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Polk Audio Commander Soundbar review

REVIEW – I’ve owned or reviewed several soundbars, hoping to more closely approximate my beloved cinema experience. Looking to upgrade, Polk Audio’s Commander Soundbar has entered my living room to tantalize my eardrums.

What is it?

The Polk Audio Commander Soundbar is a self-contained, wall mountable speaker system with an integrated amplifier, Bluetooth receiver, built-in Amazon Echo (AKA Alexa) and wireless subwoofer.

What’s in the box?

  • Soundbar
  • Wireless subwoofer
  • Remote control
  • Two AAA batteries
  • Two-meter HDMI cable
  • Two-meter optical cable
  • Soundbar power supply and cord
  • Subwoofer power cord
  • Product manual

Hardware specs

  • Soundbar Dimensions 2″ (5.08 cm) x 42.95″ (109.09 cm) x 4″ (10.16 cm)
  • Soundbar Weight 4.95 lbs (2.25 kg)
  • Soundbar Dimensions 2″ (5.08 cm) x 42.95″ (109.09 cm) x 4″ (10.16 cm)
  • Soundbar Weight 4.95 lbs (2.25 kg)
  • Bluetooth 802.11a/b/g/n/AC – 2.4GHz & 5GhzPower 160 watts, Class D amplifier
  • Two HDMI (ARC) inputs, 4K HDMI 2.0a (HDR Compatible)
  • One Toslink OpticalVideo Pass-through input
  • One output, 4K HDMI 2.0a (HDR Compatible)
  • Subwoofer dimensions 14.43″ (36.65 cm) x 7.4″ (18.8 cm) x 14.5″ (36.83 cm)
  • Subwoofer weight 8.65 lbs (3.92 kg)
  • Ported enclosure with integrated 6.5″ (16.51 cm) diameter subwoofer
  • Plastic construction

Design and features

Setup

The box the equipment arrives in is a behemoth, protecting her contents with egg-carton loving care. Unboxing reminded me of pulling a car out of a tight-fitting garage.

The Polk Commander soundbar hardware assembly is straight-forward –plug-in power, HDMI or optical to your TV, put batteries in the remote and place the soundbar on or under the TV.

I elected to put mine on top for cabling reasons.

The subwoofer plugs in and that’s it. There are pairing buttons on the soundbar and subwoofer, but I didn’t need to use them because the components paired automatically.

Next, the soundbar needs to connect to your home network with assistance from the Polk Connect app. After downloading and creating an account, the app walks through the Wi-Fi connection process and linking your Amazon account. All went smoothly with friendly voice prompts. Once connected, the Polk App no longer needed, save for FAQs or setting up another soundbar.

…and so on…

Performance

After everything was connected, I started Netflix and started a few different titles with lots of booms and “clink-clinks.” A few tweaks and my living room was shaking with thundering bass, crisp treble, and excellent high-quality audio, literally vibrating my sternum and hardwood floors, raising a few concerned expressions from our house bunny, Oki.

Even the contra-bass in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival overture could be clearly discerned – not an easy feat for audio reproduction. I had been listening to the same recording for years before I purchased headphones of sufficient quality to hear these near 20Hz notes. In fact, for some, the notes are so low they are more “felt” than heard. The Polk Commander had no problems coaxing these hidden musical gems out to play.

The Commander’s volume can be controlled through my TV so there is no need for juggling remotes.

PCM audio and 2-channel Dolby digital are supported. Make no mistake, this is not a true surround-sound system and won’t give you the sensory experience of having side and rear speakers, but the audio from the Polk Commander is pretty darn good.

I connected Bluetooth and fired up a playlist with some heavy bass and cranked up the volume. For the first time in many years, I felt so enraptured by my tunes that I broke into spontaneous air-guitar. So much fun! I’ll need to be cognizant of the volume as to not annoy my neighbors too much.

Using Amazon Echo was essentially the same as the other units I have in my home, but the microphones appear to be much more sensitive than my “Echo Dots” and audio is muted while Alexa is annunciating. I was impressed that Alexa actually heard me calling her other audio cranked up.

There’s also a dedicated remote control button should this be your preference.

