Customer Reviews

Kodak Easyshare HDTV Dock (Black)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

To go along with my Kodak Z812 IS Digital Camera, I took a risk and purchased Kodak's HDTV Dock. I say took a risk because I had no idea of it's performance and couldn't find many reviews of it. But the problem with digital cameras is that we never actually look at the pictures because they're on our computers, so it seemed like a cool concept of easily being able to display pictures on our TV at good quality. Here are some of my thoughts

This is a really neat practical idea. I've been surprised by how often we've used it already. It makes it easy to view your photos on something other than your computer screen or the small LCD on the back of the camera

Multiple Inputs - In addition to being able to view images from your camera you can also insert an SD Card and up to two USB sources at the same time. I have a Western Digital 60 GB drive attached to the dock where I can store photos and videos for future viewing.

Copying Between Devices - You can move files between the camera and other devices that are attached to it.
Component Video Output - Rather than requiring users to have an open HDMI input on their computer, the dock outputs over a regular component video output. Since there's nothing copy protected on a digital camera using a analog connection makes perfect sense.

Output at either 720p/1080i - For those of us with native 1080p TVs, having a 1080i output setting is nice since pictures are one spot where the extra detail can actually be noticed.

Some things I'm not especially fond of:

The output from the dock isn't very clean. In 720p mode there is thin green border around the top and right side. In 1080i mode there is a smaller but still noticeable green line on the right edge. Now, all this wouldn't be a problem if (1) My display didn't have a 0% overscan mode and a 5% overscan mode (2) If Kodak had accounted for a 5% overscan. It seems that Kodak expected that most displays would have at least 1-2% overscan built-in to it. It's not a huge issue, because the green line in 1080i mode is really small and barely noticeable and the extra detail makes 1080i mode worth it. But...

Video doesn't output at full screen in 1080i mode. If I play a 720p HD video back that I've recorded, it doesn't scale to fill the whole screen.

File Management is sort of lousy. As you navigate through the different sources the name of the folder is displayed in the lower right hand corner - not on the folder itself. You also can't manage the files with a given volume - you can copy them between different sources but once they're there you can't move them into a different folder or create a new folder. You also can't rename folders or files

The Remote - Kodak was going for small, and they were successful. But it's almost too small to be practical and will be easily lost. I ended up just programming my universal remote and never use it.

Lack of a Digital or VGA Output - Although I was pleased that Kodak chose to use component for the output, it seems to me that it would have been nice to have a digital (HDMI) or standard VGA output also available. A lot of people on their HDTVs have VGA inputs that remain empty and it seems to me that two output options would have been nice.

Conclusion: Despite my criticisms, I like the HDTV dock is a great first generation product. It probably won't sell a whole lot, and for people who simply want to look at their pictures and movies on their TVs it's a fine product. There are a few advanced features I wish it hand but I can't complain too much.

(revision to previous review - This should be 5 star)

I just received this product and found it to perform as expected. I have a 720p HDTV so I don't have the problems another reviewer noted with a line around the picture. My screen is filled nicely.

I viewed some pictures I had taken with a 3 megapixel Canon. These showed up beautifully on my screen.

My brother has a sony HD dock which works only with his camera. Having USB ports and an SD card reader are nice touches.

I connected 160 gig hard drive (formatted FAT32). The dock recognized the drive and I could view all my pictures. (I could not find any reference to adding a hard drive on Kodak's site) . (I don't know why Kodak doesn't advertise this on its site.) I haven't tried viewing video but this is the easiest way I have found to view pictures on my TV.

This product is good even if you don't own a kodak camera

We purchased this dock as an accessory for our Z1015is camera. Still pictures play back beautifully but videos have "green noise". On further research, I find that Kodak no longer lists our camera as compatible with this dock (although it was initially listed as compatible).

Unfortunately, we purchased this thru an Amazon Marketplace vendor. We were told we could return the dock and they would evaluate for a "possible refund" but we would not be reinbursed for the initial shipping charges or for the returned shipping. I have been very pleased with all of my previous Amazon purchases and believe me there have been a lot of them! I will never buy from this vendor again A_______E(fill in the blanks) and will stick with Amazon directly. We decided to keep the dock because the still pictures do look beautiful on our HDTV and it would have cost us a total of around $20.00 to return it for a "possible refund"

This dock is an attractive and very functional product. Makes viewing pics and video clips a snap. Very easy to set up and use and serves as a battery charger as well. Fits right in with my entertainment center.

I purchased a Kodak Easy Share 14 Megapixel Camera.I had alot of promlens keeping my battery charged.This was a lifesaver.I keep my camera on this dock when not in use.Always have charged battery.I also veiw my pictures on my HDTV.LOVE LOVE LOVE..Thank You Kodak...Yost211

This is a must have for those of you that entertain at your house and own a HD TV! Amaze your friends and family with the clarity. Amaze yourself with the ability to alter photos only with a remote. Display is in 720i a consideration for some, versus 1080i full HD. The ability to charge your camera rapidly is a plus < 3 hours is normal,in comparison to damage from lower quality chargers overcharging etc. Go with quality, Kodak. Charge and display, bottom line a GREAT buy.

