Customer Reviews

DLO HomeDock HD Entertainment Dock for iPod (Black)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I bought this primarily for its optical digital output capabilities. For those wishing to use their own superior A/D converter this dock offers that feature.
Surprisingly a digital output is an extremely rare feature on an iPod dock. I use this with an iPod touch loaded with lossless audio.

I briefly played with the video out capabilities, but my intention was to deploy it without being connected to a TV.
The user experience with a docked iPod touch in its headless mode was much better after I flashed the latest version of bios from their support site.
It's critical that the unit be in the correct 'mode' to work without a TV, I only wish they had put the mode button on the base unit itself.

It looks and feels like a nice piece of equipment, but clearly not enough testing went into its development. When we first hooked it up, it acted like it was going to work, but after successfully recognizing our 2nd gen iPod Touch, it just kept saying "Initializing..."

We then carefully followed instructions for applying a version 1.05 firmware update. After that, it never recovered, but just kept trying to boot. According to the support site, this can happen, and the remedy is to unplug it for five minutes and try booting again. Tried that -- no dice.

After calling support and going through all the steps their troubleshooting guide already had suggested, the tech recommended we return the device as defective. In the meantime, we have ordered the Tekkeon NavDock for iPod (Silver/Black), which has gotten generally positive reviews.

We have been using the Tekkeon for a month or so now, and have enjoyed it very much. No HD, but otherwise works well, despite an occasional difficulty in getting the iPod to seat correctly on the "prong" (sorry, not sure what else to call the male connector on the dock).

After reading the reviews, I was a little concerned about ordering this device, but the price is a steal so I went ahead and purchased one. After opening the box I found it to be a well built device with some weight to it. It has a solid feel with a rubbery bottom that keeps it in place. I was able to update the firmware without any issues. It interfaced well with my home system (non-HDMI Marantz receiver), the UI graphics look great on a HD display, and most importantly, it sounds fantastic (most of the music on my 160GB ipod classic is in apple lossless...I also have a 2g itouch that also works well with it). Using the HomeDock's optical digital out, the music is clear and full and sounds better than the provided L/R RCA analog outs. It also provides composite and s-video outs. The HDMI output is a plus as you can either hook it up to your (HDMI equipped) receiver, or, connect it directly to your HD display. It will output 720P or 1080i and up-convert any video. I even watched a few scenes of movies from my ipod (H.264 format) and they looked pretty good. This is also convenient for displaying home movies/pictures. The one thing I don't like is the wait time involved when using the HomeDock's UI (which is quite good by the way). You have to wait a few minutes while the software accesses the ipod. Not a deal breaker, but a small annoyance none the less. By setting it to use the ipods display,(which by-passes the internal UI), there is no load time. Just dock and go. I found that I perferred this mode when just listening to music. The remote is an RF type so you can control playback (including volume) even from another room. It also has an aux input for non i stuff. The best part is that I have had no problems at all with it.

So, after using it for a few days now, I can say that I am very satisfied with my purchase. It's not perfect, but what a bargin considering it used to sell for $200+. If you are seeking a way to integrate your ipod into your home system, look no further!

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this product, after having had TWO Homedock standard units over the past couple of years. The idea is brilliant, the execution is OK, the quality control is very poor. The first regular Homedock I had just up and died on me; unfortunately it was the very first generation which wasn't software upgradeable (although who knows if an upgrade would have helped). Luckily a friend who is a distributor got me a replacement on the cheap. That one also up and died after less than a year of use - it just stopped working.

Not learning my lesson, I thought maybe, just maybe, now that Phillips has purchased DLO they'll put some $$ into better R&D and manufacturing. They may have - but I'll never know. I ordered a Homedock HD from Crutchfield pretty much as soon as it was available, late December. It arrived and was DOA - it had power but no audio or video, regardless of which connections I used.

After a little research and a good deal of kicking myself in the pants for being foolish enough to give DLO 3 chances, I decided to get an AppleTV instead. A bit more money, a lot more features.

This product has the potential to be great, but their QC is clearly lacking, and it's about 2x over priced IMO.

Ordered through Amazon for sourcing digital files to a stereo system & surround speakers.
Unpacked the unit & read setup directions. Unit is compact & has optical output. Directions seemed clear.
Checked the box & it says it supports ipod touch 2G; checked with Phillips tech support which confirmed it is not compatible with 3G & 4G touch. They indicated there have been a number of calls with the same question.
It would be helpful if Amazon's product description included a list of compatible ipods, as shown on the product box. Returned to Amazon.