What I like

  • Premium quality sound
  • Easy set-up
  • Great value

What needs to be improved

  • Some Amazon Echo functions are missing but may be introduced in subsequent updates.

Final thoughts

The sound quality is pristine and is a major improvement over other sound bars I’ve used and, at about $300 is an excellent value. Room-filling sound, faithful audio reproduction, and solid performance make the Polk Commander soundbar a big winner in my book.

Price: $249.00
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Polk Audio.

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Polk Audio Commander Soundbar review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 5, 2019 at 10:30 am.

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Get your geek on with NatGeo’s new series Valley of the Boom

NEWS – National Geographic is back with another limited series in the same style as the Mars series I told you about last fall. This time the show isn’t about outer space, it’s about the internet in the 90s when regular people like you and I first started learning about the World Wide Web, @ symbols, and more. The show is called Valley of the Boom and it is a “mostly” true account of the days before there was a Google, Facebook, or YouTube and when a little web browser called Netscape that started the browser wars.

Just like MARS, Valley of the Boom mixes a scripted storyline with actors like Bradley Whitford, Steve Zahn, and Lamorne Morris, with short documentary segments with the actual people that these actors are portraying. The series shares behind the scenes stories that happened during the dot-com tech gold rush and for nerds like me, this series is an entertaining trip down memory lane not long before The Gadgeteer was just starting getting started.

Valley of the Boom is a six-episode series that started last Sunday. Two episodes are available to stream right now and two more will be released each Sunday for the next two weeks. Head over to nationalgeographic.com to watch now.

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Get your geek on with NatGeo’s new series Valley of the Boom originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 18, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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ScreenBeam Mini2 wireless display adapter review

REVIEW – Have you ever wanted to display content from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop wirelessly to a TV or monitor without bringing your home’s WiFi to its knees? Actiontec has a solution for Windows and Android devices called the ScreenBeam Mini2. Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The ScreenBeam Mini2 is a wireless display adapter that plugs into an open HDMI port on a display/TV and receives streaming video from a Windows laptop, Android smartphone, or Android tablet through the WiFi network created by the ScreenBeam Mini2 adapter and not your home’s wireless network.

Hardware specs

  • Supports up to full 1080p30 HD video and 2 channel stereo
  • Dual Band: Supports both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi frequencies

Compatibility

  • Windows device running Windows 8.1 or newer AND supports WiDi
  • Android device running v4.2 or newer AND have native Miracast, Smart View, or Mirroring support.

What’s in the box?

  • ScreenBeam Mini2 wireless display adapter
  • HDMI extender cable
  • Micro USB cable
  • AC adapter
  • Instructions

Design and features

The ScreenBeam Mini2 looks like an oversized USB thumb drive, but instead of a USB-A connector on the end, it has a full-sized HDMI connector.

On one side is a reset switch and a micro USB port which is used to power the adapter.

Installing the ScreenBeam Mini2 adapter is simple as long as you have a TV or monitor that has an available full-sized HDMI port.

All you have to do is plug the adapter into the HDMI port and also connect the included micro USB cable to the power adapter and plug it in. If you don’t have an outlet near the TV or monitor, you can do like I did and plug the micro USB cable into a USB port on my Denon AV receiver or even one on your TV or monitor.

I tested the ScreenBeam Mini2 with two different displays and four devices. The first test was with the BenQ 27 inch PD2710QC monitor and the Huawei MediaPad M5.

After plugging in the ScreenBeam Mini2 adapter, I switched to the HDMI input with the ScreenBeam Mini2 adapter and was greeted by the screen you see above.

The next step was to go into the MediaPad’s settings and start MirrorShare which is a built-in feature of this tablet. As soon as I enabled it, it started scanning for available devices and displayed the ScreenBeam Mini2 as an option.

Tapping the icon on the MediaPad changed the display on the monitor to show that it was connecting to it.

Just as a reminder… Unlike Google’s Chromecast dongle, the ScreenBeam Mini2 does not require that you have a WiFi network in your home or any internet connectivity at all for that matter. The adapter itself uses its own WiFi to connect the two devices without any need to configure, type in login IDs or passwords.

