Filed under: iPod Family, Peripherals, Reviews
DLO HomeDock mini-review
I finally got my hands on a DLO HomeDock of my own,
thanks to the magical powers of the holidays. We've pointed to other reviews in the past, but I thought I'd offer my
own mini review:Positives:
- Docks and charges your iPod while connecting it to your TV/Stereo/Entertainment Center.
- Has a remote control.
- Controls music, volume, and playing and pausing of media nicely.
- Let's me watch Channel Frederator on my TV.
- RCA and S-Video outs with USB connection for docking with your computer and a power adapter for running the device and charging your iPod.
- It isn't ugly and my wife doesn't mind it sitting on top of the TV.
- At $99, this device is a little pricey, considering that you can attach your iPod to your TV with a $15 cable, and, assuming that the cable is long enough, you will have no need for the remote.
- You cannot rewind, fast forward, or select videos via the remote. Hitting fast forward or rewind takes you to a music track.
- No digital audio out.
- While music is playing, nothing shows on the TV (if you have it plugged into the TV).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dennis Bullock said 5:31PM on 1-02-2006
This is an excellent review. I had seen this item for a while and wasnt really sure how good it would work. I appreciate it.
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J said 6:46PM on 1-02-2006
Santa brought me one of these babies as well. I'm finding that the remote puts out a weak signal and I have to be very close to control it. I'm thinking a trip to radio shack for a 20' camcorder cable might do me better. (sorry santa)
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madtracer said 8:16PM on 1-02-2006
i just got a video ipod right before christmas and discovered that it's possible to put video files on it that are at 720x480, rather than the 320x240 (or whatever it is these days that apple says is supposed to go on there).
my question is this-- does the iPod video OUTPUT the larger resolution to the tv? or is it only capable of outputting the 320x240 signal and scaling it up to fill the tv screen?
i haven't seen any documentation about what range of resolutions the iPod currently outputs to the tv. can anyone shed some light on this for me?
alex
keep it real in '06
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DaveH said 8:33PM on 1-02-2006
So what is good cheap dock with A/C power charging? Don't need a remote. This will be for a to be purchased I-pod (w/video).
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Don Wilson said 1:07AM on 1-03-2006
I wish I could get one of these but they're a little too expensive for my taste.
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arkowi said 8:44AM on 1-03-2006
madtracer,
the biggest the ipod can do is 230,400 pixels. So that can be 480x480, 720 x 304, anything that works out to 230,400 pixels.
arkowi
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Matthew said 11:28AM on 1-03-2006
C.K., why do you not mention how horribly bad the remote is? I can stand 7 feet away and the unit not respond. If I sit it on top of the TV and I'm on the couch I actually have to lift my arm to get the remote level with the unit for it to actually respond. Seriously, thats just BAD. Get the apple remote and dock. Its well worth it.
Lastly, I bought the Apple dock and remote after my experience with the DLO homedock. The DLO has a low feedback noise while the Apple dock doesn't.
Just another reason to go Apple on this one.
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madtracer said 10:04PM on 1-03-2006
Arkowi-- thanks for the answer. i'm looking forward to the afternoon i finally get around to getting the cables at radioshack and giving the iPod its first taste of video output.
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Jeremy said 2:30PM on 1-09-2006
When using the HomeDock to play music, can you set it up to view the iPod's menu system on your TV? i.e. does it give you the ability to sit on the couch and view the contents of your iPod on the TV to select what song you want next. Good review...thanks.
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C.K. Sample, III said 8:07AM on 1-10-2006
Sorry to report, jeremy, that there is no viewing of the iPod's menus on the TV.
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Jeremy said 10:43PM on 1-10-2006
Thanks for the relpy in terms of the menu on the TV...that sucks. It would be nice to see that and find the song you are looking for without getting up. Or, having the menu show up on the remote, now that would be cool!
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