Customer Reviews

Philips SWW1800/27 Wireless HDTV Link

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Length:: 1:12 Mins

The Philips SWW1800/27 Wireless HDTV Link actually works as advertised, transmitting the output of up to four high definition devices across a room without wires. It is simple to install and requires absolutely zero configuration. Plug it in and it works.

Philips gets bonus points for including an HDMI cable. This the first high definition device I've used that actually comes with one. I hope other manufacturers follow their lead.

I tested the device in my home, transmitting the output of a high definition camcorder and a few other devices approximately thirty feet across my living room to a plasma television.

Below are my observations. I am happy to answer additional questions left in the comment section.

DISTANCE:
This is strictly designed to be a "short haul" device. It does not have the range of a cordless phone or wireless internet router, but it does accomplish the goal of allowing video components to be located dozens of feet away from a television. It worked fine in the largest room in my home, but it did not work when I located the transmitter in an adjacent room.

CONNECTORS:
There are four inputs on the transmitter, two HDMI and two component. Note that the two component video inputs do not have digital audio connectors, so only stereo analog audio can be transmitted back to the television on those ports. Digital audio transmits perfectly through the two HDMI connectors.

IMAGE QUALITY
I tested the device with a number of components, including an HDV camcorder connected over component video cable, an upconverting DVD player connected via HDMI, and a Flip Camera connected via HDMI. Everything looked great at a thirty foot transmit distance with no noticeable degradation.

VIDEO GAME COMPATIBILITY
The Philips Wireless HDTV link does not recompress video so there are no noticeable delays between a button press and a reaction on screen.

The device will only support consoles that transmit over component video or HDMI. Newer Xbox 360s and Playstation 3 consoles have HDMI ports. The Wii does not support HDMI, but its optional component cable will work. The original Xbox, Gamecube, and some Playstation 2 consoles can work via optional component cables but older consoles will not work and will need to be directly connected to the television.

TELEVISION COMPATIBILITY
This device requires the television have an available HDMI port. Many older HDTVs are lacking HDMI connectors so you'll want to ensure your television supports HDMI before purchasing.

NO AV DEVICE CONTROL
This is strictly a video transmitter, it will not pass commands to your components. It also adds another remote control to your collection.

CONFIGURATION
There isn't any. Select the device and it shows up on the screen if the transmitter is in range. It simply transmits whatever the device wants to send to the television.

CONCLUSION
This is an expensive device but it works as advertised. In some cases it may be cheaper to hire a professional to install your home theater system and hide its associated cables. But if that's not an option this device will accomplish the task. It works beautifully and is surprisingly simple to set up.

Length:: 0:59 Mins

First of all, I tried to set this up with the PS3, but all I was getting was a constant flashing blue LED (it should be a solid blue if it's successfully detected) on the transmitter and the screen was gray! It took hours for me to figure out that the problem is the Philips Wireless does NOT want to see the PS3 menu screen at 1080p! I had to disable/uncheck 1080p support (even though my HDTV supports it) through the PS3 display options and have the PS3 detect as 1080i -- and that's when the Philips FINALLY detected the PS3 and showed the image on the screen.

I hope they will fix this with a firmware upgrade, but for now, you have to do that if you want to use the PS3 with this device. Most PS3 games, however, run at 720p so it's not really a big deal. Oddly though, even though I unchecked 1080p in the PS3, when I play Blu-ray movies on the PS3 (via Philips), my HDTV will detect it/run it at 1080p instead of 1080i, so that's good.

The biggest advantage about using this Philips wireless device with the PS3 is that the PS3 uses Bluetooth technology, so you can still control the PS3 from another room! (if you plan on controlling DVD devices or old game consoles, it better be in the same room or get additional IR sensors) Sending a video signal wirelessly, let alone in HD, seems crazy or unreliable, but I was impressed that I was actually playing the PS3 on my HDTV all the way downstairs, by just connecting the lightweight Philips receiver to it, and just leaving the PS3 upstairs/connected to the Philips transmitter. It worked all in real-time and no lag or issues. I think that was the coolest thing and was most impressive. I'm sure one day, there should be multiple receivers available with this set, so you can have it on all the TVs!

It takes about 8 seconds to switch to the HDMI inputs. But switching from HDMI to component input can take as long as 15 seconds!

I was hoping to connect the Western Digital TV Live HD Media Player to this Philips, but it seems that has some complications. I noticed when navigating through the menu in WD Live, when connected via Philips wirelessly, it moved sluggishly than when it was connected directly to the HDTV. Certain videos played back seem to slightly lag (see video I uploaded), while surprisingly, playing back large HD MKV files via WD Live + Philips wireless played smooth. It has mixed results, so in the end, I ended up just connecting the WD Live directly to my HDTV instead. It's unfortunate the two weren't a great match.