Within seconds, I was viewing the same thing on the monitor that was displaying on the tablet. I was able to see a mirror of the Android tablet’s display while running apps, browsing the web, viewing pictures from the image gallery, videos I’d recorded, etc.

But within minutes I ran into some issues worth noting. Although the Netflix app launches and displays the interface on the mirrored display, as soon as you begin watching a video, the mirrored display turns black. You can still hear audio though. I then tried the Hulu app and had the same disappointing results.

But when I tried YouTube, I had success. Videos played fine and looked great. Look, it’s Casey Neistat. Love that guy!

One other thing to note is when I turned off the display on the tablet, the connection between the two devices was broken.

I then tested the Huawei P20 with the ScreenBeam Mini2 and my VIZIO M-Series (M65-F0) 4K HDR Smart TV by plugging the ScreenBeam Mini2 into the AUX HDMI port on my Denon AV receiver.



As expected, the setup was pretty much identical to using the MediaPad with the BenQ monitor as the P20 also has the MirrorShare feature.

One thing to keep in mind is that for best video and audio results, the source device (in this case the P20 smartphone) should be placed within 30 feet of the receiver (in this case, the Denon AV receiver connected to the Vizio TV).

Just like with the MediaPad, viewing my pics, local video, apps, browser, and YouTube all worked fine and turning the phone to landscape view would cause the video to go full screen – or almost full screen. You can see that there is a big “frame” around the video on the Vizio TV.

But as soon as I tried to play a Netflix flick, I was denied…

Hulu fared the same. 🙁

My third test was with my Pixel 2 XL and I had even worse luck with the previous tests because good ole Google removed screen sharing features like Miracast from Pixel devices because they want people to buy their Chromecast. Grrrrrrrrrr… Google, you’re not my friend right now.

For my fourth and final test, I tried my Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 and whaddya know, it was the best combo yet!

Samsung’s mirroring feature is called Smart View and it works wonderfully in a couple different ways. First of all, Netflix works perfectly, no black screen of sorrow!

And second of all, the screen will blank out on the tablet to conserve battery life. Yay!

What I like

  • Easy to install
  • Doesn’t require an existing network

What needs to be improved

  • Needs support for Apple devices
  • Needs to be able to work with Netflix, Hulu, and other popular streaming services through all mirroring types
  • Needs to support streaming 4K Ultra HD videos.

Final thoughts

If you’re looking for a dirt simple way to mirror your Android or Windows screen on a TV or Monitor without using your network or wires, the ScreenBeam Mini2 might be the perfect solution for you. That is if you have an Android device that supports Miracast, or a Windows device that supports WiDi AND you don’t mind potentially not being able to use it for Netflix or Hulu depending on your device. Yes, there are a lot of caveats to this product, but I think it will be an easy way to bring my favorite shows with me when I’m on vacation and want to watch them on a larger screen.

Price: $49.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by ScreenBeam. Please visit their site for more info.

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ScreenBeam Mini2 wireless display adapter review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 13, 2018 at 12:52 pm.

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Caavo Control Center universal TV remote & home theater hub review


NEWS – The combination of me being a gadget nerd and a TV junkie means that I have multiple streaming boxes and other such devices all connected in some form or fashion. My main TV only has 2 HDMI inputs, but I have been getting along because my Tablo and AirTV boxes are connected via ethernet and work via their respective apps. However, I just bought the new Roku 4K Premiere + stick and the new Amazon 4K Fire Stick and along with my Android box and DVD, I am out of HDMI ports. What is the possible solution you might ask? ………………Enter the Caavo Control Center.

What is it?

Caavo is an all-in-one solution for television entertainment that allows you to connect up to 4 devices and control them all with one remote. You can watch your cable TV, DVR, your streaming devices and online apps like YouTube and Netflix. It supports 4K UHD, HDR and Dolby Sound, Google Voice & Amazon Alexa, and it also works with sound bars and audio/video recorders.

