Customer Reviews

Sonic Impact V-55 Portable Speaker System with LCD Screen and Remote for iPod (Black)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

What you should know if you are considering this device:

1) The screen is REALLY REALLY GOOD but not quite AMAZING. The case, however, is exceedingly rugged and well designed. It "feels" well built, if you know what that means.

2) Tactile button response can be a little frustrating at times. Sometimes you have to hit a button twice to get it to work. But this isn't a video game. You get it right once and then you don't touch any buttons at all for at least half an hour. Definitely not a deal breaker.

3) This device INCLUDES a stereo 8mm to three-way FEMALE RCA adapter. Very handy if you want to watch stuff on the "real" TV. In this setup, the much belittled hide-away remote is actually very useful.

4) The battery life is really good. Often better than your iPod video. That can get frustrating when your iPod Video dies but your V55 is still good to go.

5) HOWEVER, it does charge your iPod when it is plugged in so if you are in the car using the INCLUDED cigarette lighter adapter or are near a power outlet using the INCLUDED AC adpater, the above complaint does not apply.

6) Several reviewers have faulted this device for failing to properly select between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect rations. Unsuprisingly, the fault is ACTUALLY with the operator and not the device.

As it is described in the (admittedly somewhat lengthy but intelligently written) instructions, the 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio selection is actually on the iPod and not in the V55.

I could cite several technical reasons why it HAS to be this way given the way the iPod handles video output, but suffice it to say that this one "tiny hink" is clearly explained in the little book that comes with your purchase if you choose to read it.

7) Next, the guy who said this product is for 2.35 aspect ratio videos doesn't know how aspect ratios work. Movies come in 1.33 (like your TV); 1.85 widescreen, and 2.35 (Panavision, etc) widescreen aspect rations. This product -- like widescreen HDTVs -- is designed in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Why? To make professional cinematographers (who rallied for a 2:1 aspect ratio) angry. No, really. I'm not actually kidding.

Anyhow, when you watch a 4:3 (old-style TV) video on this product, it pillarboxes the image. This means there are black vertical bars on either side of the correctly proportioned image.

Unlike some TVs, this product does not allow you to digitally zoom in to remove those side bars or allow you to perform a "cinema-wide" expansion. I believe this is because iPod video does not contain enough information to digitally (straight bicubic expansion) zoom in a pretty way and the chip that widescreens a 4:3 image (the aforementioned cinema-wide conversion) or performs an intelligent scalar algorythm would make this device ridiculously unaffordable.

8) All that said, in my opinion, this product plus iPod + iTunes plus free downloadable Handbrake software is really, bar none, the ultimate portable video set up. While the "menu-challenged" may experience a minor learning curve figuring out how to use the aspect ratio setting, the end result of these three products combined is nothing short of miraculous.

I got this for Xmas and love this little gem. I am able to watch movies that I converted from my personal DVD collection and let the kids watch them in the back seat while traveling. The reason why this is better than a portable DVD player is that you can store about 30 movies on the iPod which lessens the hassle of bringing DVDs while on vacation or traveling far distances. Also, the speakers are wonderfully loud and I use it to play my tunes when I use my home gym. I am also able to mount the unit on my treadmill and I can watch it there also. You can go to websites and download movies or cartoons or women in bikinis ([...]), convert it and watch on this unit. Speaking of converting, I don't find that my wide screen movies get stretched. Everything looks fine to me. Perhaps people are using a bad converting software? I converted my dvd collection of old television classics like Leave it to Beaver or the Andy Griffith show (all in 4:3 format) and wide screen movies like Ricky Bobby or Monster house. All look good and not stretched. The wide screen movies are smaller in order to fit the proper aspect ratio, but it is still good quality. Try using PQ DVD to ipod conversion suite.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I wish the unit would use it's internal battery to power the ipod. Because I have a 5th generation (not 5.5 gen) 30gig iPod, the movies only last 2.5 hours on a single charge. After watching a movie, my ipod is drained, but the Sonic Impact still has more power. The Memorex iFlip is better here in this case. After hours of use, the unit is drained but the ipod is still fully charged ( or so I read in online reviews).
The Sonic Impact CAN charge the iPOD but the power adapter needs to be plugged in. Also, the ipod can stay inside the Sonic Impact and still sych to the computer via usb ports on the side of the Sonic Impact.