Both devices (transmitter/receiver) require connecting a power supply (included). You can switch inputs directly from the unit or by the remote. The transmitter/receiver is very light with a plastic casing; personally, I think the plastic element equals kind of cheap, but I guess it's good to keep the weight down/looks not bad.

Pros:
+ Amazing range/sending HD signal in real-time (technology is incredible).
+ Very light (receiver/transmitter)
+ Two HDMI inputs and Two components.
+ Comes with one HDMI cable (intended for the receiver)
+ Comes with pads to stick the receiver behind the HDTV.

Cons:
- Not a perfect match with the Western Digital TV Live (some videos/menu stutter)
- One issue with the PS3 (must uncheck 1080p in options)
- Why is the power supply cord so short!? It's like not even 5 feet long.
- Receiver only has one HDMI output (no component connection for old HDTVs!)
- Switching inputs is not instant - there is a 8-14 second delay (switching from HDMI to component device takes longer).
- Really generic remote (does not light up or anything... but I guess it doesn't matter because home theater set-ups is usually controlled by a nicer Universal remote.)
- Doesn't come with IR sensors, if you plan on putting IR controlled devices in another room.
- Steep price

Update: The receiver started making this weird high-pitch frequency noise one time. It was REALLY annoying. I'm not exactly sure what caused it, but it seemed to finally go away after I dusted off the transmitter. I don't know if that was just a coincidence or something else was interfering, but just something to keep in mind. It shouldn't be making that weird noise.

Reality Check - you can't hang your HDTV "anywhere" and magically have no wires showing. You still have to plug in your TV and this Wireless HDTV Link, so that's 2 wires right there.

Don't get me wrong, this Philips Wireless HDTV Link is a great product and does what it advertises. But it's also important to note that every wireless HDTV product I've seen claims you can hang your HDTV "anywhere" with no wires showing. Well, that's a bit misleading. Until wireless electricity is available to consumers (and yes, it IS coming) we still have to plug in our electronics, hence, they need to be located near an electrical outlet.

HDTVs aren't merely a large picture frame, to be moved with ease at one's whims. "Hmmm... you know, I feel like redecorating. I think I'll just move my 50" TV to that wall for a while."

Sounds silly, but that's exactly what the product video on this page implies. Unless you have custom electrical, most wall outlets are a few inches off the floor, not in the center of a wall. So you're going to have two wires running down to the outlet - one for your TV and one for this Wireless HDTV Link. These are not product flaws, just simple reality.


>Quality:

The Philips Wireless HDTV Link supports 1080i & 1080p resolutions so you won't lose any picture quality while wirelessly transmitting HD signals. The product build is straightforward while the layout is simple, streamlined and to the point. Both the transmitter and receiver are well made and feel solid.


>Not Enough HDMI Inputs:

Unfortunately this Wireless HDTV Link only has 4 inputs/outputs - 2 HDMI and 2 Component. Well, component is already going the way of the 8-track and is virtually useless. Most Blu-Ray players won't support 24p over component, only via HDMI. So in my opinion, this Philips should have 3 HDMI inputs at minimum; preferably 4. I see no issue with having 1 component input, just in case it's needed. But 2 components is a complete waste. Manufacturers have sold us on the benefits of HDMI so providing just 2 of these cutting edge inputs is selling us short on this pricey tech product. To work around this shortfall, I plugged most of my HDMI electronics into my Onkyo AV receiver then connected the receiver's HDMI output to this Philips Wireless Link. It isn't a total fix because I'm still short 1 HDMI input but it helps bridge the gap. So for me, 2 HDMI ports on this Philips just don't cut it. That, or I need a whole new Onkyo with more HDMI inputs.


>Signal Strength

I have a pretty clear shot from my TV to the Philips transmitter so my signal strength is excellent. No dropouts or feedback. But then, my current setup isn't obstructed by anything so I'm not putting the unit through its paces in this department. But for me, my the wireless connection is excellent with no issues.


>Harmony Remote Compatible

Basically, this product is just a high tech A/V switch box with wireless signal transmission. As such, there's not a lot for the remote control to do but select which input you'd like to use. So to make matters simpler, I programmed my Harmony remote to work with this Philips Wireless HDTV Link. Any universal remote capable of learning commands could do the same and it's more convenient than fumbling around for another remote. Especially since all it does is select a simple video input.


Bottom Line - If you need the benefit of wireless HDTV signal transmission, this Philips Wireless HDTV Link is a good choice. And it's about half the price of similar products I've seen. Sure, it could use more HDMI inputs, but the low cost outweighs that shortfall.

In the package there is the transmitter, receiver, 2 power adapters, remove control, HDMI cable and instruction manual. It's very simple to setup.