What’s in the box


1 x Caavo
1 x AC Adapter
2 x AAA Batteries
1 x Quick Start Guide
1 x Warranty Info
1 x Remote Control
1 x Double Headed IR Blaster Cable/Sensor
2 x Adhesive Pads

Design and features

Specifications:

Main Unit Size: 263 x 150 x 35 mm
Weight: 1.0kg
Connectivity: HDMI: 4 inputs, 1 output. HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2; IR: 3.5mm IR out
Power Adaptor: 110-240V 50-60Hz AC. Draws up to 700mA; Set: DC 12V 2A
Ethernet: 100Mbps
Wireless: 2.4 and 5 GHz (802.11 2×2 ac) and Bluetooth 4.0
Supported Audio Formats: PCM, 8 Channels, 24 bits, 192 kHz, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos up to 8 channels and up to 192 kHz; DTS and DTS-HD Master Audio up to 8 channels and up to 192 kHz
Supported Video Formats: max RGB/YUV444/YUV422/YUV420 4K (3840×2160) 10-bit at 60Hz, HDR pass-through (HDR 10)

Looking down at the top of the Caavo from above see this beautiful, sleek device with the brand name in the middle and the power button on the right lower corner. There is an on/off LED light in a circle around the edges of the power button.

On the back of the Caavo from left to right, there are 4 HDMI input ports, the HDMI output port to your TV or recording device, the ethernet port, the IR port, and the AC adapter port.

The all-inclusive remote includes buttons for controlling streaming boxes like Roku, etc, audio for sound bars, power on/of for TVs, a microphone button for voice control, etc.

Performance

When you first connect the Caavo, you have to connect it to your network. At first, I connected it to my wireless network just to see how easy the process was, and it was easy. However, I then used an ethernet cable to hardwire it to my network. I prefer a wired connection.

Once you power up the Caavo, it goes through an initial process that includes restarts and updates. The onscreen prompts and instructions are very intuitive and very easy to follow. Once it finished its startup process, it then started to identify the devices connected to its HDMI ports. It very quickly identified the Roku and Amazon Fire Stick and while it saw my Android streaming box, it was not able to identify it by make and model.

The next step of the setup process took me through setting up each attached device to ensure that the remote was able to assume the functionality of the original remote for each device. This process was a success for the Roku and Amazon devices and my Samsung TV. However, it could not complete the same for the Android device. For that device, it then instructed me to plug in the IR Blaster to the IR port on the back of the Caavo and to place the sensor in front of the device. Once I did as instructed, it was able to successfully communicate with and operate that device. However, since I truly hate using IR Blaster cables, I opted to control that device with its original remote.

In the next step, it asked about audio, and it was able to successfully take over control of my Zvox AccuVoice Sound Bar.

I can truly say that the Caavo remote operates flawlessly when controlling my TV, sound bar, Roku and Amazon devices. I am so happy to just use the one remote, and the voice commands and search functions make the process easy and fun.

App
The Caavo app provides access to TV and movie guides. Here are some things that you can take advantage of and enjoy:

  • Have access to and browse content recommended by editors and others
  • You can save the shows and movies that you like at any time to your “My Lists”
  • Perform universal searches across apps like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.
  • Launch your selections on local apps
  • Use Airplay or Chromecast

Here are some screenshots from the app:






What I like

  • The all-in-one design and functionality
  • The build quality
  • The all-inclusive remote
  • The ease of setup
  • The sleek look
  • The connectivity

What can be improved

  • I personally dislike the use of IR cables, so anything that can be done to eliminate the need to use them

Final thoughts

When I first heard about Caavo, I was immediately intrigued. I am also a TV junkie, and I have several different streaming boxes connected to every TV in my home. Except for the IR cable connectivity, I really like Caavo. The one remote that actually functions really well both manually and by voice really works for me. In addition, the design and sleek look make it an easy and aesthetically pleasing addition to any decor. Well done and two thumbs up!!

Price: $99.95
Where to buy: Caavo website and Amazon
Sample: The sample for this review was provided by Caavo

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Caavo Control Center universal TV remote & home theater hub review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 24, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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Nyrius ORION streaming device review


REVIEW – Devices with wireless capability have become an assumed feature in today’s technology word. However, some wireless capabilities present more challenges than others. The ability to transmit audio and video wirelessly from source to a display has usually been offered with a large price tag attached to it. The Nyrius ORION streaming device promises the same capability but with a reasonable price tag. Let’s see what it delivers.