I got this item about a month ago and I absolutely love it.
Great picture, great sound, could have a nicer carrying case
to come with it.
I do not have a problem with it not turning on after not using
it for a while, it turns on days after I used it last time. It
is a little tricky: Make sure you have it completely turned off
(none of the green lights on the side on no more) and then put
it on hold or it will still drain the battery.

This product is amazing. I expected it to be able to take the video from my ipod and put it on a larger screen but I never expected it to be able to go through a tv as well with no loss of picture quality. The sound is extraordinarly clear. When I was watching a downloaded program, I thought I was watching the original broadcast due to the sound and video being so clear. The size is easily transported. It comes with a bonus of a car adapter so I can use it for car trips. I think the battery will be sufficient for plane rides. The ipod is secure in the player and I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to have a larger picture than the ipod screen.

Based on C/Net reviews, Amazon.com reviews and reviews by ilounge I decided to get the V55 versus the iFlip. The reviews I had seen on-line were fairly accurate, but I think [the reviewers] were too enamored with style over function.

The V55 is very well built. It's solid, ipod integration is very nice, and there is excellent fit and finish. The speakers provide pretty good sound, and make a good portable system for use on the road. In fact, the reviews used this as one of the real descriminators. But when am I going to use this without headphones? For me at least, a better sounding audio system isn't as important on a device like this. Additionally, the importance of an IR remote is over-sold for a personal device, at least for my personal use profile in airplanes and other vehicles.

All else being the same - these would have been selling points for the V55. However, all else is not equal. There are two flaws which are driving me to return the product:

1) No 4:3 aspect ratio selection. Now many posters at ilounge had discussed this issue, and recent posts claimed this problem was fixed with a menu selection, but the unit I bought on Dec 30, 2006 does not allow selection of 4:3. I sent multiple messages to SI and received a response from Nick stating that there was not a firmware fix available for the unit. That leaves only a few possible conclusions:
a) There is no fix and the few posts of a fix are 'planted'
b) There is a fix in new units, but the vendor is unwilling to offer a firmware upgrade
c) There is a fix and there is no way to upgrade the unit's firmware

C) is the most likely scenario, but in any case it's a deal breaker. To me - watching i-tunes downloaded video in 'wide-head' mode is simply not acceptable for a product in this price category. I don't mind re-ripping my DVDs with the proper wide screen aspect ratio, but there is no way to play native 4:3 video without video stretching.

2) The V55 battery doesn't provide power to the ipod. The ipod battery drains as the V55 system is being used. The cheaper competition keeps the ipod battery topped off, so when the video system drains you still have a fully charged ipod for your portable use. Also if your ipod battery is drained you cannot use the V55. Again, not so with the cheaper competing product.

I'll do my wrap-up by repeating the V55 is a very well built product. It's look and feel is very nice, and if I didn't have to contend with issue #1 I would probably live with issue #2. However, there appears to be no way to assure you'll get a unit with the firmware upgrade (if it exists).

I cannot recommend the V55.

Let me preface this by saying shame on Apple for making their new Classic iPods incompatible with non-OEM video accessories. We love this accessory for our videos for our 3yo daughter. Gone are the days of searching for the DVD she wants and plugging it into the DVD player. And searching for the cover boxes when you need to put them away (where do those go?!) We bought several portable DVD players which failed within months. This is a very sturdy unit - she's dropped it several times and so far so good. Considering her height - we're talking about a 2' drop onto a concrete foundation floor... not bad at all. We use CloneDVDMobile to rip the DVDs to MP4 format - drag and drop into the iTunes library & off we go.

I even bought an 80GB 5.5G iPod and that, too, fits in this model (even though it clearly says 60GB on it).

The only fault is that the touch buttons can be difficult to use. The tiny, storable remote is nice for turning the unit on and off instead of the touch surface.

I had to buy a back up just in case one of those 2' drops kills the unit. I highly recommend this for people who have lots of videos/DVDs they want to carry around with them - easy storage, easy retrieval, sturdy unit.

