Actiontec My Wireless TV WiFi / HDMI Wireless HD Receiver

This is what I have been looking for for years! Almost. We bought 3.

-THE GOOD --

At our office we got over 75 feet and through two insulated metal studded walls, and the picture was perfect! Really incredible! Light years better than other HDMI wireless technologies (vizio had to essentially be line of sight) and baluns we have tried.

The interface to the receiver is very useful, most of these transmitter/receiver/baluns gadgets only work or don't, the dont tell you if the transmitter is on/off or if there is a source signal, this unit does that, and it has a drop down so you can choose a transmitter unit to pull from (the limit is 4 (after the Dec 2011 firmware update)).

The image quality is great, didn't notice any kind of compression or signal degradation.

-THE BAD --

The issues we have with the units are all regarding the slight delay between the source and the output. *(See Update)

Actiontec Support emailed me this:

"There really is no way to prevent this since the signal is going over wireless and there will always be some delay. You could try changing the channel in the Rx unit settings, but some audio delay is going to happen, its unavoidable."

This becomes an issue where you have two tvs in the same room and they both need to have some audio output. For instance, I have a basement where we want to watch the game on one side of the room and play pool / darts on the other side of the basement while watching the game on another TV, in this case both sides would need their own audio, when we tried this the echo caused by the delay was pretty irritating. Also I want to point out, it is just not an audio lag, the picture lags too...which is fine considering that most people will use this in another room entirely.

Also, if you are going to use the MYWirelessTV to hook up a projector (or a TV) and use the sound from your AV receiver that is hooked into the source then your audio and your picture will not be synced, which means you will notice some lip syncing issues. I am not sure everyone will notice, but we did. Some AV receivers have the ability to tweak audio delay, so you might have a work around there. I estimate that the video/audio was about 200ms off.

Actiontec mentioned that you can use this for games, I doubt you could use this for twitch games...it would just introduce too much lag (but i haven't tried it yet...when i do, and my mind changes, I will update this review). For music games like Rockband, they come with a calibration tool, so you might be able to use that to get around sound syncing/control issues??? * (See update)

*(Updated below) This is all wrong ----> My last issue is it doesn't appear that you can pair/link the transmitter and receiver to not allow another unit to pick up the signal. This might be fine for most households, but in condos and apartment buildings you might not want to tell your neighbors to go out and get this awesome new tech since they could pull in your signal, so if 2 of your neighbors have 2 each, then I am not sure how you would fit in another set? Again I will update this review if there is solution for that. *(see update..i was totally wrong)

-CONCLUSION --

Bottom line, the MYWirlessTV is awesome..and it has solved a ton of issues and wiring for our office around our video feeds, but I found it less useful in a couple specific scenarios at my home due to the slight delay caused by the transmission.

If you are just adding a TV to another room, (or yard!) we found the MYWirelessTV a near perfect implementation.

*2/24/2012 UPDATE.*

It is better! We received a couple more of these.

Also there is a pairing feature, which I should have known because there is a "Pairing" button on the front, this allows the user to pair up different kits, but also prevents other people from inadvertently picking up your signal.

Regarding the Sync issues, as mentioned in the comment section (thanks!) there is a whole different mode for gaming found in the menu. I wish I would have read the manual and I wish the support guy would have mentioned it. After testing the Gaming Latency mode, we found that the new firmware performed much better than the previous firmware, so that solves problems for us here at the office, but I haven't tested the image quality at home with real tv content

Also. Actiontec support is sending out new USB adapters because some are having problems with connections to some usb flash drives (mine included) I cannot get my transmitters to update because of this.

I bought this at Best Buy instead of Amazon (generally prefer Amazon) simply because I thought the odds were high that I would be returning it. I had called Actiontec prior to the purchase to ask about the compatibility with a DishNet VIP 622 DVR receiver and it was not on their approved or checked list as of yet. The DishNet receivers that they said it did work with were the 222K, 722K and the 922 Duo. Took a gamble that if had worked on those it had the potential to work on mine plus my next receiver will be either the 722K or 922.

Well it turns out it does work with the DishNet VIP622 DVR. I did not have to do the firmware update to make this happen however prior to installation I once again called tech support to ask about it. They said if I didn't have a picture when installed I would definitely have to do the upgrade but if the picture was good then don't worry about it.

One thing that puzzled the heck out of me once I started the installation was following their directions I disconnected the HDMI cable from the back of my satellite receiver but then I noticed that this was no ordinary HDMI cable. DishNet has a connection ( couple of pieces about 2" x 2" and flat) on that HDMI cable which performs a function for which I have no idea and I haven't called DishNet to find out. I made the decision to make that cable be the one that runs from the satellite receiver into the Actiontec Transmitter and then I used the Actiontec HDMI cable to go from the Transmitter to the nearby HD TV.

