Home Roam TV: Home Theater Forum Review (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Envizen

HOME ROAM 7" TV


Reviewed by Ronald Epstein

January 2012





When I was first pitched the idea of reviewing the Home Roam TV, I didn't understand it's purpose. Here was a product that consisted of a wireless transmitter that broadcast programming outputted from just about any device and allowed you to watch it on a portable 7" LCD digital display. That's well and fine, until you realize that you can't change the channels nor control your device. It was at that point I thought, "who is this product catered for?"


I'll answer that question by the end of this review.


In August of this year, Azend's Envizen Digital launched their portable Home Roam 7" cordless TV panel. Its purpose was to provide a wireless means of watching all your favorite programs, including premium subscription channels anywhere in your home. In addition, movies outputted by your Blu-ray and DVD player could also be watched through the device.











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Inside the box you'll find the 7" TFT LCD widescreen display along with the 2.4Ghz wireless audio/video signal transmitter. The first thing you'll need to do is charge the display via the supplied AC adapter. You can basically attach the transmitter to any device in your home theater that outputs a video/audio signal via its RCA connections. This includes a DVR, cable set top box, Blu-ray or DVD player. Simply plug the transmitter's AC adapter into the wall and then connect the supplied RCA cable between the outputs of the device and the input of the transmitter. There should be no need for most people to continue connecting the RCA cables to their television -- especially if they have an HD display. Simply tune your television to the channel you wish to watch (or pop in a Blu-ray or DVD movie) and the transmitter will output that signal wirelessly to the 7" display. The system operates on 2.4GHZ Wireless Technology with a range of 100 feet.


The product allows you to connect two devices to the transmitter simultaneously with separate TV and AV buttons on the display which allows you to switch between the two.



(Click on photo for larger picture)



Overall, I found the picture and audio quality of the 7" digital display to be just fair. Obviously, you can't push HD quality content through this system and what appears on the LCD screen comes across as rather fuzzy, though completely watchable. Picture quality became slightly washed out as you view the screen from an angle. Sound quality was no better than what you would expect from any small portable DVD player or laptop. A headphone jack allows you to enjoy a higher quality level of audio, and I would suspect some might even attach power speakers to the unit. There is a slight video adjustment to the picture when you first turn it on as well as change channels from your output device as the units need to sync with each other. This sync process never became problematic. Though 100' doesn't seem quite enough range to roam with your display, I was rather surprised that I was able to take the unit to the other end of my home, two floors down, and still receive a signal. The screen operates with an included AC adapter which also charges the battery. The product claims to get 2 hours battery life, I was still getting power well over that allotment of time. You can definitely watch an entire film on a single charge.


CONCLUSION



From the moment I received Home Roam TV, I found myself frustrated over the question of why someone would want a device like this. There are so many other products from Slingbox to applications that allow you to stream your content from your home theater to your iPad, phone or laptop (including the ability to change channels and controll your DVR) that makes the Home Roam TV seems completely obsolete. It took some time, but I found myself having to lower my own personal standards to better appreciate what this device could be best used for. That's not an insult, mind you, as I am a bigger gadget person than most. There are many people I know who don't have Slingbox, an iPad or laptop to extend their television viewing experience. That's perhaps the perfect cliental for Home Roam TV.


I made good use of this product over the New Years holiday weekend. I had a news program playing on my main display. Using the output from my Tivo box, I was able to transmit that news program to the 7" display and continue watching it while I was preparing food in the kitchen. A small kickstand in the rear of the display kept it upright and fully visible from a few feet away. I could also imagine Home Roam TV as a perfect means of allowing your kids to take television with them in another room -- knowing exactly what they are watching. Since the transmitter outputs whatever channels you subscribe to, there are no extra cable boxes to buy if you want to enjoy HBO or other premium channels in another location.


For those who haven't quite caught up the rest of us gadget-heads, Home Roam TV will meet the basic needs of those that want to take their television viewing experience portable. It's priced at about $160. For the rest of us who are more advanced with our hardware, there are much more modern and effective methods in the same price range that will allow you to more effectively watch and control programming through a portable device....in HD, no less.





Click on the above VIDEO REVIEW