I should have learned by now, having both a Home Dock and Home Dock Delux. Both fell short of my expectations, which are NOT elaborate. I simply want a device that performs as advertised.

So I bought one, mostly as a cheap experiment (the HD Delux was $150). It's a piece of crap, mostly stated because it's intermittent, and its remote is iffy at best in its operation. I figured they'd fixed that complaint at DLO, since I've made and read complaints about that feature since thier first product in this line. But don't expect DLO to listen to mere customers.

Anyway, unless you're a devout masochist, don't buy this product either. The other reviews accurately document its shortcomings.

UPDATED 11/11/2010: I'm using this at my vacation home now, trying to get some value out of it. I use a Universal Remote RF-20 unified remote there for my home theater rig. I 'taught' the DLO remote's commands to the URC remote, which solved the annoying time lag problem of the DLO unit, as well as eliminated the manufacturer's remote from the clutter. But my rating remains the same bacause I always have to work around DLO's design/manufacturing problems. My headline also still stands -- great concept, poor execution.

MUST UPDATE THE SOFTWARE. When I hooked this up there was no response from the remote. Tech support told me the remote was bad and had to have it replaced. I took it upon myself to look further and there was a software update that fixed the thing. You will need to download it from DLO website and sync it. I am glad I read the review written by the gentleman that said it worked good. It is a little slow on the remote response time. This machine does a lot of work. BE PATIENT. Well worth it.

I bought this when it first came out in November 2008. I am now the proud owner of a $250 paperweight. The company is unwilling to do anything since it is a few months out of warranty. Even when it worked, it was choppy. The screen would freeze, the remote had issues, and it's not the best thing out there. I am extremely unsatisfied. After all, I usually get kissed when I get screwed. If DLO keeps making faulty products while having poor ways to resolve issues, then they'll join the long line of companies who have gone under recently. DON'T buy this piece of garbage!!

This is a very poorly engineered product. The first one did not work at all and we returned it (40 miles each way). The second one worked sporadically after we installed a new battery in the remote. We upgraded the firmware. This helped some. We still have problems with the remote buttons being unresponsive. The dock freezes and needs to be rebooted. It takes forever to go through initializing and accessing. Sometimes the album art comes on the screen and sometimes it just stays on the playlist. The graphics are low quality but we do not have it hooked to an HDTV so that might be why. Once it gets itself going, there are good replay options and the sound quality is excellent.

I can understand both the five star and one star ratings by purchasers of this product. The first day I had it (having used a HomeDock Deluxe for years), I hooked up an HDMI cable to my 55' Sony Hi-Def TV, an optical digital cable to my Onkyo receiver and then powered up the dock.
The dock spent about 30 minutes initializing itself. I just waited until the "no iPod connected" sign came up on screen. This is an awful long time. Not exactly plug and play.
I then connected my iPod Classic 160 with 26 days worth of music and 36 days worth of audio books(plus a bunch of podcasts).
It crashed.
I re-booted the iPod and the dock. The dock came up within 3 minutes. I reconnected the iPod. This time, the interface came up after 9 minutes.
At this time, I plugged in the upgrade available at the dlo website. Very simple.
Then the remote problem. I had to wave it around like I was conducting Stravinsky to get the dock to respond. I found no cure in the instruction book. I then waved it around, exploring the set of functions within those 6 icons seen when the dock boots up. Under "settings", I found an icon named "remote pairing". I "paired" my remote to the dock, and got solid, rapid response. No more conducting.
I loaded the iPod album covers in using the cataloging (under settings) icon. This took less than an hour for a lot of content.
I finally adjusted the resolution to 1080i and I was done.
The results are fantastic.
The digital sound is superb with lots of space around instruments which are easily separated in ensemble. The interface is handsome and easy to navigate.
I don't usually watch video on the iPod, but I downloaded some Video podcasts and viewed them. They looked pretty good - for an iPod. It has to have a decent source (garbage in; garbage out), but most are watchable.
When I reconnect the iPod after updating it, it takes between 2 to 4 minutes to be functional again, but, what the hell, I'm a patient man.
If you're an audiobook fan, this dock has a useful feature missing from the older docks: with a quick tap of the forward or reverse buttons, you can access the next chapter or last chapter of your book. Holding the buttons down will scan like the old docks.
By the second day, the dlo Home Dock HD was fully functioning and had become a truly beneficial addition to my Home Theatre.