What is it?

The Nyrius ORION streaming device is a component package consisting of a transmitter and receiver and offers 1080P HD wireless transmission of video and any associated audio between the two components up to a 40′ range within line of sight.

What’s in the box


1 x Digital Wireless HD Transmitter
2 x External IR Remote Extender
1 x Digital Wireless HD Receiver
2 x AC Power Adapters
1 x 5ft HDMI Cable
2 x Screws/Screw Anchors
1 x Instruction Manual

Design and features

Specifications

Supported Video Resolution: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 576p, 480p (will support 4K content that has been downscaled to 1080p by source device)
3D Compatible: Yes
Audio Formats Supported: PCM 2CH, Dolby 5.1
Transmitter Ports: HDMI input, HDMI Loop-Through (Output), Micro USB (for power), 2.5mm Jack (for IR Emitter)
Receiver Ports: HDMI Output, Micro USB (for power), 3.5mm Jack (for IR Emitter)
Wireless Range: 40ft (streaming line of sight results in maximum range)
Transmission Frequency: 802.11 a, b, g, n; 5.8GHz (Band 1 & 4)
System Latency: Less than 500ms (average 150ms)
IR Frequency: 30-60 KHz
Wireless Technology: ORION GigaXtreme
Source Compatibility: Any source containing an HDMI output port
Display Compatibility: Any high-definition television or projector with HDMI input
Wall Mountable: Yes, Transmitter and Receiver have built-in keyhole slots
Multiple Receivers: Yes, Maximum of 4
Adapter Compatibility: Nyrius does not recommend using Digital to Analog Adapters with their Orion products. However, HDMI to mini-HDMI/micro-HDMI adapters are compatible
TX/RX Channel: 1 TX / 4 RX

This system consists of one Transmitter and one Receiver device that accept HDMI connectivity. They are identical in size, and measure approximately 3 1/4″ x 3 1/4″ x 1″. On the connectivity side of the receiver as shown below there is the HDMI Out port, an IR In port and a micro USB AC adapter port. The HDMI Out connects to an external display.


On the Transmitter as shown below, there is the HDMI In port, the HDMI Out port, an IR Out port, and a micro USB AC adapter power port. The HDMI In port is used to connect the source device to the transmitter and the HDMI Out allows for the direct connection to another monitor/device. This is a loop-through feature.


Both components have the pairing button as seen below that you press to make the connection between them.

Performance

The connection of these devices was straightforward and easy, and within a couple of minutes, I was transmitting wirelessly between my laptop and an external monitor.



When the Receiver is connected to the output display, the screen below is displayed as it awaits a signal from the Transmitter.


The LED indicator on each component lights steady white when the 2 are successfully connected and blinks red when they are not.

There is a slight lag between the source video and the remote display and there tends to be a bit more lag the further away from the source you are. Overall, it works quite well especially within the 20′ to 30′ range that I was able to perform my tests. I tried it on streaming devices, a PC laptop, and a MacBook.

If you are streaming from a media source that is in a different room than your display and you are receiving the audio/video signal with no problem, the IR extender feature allows you to control your streaming/media device like a streaming box from the display, by simply pointing the media device remote and the IR Extender and using the remote as you would when in front of your media/streaming device.

What I like

  • Size of Transmitter and Receiver
  • Operational range
  • Eas of set up and connectivity
  • Consistent connectivity

What can be improved

  • In terms of its specification and what it promises to do, it works as intended.

Final thoughts

The Nyrius ORION streaming device seems to be perfect for sitting on your couch with a laptop or even another streaming device and watching the content on a larger display without having to run wires between the source and the display. The fact that it is able to do so while displaying content at 1080P HD is also a nice feature. While there is a bit of lag, it is not noticeable if the output display is not compared to the input via another display that is connected to the source or the loop-through port, so this is really not an issue. The Nyrius Orion certainly has its niche, and for the features, the price, and how it performed during my tests, it is a good value.

Price: $149.99
Where to buy: Nyrius website and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Nyrius.

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Nyrius ORION streaming device review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 17, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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