So the good news is that once I had everything hooked up and had my second HD TV on the proper HDMI input I had picture and sound. For about a minute I had some pixlation and a small pop in the sound and those both went away and after having it hooked up now for several hours and watching a variety of channels I have not seen anything but an excellent picture and sound. To be honest I couldn't even figure out what the remote control from Actiontec was for and my kit didn't have any instructions except for the laminated and folded quick set up guide. I went online and printed out the 34 page full instruction manual and then used the Actiontec remote control through the GUI graphical user interface on the second HD TV to see how strong my signal was. Lowest signal strength was shown and yet great picture. Theater mode was already selected which is what I would have selected and auto on the wireless channel to be used was already selected so really I could have never used the remote control and it wouldn't have mattered.

Where I have my second HD TV we use the provided DishNet UHF remote control to change channels on the satellite receiver and so I did not need to hook up the IR extender cables etc.

The distance between Transmitter and Receiver in my case is about 50 feet in a straight line with one wall although there is a large hallway which probably allows the wireless signal to be tranmitted. I purchased this product primarily for use in a fifth wheel trailer that we have ordered because the satellite receiver will sit approximately 15 feet from the HD TV set and the dealer was talking about trying to run a HDMI cable if I really wanted HD TV instead of standard definition. Since I am putting a DishNet Travelr 1000 on the trailer I know I will be getting full HD and want to see that on the HD TV. We had used the Dish Net Travelr 1000 on a previous trailer with great luck but in that case the satellite receiver and TV were co-located. I am making an assumption that in the fifth wheel trailer the signal strength to the Actiontec Receiver will be stronger due to less distance plus interior walls in a trailer are quite thin.

So now I can watch a full HD picture on a TV that previously has been fed standard definition signal. Huge difference and so worth it. One oddity that I have discovered is that on our primary HD TV located near the Transmitter the volume has changed. Say before we might have had the volume at a level of 25 now the volume is at a level of 10 to produce the same sound level. I suspect that the powered Transmitter possibly boosts the signal but don't know that for sure and don't care.

This is a relatively new product to the market but it fills a need I have and I think they have done a decent job with it. Customer support has been easy to get a live human on the line. If I experience any problems I will revisit this review for updates.

Okay one day later and there is an update to review. I had a small problem that I didn't even know I had. With my DishNet system I had to power on the satellite receiver first and then the primary TV or the one closest to the MyWireless Transmitter. Called support and was advised that a firmware update would resolve. Had to buy a thumb drive. Got a 4GB one which was overkill. Downloaded the update which was really quite simple. Performed the update after watching the online video. Very simple. Okay so everything works but here is the really odd part. If the satellite receiver is off and I turn the Sony TV on with the Sony TV remote I will get this grey/blank screen. I then have to turn off the TV turn off the satellite receiver and then turn on the satellite receiver first and then the TV. If I use the DishNet remote control it seems I can turn on the TV or the receiver first and it makes no difference. At any rate these seem to be very odd and possibly unique problems to my system. At no time have I yet had any problem streaming full HD to the second TV. Still happy with product.

Oh yeah one last comment. I did end up calling DishNet to inquire about the odd HDMI cable they had provided. Tech support thought it was one that had been provided possibly for an older receiver (mine is just over 5 years old) and she was not familiar with the HDMI cable I was describing. She said it would be fine to replace that HDMI cable with a new high speed cable if I wanted to. I did replace it. Don't see the picture as any better. Picture on both TV's about as good as I have ever seen.

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I went to BB to purchase this product because I had a flat screen in an area that did not have access to a cable outlet. When I got the product home, I hooked it up to my cable box upstairs and to my flat screen television in the basement. The box says there is a transmission range of 150 ft. but that must be direct line of sight because the transmitter could not sync with the receiver in the basement. I would say the maximum distance between the two is about 35-40 feet. So,to see if the unit was working, I brought the transmitter downstairs within direct line of sight of the receiver and attached it to a cable box. That seemed to solve the syncing problem and I was able to obtain a good HD picture on my remote flat screen tv.

However, I could not get any sound. I called technical support and was told to download a firmware update and to get an updated cable box. When I attempted to download the firmware upgrade onto the transmitter and receiver, nothing happened even though I followed the directions to the letter. Aslo, the cable company informed my that there were no upgrades to the cable box. I called tech support again and was told to get another device.

I think the concept is a good one but, in my case, I could not get it to work properly. I am preparing to return this device as I write this review.

Read Best Reviews of Actiontec My Wireless TV WiFi / HDMI Wireless HD Receiver Here

I had seen this product on display at CES back in January and so glad it's finally available. I've got one hooked up to my home office server and it streams full 1080p60 content to any TV in my house. (Replaces about $600 in HDMI cables). Video over wireless has finally arrived!

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I recently purchased this and set it up per the instructions. Presto. Worked perfectly, going about 35 feet with a few walls and an airhandler in between. Crisp HD TV image, little lag. Trouble is, it crashed 2-3 times a day and had to be re-installed each time to get it working again. If you want to re-install it every time you watch a program, it is the product for you.

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