FUNCTIONALITY
Once I had it hooked up to my Vizio TV (22" Vizio VO22LFHDTV 1080p Widescreen LCD HDTV - 16:9 5000:1 (Dynamic) 5ms 2 HDMI ATSC/QAM/NTSC Tuners (Black)), I hooked up my HD camcorder (Sanyo VPC-FH1A Full HD Video and 8 MP Digital Photos (Black)) to the transmitter, chose the first input, but the blue light blinked on the transmitter for input 1.

According to the manual, this means the input video source is unrecognized. If I have the camera hooked up directly to the TV, it works fine. This means that just because you have an HDMI cable hooked up to your TV, it won't necessarily work wireless with this system. By fiddling around and playing a 1080i video recorded on the camera, the transmitter would work, but that was it. I was able to switch the video output of the camera to component video, which worked fine in the menus and video playback.

WIRELESS RANGE
I was able to use the transmitter successfully in the same room, the next room and even two rooms away out of line-of-sight. It says in the manual that it is rated for 66 feet line-of-sight over the 5GHz range of wireless. I suppose that it why 30 feet away through a few walls it still works.

Overall, at this time (Nov 2009) it seems early to get into a device like this. It will transmit only certain HD video sources and it is very expensive. Looking at the competition, it looks like this might one of a few 1080p wireless systems (see Gefen w/100ft range - Gefentv Wireless for HDmi) on the market right now. I would hope soon for a day when either you can have a stack of devices in the main TV room and have all of the devices broadcasting content to the other TVs in the house or maybe all TVs will just be hooked up to the internet/wireless network to get content from a hard drive or website.

I am a tech savvy person so I am sure I could figure this thing out. After all it is simply plug and play. I tried to wing it without following the directions. All I ever got was blue flashing lights. So then I carefully followed the directions....checking connections.....made sure my HDMI and video settings were correct.....and still nothing! Just blue flashing lights. Maybe I just got a dud, but it is going back for a refund.

I was pretty excited to receive this unit as I was wanting to use it a little differently then its main intention. The main intention is for mounting your HDTV on a wall etc and being able to send the TV signal in 1080p to your TV via wireless. You could also use to to send up to 3 other devices to your HDTV without those units being directly plugged into your TV, that is a great idea in my mind. What I wanted to do was not send my TV signal to my TV but to send my PS3 to a TV in another room. So I setup the unit, which is very easy to setup, and powered up my PS3. No luck, nothing came up on the screen and the unit just had a blinking blue light. To see if it was a signal distance issue I plugged the receiver unit into my main TV that is 3 feet from the transmitter. This time I got a signal but it was just a grey screen and every so often I could hear a a little sound but it would cut out. If I plug my PS3 directly into my TV I have no issues but as soon as I run it through the wireless it doesn't work. Not sure if this is a problem with the video and sound output of the PS3 that the Phillips does not like or if it just can't handle it for another reason. So my main reason was no longer in play. Just for fun I plugged my Dish Network box into the unit and had the same type of issue, nothing on the screen and a blinking blue light on the transmitter. I figured I would give it one more test, my Apple TV. Thankfully this time I got a signal and an image on the TV. I moved the receiver to a TV in another room and it worked. Picture quality was good for transmitting to a room up stairs so that was good. I ran a movie off of the apple TV with no problems. This at least confirmed that my unit was working but that it didn't want to work with the PS3 and my Dish Network box via HDMI. I did not try component from my Dish Box, only HDMI.

Although this device works it doesn't work with all devices for reasons I'm not sure of. I think this would a much more useful device if you could send more devices to other TV's around the house. I would like to be able to have my came box hooked up to my main TV by direct HDMI but have this device also able to send the signal to another TV when I want to play in another room. The bluetooth of the PS3 controller can reach to other rooms so it would be possible. However, if you want to send your blueray or apple TV type device to another TV in another room its not very effective due to remote control issues. It would be nice if this type of device could relay the remote signal to where ever the receiver unit is located. Sling Player does this so no reason this type of device couldn't do it for at least 1 device.

One design item that could be changed are the lights on the units. They are bright, even the red light which shows that the unit is in standby mode. If you have this device facing you then you have a bright red or blue light looking right at you. I ended up turning mine sideways so that the bright lights don't become a distraction.

So, yes this device works but I had issues with it working with a PS3 and a Dish Network HDTV box. Outside of the issues I had, the price is way out of line. This device should be in the $250 range rather than close to $800. You might pay that under certain circumstances but that is a lot of money for what this device does. At that price, hire a professional to run cable in your house, I think it would cheaper to do it that way.