I don't normally write reviews but I wanted to let people know they can use their new iPod classics with this player as long as you have the iPod dock. Simply select your video file with tv out enabled. Attach the ipod to the dock as it instructs. This "unlocks" the video and it starts playing. Pause the ipod, put it in the Video 55 and push play. Enjoy

This is a great device, the speakers rock hard, and the volume is good, you can leave the IPOD in this forever if you want, it syncs to my apple computer with a USB cable, and the Remote control is too cool ! The video out is great and looks great on my HD 47 inch DLP TV !
The only downside in my opinion, is that it weighs alot, feels like a laptop almost, feels weird carrying it around and you lose the portability of the ipod headpones and put it in your pocket use of just the ipod, but it will play music when closed. It only shows video when the pod is putting out video, but thats cool, saves battery life, and I had to set the video out in the ipods video setting..... other than those small issues, I love this ! I record over the air Conan OBrien episodes onto my I-MAC then convert the video to mpeg4 with the full version of quicktime, then drop that into my itunes library, and watch Conan where ever I want on a 7 inch screen..... too cool, or
I wow my friends with my music video collection from itunes....great !

Sonic Impact Video 55 Portable iPod Speaker System with LCD Screen and Remote (Black) is an excellent little device, Cute and portable, Provides excellent audio output even with this tiny sized speakers, Decent battery life, Good LCD screen with better than average clarity, Designed wonderfully to co-exist with Video IPOD (5G and 5.5G)

Important Note:
(The 3rd-generation iPod nano and the 6th-generation iPod classic no longer will broadcast a video signal to the Video 55 when docked in the docking connector. With Apple's software change, the only way to view video on any existing video player, including the product reviewed here is to purchase Apple's iPod Composite Video Cable, Apple decided to make money by disabling Video-out and forcing people to buy their $50 cable)

Pros:

[+} Small Size, excellent Build Quality, Feels nice to hold in hand with rubber grip surface on the outside.

[+} Superb Sound Quality from built-in Speakers!

[+] Better than average color LCD quality for a similar portable device

[+] Better than average battery life, Most of the time lasts longer than the IPOD's battery when it comes to viewing Videos

[+} Includes complete list of accessories to connect external video sources, Travel Charger and Car lighter adapters, to add touch to the generous list they have included a soft carry case as well as cleaning cloth!

Cons:

[-] Does not keep IPOD's battery topped off with charge when the Video 55 is running on it's battery power, In the end both the devices needs recharging

[-] The famous 16:9 (Widescreen) issue that has been discussed over and over again is still present even with the current models that have 16:9 / 4:3 aspect ration setting on the LCD menu, it is not Video 55's issue, But the issue is that IPOD does not generate a true 16:9 output unless you encode your videos in a custom resolution to match the 16:9 aspect ratio of Video 55. If you do manage to get correct aspect ratio on Video 55 the images look goofy on IPOD screen. (Remember, IPOD has a 320x480 screen, the Video 55 has 480 x 234 display) Whenever you have 4:3 content on IPOD and you select 16:9 on Video 55 the images will look stretched - Enough said on this issue, there are other reviewers who has done extensive research on this and they are correct.

[-] Audio output from the headphone jack on Video 55 is from internal AMP and not from the IPOD and thereby there is considerable amount of HISS if you are audiophile, for regular users it is not than annoying, Sound output from the built-in speakers are clean! There is some issue which Sonic Impact failed to notice.

[-] The glossy surface and the touch controls on Video 55 are prone to smudges and scratches as it is too glossy, Sure! It matches perfectly with IPOD and as you may be aware, IPOD is not immune from these scratches and smudges.

[-] The touch control is hard to get used to, It does not have repeat function, if you want to increase the volume for example you will have to keep tapping the surface till desired level is achieved, I would have preferred to just keep my hand on [+] /[-] and the volume increase/decrease.

[-] The remote keys are sticky and slow to respond, for example if you want to select the next song in the playlist, you can hit the >>| button on the remote, but most of the time it just tells IPOD to fast forward instead of next file - you get the idea.

You must be wondering with so many [-] why have I rated this 5 Stars? Well, the price! You can get this today for less than $50 dollars in most online stores, for that price it is definitely worth the price.

If you have a BLACK Video IPOD (5th generation or 5.5 Generation) this a nice compliment to have with your IPOD. Buy it!

The V55 seems to be a slick device. I just got mine. I like it, with one major exception: I have an iPod Classic 160gb. Guess what! Apple blocks "TV Out" unless you have an "auth chip" from Apple and the V55 does not. I knew I risked that problem when I ordered it, I was just hoping it would work. The curse of Apple has been biting me for a while now with my iPod.

Still, v55 looks very nice (shows fingerprints badly) and sounds really good playing music. Wish I could play videos on it. Not Sonic Impact's fault though.