it should though since it costs over 3 times as much. Price is really the only thing that will keep most people from buying this remote as an impulse purchase. Everything else about it is pretty much perfect.

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

Tagged: Home Theater, Remote

GlideTV Navigator Remote Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 31, 2009 at 2:57 pm.

The “world’s first” Man Wall includes four flat-screen HDTV (all operated by one remote). There’s a 42″ Vizio and three 26″ Vizios. You also get a 1000 watt 5.1 home theater system, a DVD player with a 5-disc changer, wireless surround sound speakers, an iPod dock, a live 7-foot sports ticker (with a year of free service), a full-size kegerator, a 1000 watt microwave, two cigar humidors that hold 25 cigars each, and a 32-bottle wine rack. This can all be yours for $14,900. Guys, put this on your Christmas list!

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

Tagged: Furniture, Home Theater, Spotlight Gadgets

Here’s a man wall for your man cave originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 23, 2009 at 10:44 am.

How many remote controls do you have for all of your home theater equipment? Do you know how to use all of them? If you’re reading this site, then you probably do But does everyone in your family know how to use them? Do you often hear someone from the living room asking you what they need to do to watch a DVD or play their XBOX games? The Yamaha neoHD looks like it could be an interesting solution. I have eight remotes littering my coffee table. I have no problems using any of them, but the person I live with is very intimidated by these multi-buttoned contraptions. She won’t even try to figure them out on her own because she’s afraid she’ll mess something up.

The Yamaha neoHD looks like it would be a lot easier to use because it only has a few buttons. How does it work? It interfaces with your TV to show options on your TV screen. They have 3 versions. One that controls your AV equipment, one that adds wifi music streaming from your computer and another that includes speakers and a subwoofer. The three systems are really expensive though… They start out at $599.95 and go up to $799.95.

If you would like to have one of these remotes of your own, you can enter the Yamaha neoHD Sweepstakes for a chance. There are two ways to enter the contest:

a. by Tweeting: “I just entered to win a #neoHD b/c I have too many remotes, visit (blog.izea.com) to enter”

b. or enter via blog.izea.com

You can find neoHD on facebook.

Does the Yamaha neoHD remote look good to you? Are you going to enter the contest?

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: Home Theater, Remote Control, Spotlight Gadgets

One remote to rule them all – YAMAHA neoHD originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 3, 2009 at 7:51 pm.

Small, easy to use media players for your living room have been showing up Left and Right lately. Ones that immediately come to mind are the ever popular WD TV HD and Popcorn Hour Media Tank players that I’ve reviewed. I love em both. But now Mvix is coming on the scene with the Ultio (MX-800HD). This bad boy can handle 1080p and just about any video format known to man. It’s currently available for pre-order, but will be selling for $169 with no hard drive (you can connect external USB drives to it) up to $308 with a 1.5TB drive. I can’t wait to see how this one stacks up to my two favorites.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear

Tagged: Home Theater, Video

Mvix Ultio – The ultimate media player for your TV? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2009 at 4:38 pm.