I was pleased with this product which worked well with my Kodak V series camera. The video displays pictures in full 1080i in beautiful color. The unit performs well to display pictures and play video. The slideshow function is great for parties! The pictures and video display almost instantaneously using my Kodak 2GB memory card. The memory reader on the side is useful- I was able to insert the memory card from another brand camera and use this dock to display those pictures as well. The USB port on the side also worked well to display pictures from a USB flash drive.

I wish the unit would connect directly to my computer to allow me to upload pictures without using the clunky USB cable which came with my camera.

The unit does not expand video images to the full size of the screen, so when viewed on a 1080i television (in 1080i mode), the 720p video (maximum resolution for my camera) appears really small, and the standard definition video appears tiny. You can reduce resolution of the unit to 720p and the video then appears full screen- but then pictures don't appear as clear.

I found myself taking this unit to other people's homes for parties- but watch out- if this unit is set to 1080i and you want to use the unit with a 720p television, you cannot change resolution to 720p because you cannot see the on-screen menu and the remote does not have a video resolution button.

Wish the unit had HDMI, but can't complain- this unit is great for the price!

This is the second HDTV Dock I have bought. When my son-in-law saw some video I had taken of his baby (with my Kodak V1073 camera)played on this dock, he wanted one. Since he could not find it anywhere, I came back to Amazon.com to see if this item was still available. Fortunately it was and at a much better price. The price is even better now. This dock will take a SD card, but you can only see pictures. To see video you must use a SDHC card. If your camera cannot be used with an SDHC card then you will not see video with this dock. I usually just insert the card, but you can use it with certain Kodak cameras made to go with this dock. You do not need the extra platform because the camera fits directly on the HD Dock. My Kodak V1073 is 10MP. I had some older video, which was taken with a 6MP Kodak Z760 camera and an SD card, saved on my computer. I tried copying the older video to one of my SDHC cards and it worked. The older video can now be viewed on the HDTV Dock.

It came from the company just fine, and it is ok. I am able to hook it up to my Kodak Easyshare z1485IS camera and to my HD TV via the video cable inputs. The picture is just fine, except for the video, there is a thin green line on the right hands side of the picture, right at the very edge of the picture. It is not BAD per se, but it is mildly annoying. I like the little remote control. Note, you can rest the camera awkwardly on top and it will charge your camera's rechargeable battery, but it is really made for the little plastic hat that sits on top of the charger/dock. My camera came with this little hat, and when I put that on top of the dock, and my camera on the dock, it fit perfectly, the way it's supposed to. The video and audio output cables that came with it are NOT the yellow and red cables, but the purple, green and ... some other color I can't remember. It's the other type of analogue video cable, not the yellow one. This was disappointing to me because I wanted to hook the cables into my DVD recorder so I could burn the videos easily onto DVD. My DVD recorder only takes the yellow and red cables. The reason I went with this dock is because the z1485S videos play very choppily for some reason on my computer(s), so I wanted to be able to play them smoothly somewhere and get them on DVD smoothly. Point is, not a bad product, and for 10$, you can't go TOO wrong, but I was disappointed in the green line and the cable compatibility. It does work as described, however, and has some nifty features. So I would give it 3 stars -- if it didn't have some nifty features, I'd give it only 2.

I bought this cause I was have some problems with my slower computer playing some of the videos. I didn't realize when I bought it that it does not have an HDMI port. I just assumed with it being HD that it would come with it, instead it comes with the 5 (R/B/G, R/W) RCA plugs instead. I guess it wouldn't be bad if I left it in place and never moved it but for me I take it with me on occasion to work and home so wrapping up the 5 RCA wires plus the power cord can be a pain. The other down side of this is that I do not have the the clear plastic dock for my camera. I never used it, never thought I would so I tossed it. Now I have to fight with the camera to get it docked and have to make sure it's on there just right. Not sure if I had the plastic dock if it would make a difference but when I dock it on here without it the little tab that it connects to seems a bit flimsy and I am extra careful because it almost feels like its gonna break off. Hope that it won't but I'm extra careful just to be on the safe side.

As for using the Dock itself it's a breeze, plug into an outlet, plug RCA cables into the TV and mount the camera. It takes a few seconds for it to boot up which is no biggie and then you just use the remote (very simple to use) to go thru the pics and the video. Quality is pretty good and it is what I expected, my camera shoots 720p video along with 12mp pics so the quality of the dock pics and video I would say are right on. I have noticed an occasional 5-7sec delay here and there cycling thru pics manually and I have had twice now where the everything just freezes up and I have to unplug the power cord from the dock itself and replug it in and then back to normal.

Overall, besides a few problems here and there and no HDMI port its a decent dock and I like it. I have seen prices go from $25 on Amazon to over $50 on the Web including Kodak's Website. If paying $50 I think I wouldn't have bought it even not knowing what I do now. Knowing what I do now I wouldn't pay over $30 with S/H. For the $50 plus dollars it can cost you, upgrade your computer with a cheap video card and if your TV is like mine just use hook the computer up to the TV and use it as a monitor also. Maybe with HDMI, less freezing up, and a little less flimsy I would say $50, sure but not with those problems. I would still give it 3.5 out of 5 though cause when it works perfectly, (97% of the time) the quality is good and works just like it should.