Tuesday, April 19, 2011

ASUS WiCast EW2000 Wireless HD Video Transmitter and Receiver

ASUS WiCast EW2000 Wireless HD Video Transmitter and Receiver
To start off, this product does exactly what it says it does. I put it through a variety of tests to see what my limitations were as I figure out the best setup. 

My primary interest in this device is being able to use my high-powered desktop PC with my plasma as an advanced theater/gaming setup. There was no latency as I played games (make sure you have a plasma, and not a LCD TV for near 0 response time in game video processing) and the video and audio quality were excellent and exactly the same as a direct connection. 

I then measured out different points in my apartment, 10ft, 20ft, 30ft, 40ft, 20ft through wall, and 30ft through wall. I then attached the unit to my laptop and tested the different locations. All locations except for 40ft and 30ft through wall worked exactly the same with no interference with my other wireless devices or change in performance. I found that the extended range through a wall composed of nothing but drywall/stud/drywall was about 24ft (results may vary for you though). The extended range of clear sight was about 33ft. This is much different than what some people have been reporting so I am not sure what to make of it. All locations were measured straight points using measuring tape. 

I want to use this in the future with an I/O HDMI switch box for multiple devices such as a cable box, PC, consoles, etc. for a TV wall mount setup, but I think there are better devices for this purpose. For instance, LG makes a HDMI wireless kit for its current model of plasmas and LCD TVs that connects multiple HDMI products into one wireless unit. I don't know what the latency of the device is as they don't specify. Also, briteView makes a very interesting multi-platform device with a range of 60ft I believe that has a similar function. These products are not much more expensive than this one. 

My main concerns with this product are that the recieving unit for the TV makes a buzzing sound during operation (faint, but noticeable up close) and I am concerned about leaving such a little device connected as there is no on/off functionality (it stays on the entire time it is connected). The power unit may or may not give out with time. The similar briteView product has a power button on the transmitter device, but I am unsure if it works for this purpose. 

Other than that, it is a great product.

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