My configuration and why I purchased this:All of the televisions in our house have a single HDMI connection over 2x ethernet to an HDMI matrix switch in our basement, which is where all of our A/V components live. The matrix switch is controlled via an iPhone app, so we can easily change sources in each room. This setup works great, didn't break the bank, and is easy to use. We've since added a television in our master bedroom and unfortunately don't have 2x ethernet there. Running ethernet to our bedroom would require a lot of drywall repair which I wasn't excited about. When I saw the IOGear product at Best Buy Magnolia tonight, I purchased it. I expected it to fail, as most wireless products never live up to expectations. I can honestly say I'm not disappointed with it.
Installation experience:
First, I attempted to install the IOGear transmitter in our basement, directly connected to the HDMI matrix switch. (Read the instructions) After connecting the device and getting the transmitter and receiver to connect with one another, some of the components including the TiVo Premiere at 1080i worked flawlessly over this very long wireless connection (40ft through two floors). Other components including our Apple TV at 720p didn't work at all, frequently loosing signal. I can't really explain why these components behaved differently. It's odd that the components negotiating at higher resolutions performed better. That seems counter-intuitive.
Modification to original setup:
Due to the issues I experience above, I moved the IOGear transmitter to our family room which is on the first floor of our house and is closer to the master bedroom. All components stream flawlessly now, at near-hard wired quality.
Final thoughts:
I'm impressed with the IOGear unit. Wireless technology is so often disappointing. I can honestly say this product lives up to its claims. I will say, however, that the 100ft distance it has is presumably within line of sight. In my installation, I'm getting about 20 feet through a floor, walls, carpet, wood, etc.
Buy IOGEAR GW3DHDKIT Wireless 3D Digital Kit with Full HD 1080P and 5.1 Channel Digital Audio Now
This kit worked great right out of the box. Usage is super-simple. There are almost no controls to worry about. There is no manual channel selection or transmission quality option, which may be good or bad depending on the person. 1080p video and DD 5.1, DTS, and stereo PCM audio transmitted well 20' through one floor. I could not test transmission of uncompressed LPCM.After plugging it in, I left it on and continuously transmitting for 24 hours. Today the transmitter was dead and would not power up. I'm having the whole kit replaced by Amazon and will revise my review negatively if it has the same problem twice.There are some excellent reviews for wirelessly connecting a HDTV in a separate room to watch cable/satellite or bluerays using IOGEAR Wireless 3D Digital Kit. Instead of repeating aspects of them I will focus on my primary reason for purchasing this device, PC gaming within the living room using a wireless Xbox 360 controller. Steam (a gaming and software distribution system) has recently come out with a beta version of their platform that includes "big picture" mode, which is essentially a controller friendly media center experience for playing and purchasing games. People familiar with Steam might of heard rumors that they were toying with the idea of coming out with a hardware box that would compete with Microsoft or Sony, and I assume with Apple at some point in the future. After playing with this device I can say with absolute certainty that Steam will never do this. This hardware makes playing the ever increasing library of controller friendly PC games within the living room EASY. Benefits include not needing to worry about PC fan noise or distracting LEDs while watching a movie, playing a game, or streaming content to your HDTV.
In my case I am transmitting my HDMI signal through a normal (read no stone or fireplace) house wall and the subsequent distance is about 20' to a 50" HDTV. Some of the competing products have an ability to transmit 30' and this distance, while within my range, concerned me since I needed to go through a wall. I am eager to try two going through walls for the bedroom TV. IOGEAR claims 100' max distance and while I haven't tested out further than 25' the time to connect and connection stability has been exceptional so far. Picture quality within games has been great as well. I really can't tell a difference in quality, if there is one. IOGEAR claim no compression, as do some other companies, but I noticed some products utilized standard wifi frequency that could go 100' but used image compression, which I did not want. The audio syncing just works without any fuss. However, right now I can either have my desktop's sound come out of 5.1 speaker setup in the living room or through my stereo monitors within the study, not both. Setting the default audio device to either use the HDMI on the IOGEAR or using the soundcard isn't bad, per se. I just couldn't find a way to have both on at the same time. I am not even sure I would want to do that, but I just noticed that I couldn't with minimum amount of effort that I put into it. One of the biggest issues for me was concern of how bad the latency could be. IOGEAR advertise
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