Tired of messy cables ruining your TV
experience? Check this out
Like dangling vines of the Tarzan variety,
cables create a hideous mess behind the otherwise impressive equipment we have
on show in our living rooms. Leave them overnight, and they tangle themselves
into a knot of Gordian proportions, which can only be salvaged by the careful
wielding of a plastic kitchen implement, so why not do something about it?
Zyxel
WHD6215 Wireless HDMI Kit
Zyxel has a solution: the WHD6215 Wireless
HDMI Kit. The package comprises of a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, two
high-quality one meter HDMI cables, the power supplies for both units, a tiny
remote and a quick start poster. Setting up the kit is remarkably easy; you
simply attach one of the HDMI cables from the receiver to your TV and give it
some power. Then plug your HDMI device into the transmitting unit, and power it
up. Within 20 seconds, the green LED on the receiver will stop blinking, and
the image of whatever's attached to the transmitter will be displayed on the
TV, in glorious 1080p.
Both the receiving and transmitter units
are made from a lightweight plastic, with a nice shiny piano-black finish.
They're both very similar in appearance, but the receiver is roughly half the
size of its brother. The transmitting unit has four HDMI input ports on the
rear, along with power and a manual HDMI switch button. Into these, you would
plug your games console, Blu-ray player, computer or other media device. Once
an HDMI port detects a signal, one of the four LEDs will light up on the front
of the unit to signify activity. You can then use the manual switch on the rear
or swap between ports by using the wafer thin remote.
The receiving unit has a single HDMI port
on the side, an on/off switch on the opposite side, and power at the rear. As
we've already mentioned, it's smaller than the transmitter, and significantly
lighter, making it ideal for wall-mounting by using the included bracket.
Once hooked up and 'talking' to each other,
the output to the TV is superb; the latest Blu-ray offerings play without any
loss in picture quality, or messy out-of-sync audio. By transmitting the
digital information at a whopping 60GHz, Zyxel has created an interference-free,
line-of-sight connection that manages to keep even Blu-ray 3D visuals and sound
as crisp and clear as if you were playing the source directly over the HDMI
cable. However, move the two units more than ten meters apart and you'll start
to notice a drastic drop in image quality, until they eventually stop working
altogether at around the 14 meter mark.
By
transmitting the digital information at a whopping 60GHz, Zyxel has created an
interference-free, line-of-sight connection that manages to keep even Blu-ray
3D visuals and sound as crisp and clear as if you were playing the source
directly over the HDMI cable.
Interestingly, we were expecting the units
to stop working, or at the very least show some signs of deterioration when the
line of sight was broken, but they managed to keep up the signal strength even
through a partition wall -although it was a thin excuse for a wall. We did see
some degradation of the signal when attempting to play video through a thicker
wall, but in real-world terms you wouldn't have your hardware in one room and
the TV in another; you're more likely to have them in a separate area within
the same room.
It's difficult to find fault; after all,
the hardware works perfectly fine. Our only sudden sharp intake of breath came
when we saw the price, but this is top tech, so expect a premium price for the
time being. On the whole, though, it's an excellent bit of kit. Well designed
and a welcome addition to the living room technology experience. mm David
Hayward
“A superb example of wireless technology
improving our digital lifestyle”
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Details
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Price: $239.2
·
Manufacturer:Zyxel
·
Required spec: HDMI TV and devices
Features
·
Signal compatibility: 480i, 480p, 720p (3D),
1080i and 1080p FHDTV 2D & 3D.
·
Audio support: 2 to 8ch LPCM @32 KHz ~ 96 KHz,
2ch LPCM @176.4 KHz and 192 KHz, 2 to 6ch Dolby Digital & DTS @32 KHz ~
48 KHz
·
3D Frame support: frame packing, side by side,
top and bottom.
·
Power consumption:.9W max for the transmitter,
and 6.5W max for the receiver
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