I've been looking at ways to decrease my cable bill and cutting out one of my HD-DVRs seemed to be one way to do it. The Philips Wireless HDTV link was my solution and has been working great so far. It offers a lot of flexibility, with support up to 1080p/30. If you currently have devices set higher than that, such as 1080p/60, you will need to adjust to 1080p/30, which shouldn't be an issue for 99% of consumers.

There are 4 inputs (2 HDMI, 2 Component) and 1 HDMI output. I currently have the transmitter in my living room (first floor) and the receiver in my bedroom (second floor) and it has been working flawlessly (Comcast/Motorola DVR). The only thing missing is an IR transmitter. I solved this problem by using the Next Generation Remote Control Extender.

The MSRP is too hard to swallow, but the current price is more than 50% off of that, making it an awesome deal.

I bought this and the BriteView BV-2500, to compare them. They work IDENTICALLY, and based upon my examination of the outside of both devices, I would be willing to bet that they both use the identical components inside. All of the ports on the rear of both the receiver/transmitter devices are in the EXACT SAME POSITION. They both use blue LED lighting on the front of each device, in the EXACT SAME POSITION.

I think Philips and BriteView bought the same components, wrapped different exteriors around them, and Philips is using their name brand to charge more than twice as much.

I am using these devices to transmit through 1 wall, across about 25-30 feet of space, and they both worked identically. Occasional 'blip' in the audio stream, but overall pretty good. They both had the same problem with 1080p video, namely that it doesn't work real well. I tested this with a PS3 set to 1080p output. Both devices failed to transmit video. My guess is, since they both support 24p 1080p, they would work OK if I started playing a blu-ray at 24p and then turned on the transmitter. But since the 1080p output by the PS3 starts out at a higher refresh rate, initially they do not work.

As my goal for these was simply to stream normal 1080i video, it didn't concern me too much. I am keeping the BriteView and returning this Philips model.

Does a decent job with TV connection at 1080i, but was not able to handle a Blu-Ray Player at 1080P. If all you want to connect is a TV, then this is fine, but any other connectors are a no-go.

Overview

This product does exactly what it says it will, it is small and attractive, easy to set up, and offers no surprises in terms of functionality. I give it high marks for functionality and good looks, but dock it one star for being very expensive.

Features

The device supports two HDMI devices, and two component video devices. An included remote, or buttons located on the top right of the transmitter box, allow you to switch between them. All that works well. Honestly, I wish there were three or four HDMI inputs, because I could easily see three HD devices--an XBox 360, a cable TV box, and a Blu-Ray player--sharing such a connection.

Looks

The transmitter is smaller than I expected, and looks pretty slick, but not as slick as it does in the photos. Close up you can tell that it's made of black plastic, encased in a clear plastic shell. The look complements my plasma TV (except that it is glass instead of plastic, of course), so I give it high marks.

The receiver can attach to the back of your TV, via included pads with velcro and adhesive backing. It is really thin, and would have no problem fitting behind your wall mount. You can also attach the receiver to a wall with included screws.

Performance

Wireless video and audio (2 channel, in my tests) are flawless, in 1080i/30 (HDTV), 1080p/24 (Blu-ray), and 1080p/30 (streaming Netflix and H.264 on my TV). I didn't notice any interference from my wifi-N network or my cell phone.

There is a minor flaw, however, that occasionally reminds you that you are using a wireless connection. Several times when changing channels, the TV temporarily went black for a second or two. I'm not sure why the signal gets cut out, but it never happened while watching one channel or while watching Blu-ray or streaming Netflix from my Blu-ray player. It only happens when changing channels on my cable box.

This product does not support 1080p/60, which is the standard and maximum resolution/refresh rate at which my HDTV operates. Note that 1080p/60 is indistinguishable from 1080p/30 and 1080p/24, which this device does support, so lack of 1080p/60 is not a big deal. You just have to ensure your components aren't set to a fixed 1080p/60 output resolution. If you are a Blu-ray fan, you are probably looking at this product for its 1080p/24 support--which eliminates judder--anyway.

Another point about this device: you will probably have to place the receiver somewhere within the line of sight of the TV, if you want to use the remote to turn it on and switch between the connected devices. This could be a problem if you want to keep all your A/V gear hidden. An IR repeater might allow you to control this unit from another room or behind a wall, howerver.

Overall Impressions

This is an excellent product. The elephant in the room, however, is the price tag. It costs almost as much as my 50" plasma TV! It costs more than a lot of 42" LCD TVs! That said, this is product is brand new, works well, and has no competing products that offer all the resolutions it supports, notably 1080p/24 and 1080p/30. Wireless HDMI (in some flavor or another) is going to be the next big feature in HTDVs, and if you want in on that now, I highly recommend this product. You're going to have to pay, however, to be an early adopter.