Customer Reviews

Sony LF-V30 LocationFree Base Station

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I would like to have done this a long time ago, but the technology seems to be just now becoming viable. Based on the research and reviews, the prior versions of the Sony product did not make it worth the purchase. Slingbox was the way to go. However, with this latest release (lf-v30) Sony has caught up and passed Slingbox in the place shifting arena (IMHO). I was able to pick up the Locationfree via price matching by BB for $199. Thus making the Sony cheaper than the Slingbox for similar capability

The first and biggest advantage of the Sony is that its WIRELESS!. This alone was the biggest decision factor for me. I did not want to run 100' of Ethernet cable from my router to the base unit nor did I want to plop down an extra 80 bucks for Slinglink. I was also a little skeptical about the socket networking as my experience with other socket networking products has been sketchy at best. I plugged in the Unit and it found my wireless LAN right away.

Performance has been terrific. Video streaming is smooth and fast. Color and picture are crisp clear and vivid. Nice picture. And I only have the RCA video cable hooked up. The only issue I have run across is that the video stream will freeze or terminate when I am receiving a large email or file across the network. Otherwise it works flawlessly. My Vonage IP phone does not even seem to impact the video stream while I am on conference calls (nor does the phone degrade while streaming).

I like the option of multiple video inputs. Will try plugging in my DVD player at some point and watch movies remote. If that works I may upgrade my DVD player to a "jukebox" player and have my movie library available anywhere I go. (that or convert all my movies to digital files). I plan on upgrading my DVR to HD some time soon and I like having the option of being able to stream that as well via the component inputs.

Installation was relatively easy. Just follow the wizard and it walks you through it with no problem. I did run into one hiccup when trying to stream the video across the Internet. I could not get the NETAv test to pass and had to end up calling support. That was one of the most pleasant support calls I have ever had. Reached a service rep immediately with no wait. He was able to take control of my laptop remotely and had the problem fixed within 5 minutes. Turns out I have an older DSL router paired with a Linksys wireless router. The install recognized this as a multiple router setup which can cause complications. The service Rep accessed my routers via my laptop remote session, opened up a port on my DSL router and got the issue fixed.

All in All I am extremely satisfied and would highly recommend this solution to anyone interested in place shifting their TV viewing.

The unit seems to be working as described. It's the only LocationFree station I know of that takes Component cables, and although I could have rigged something up on a previous model, it's nice to just do it right.

The setup wasn't as easy as I had hoped for, but they really do encourage you to call Sony's support for assistance, which I like. So don't worry, call em up and they will get you through it.

I use the device with my PSP and it's quite impressive. The video quality is downright excellent. I was shocked out how well it worked. The "remote control" on the PSP and the PC clients mimicks the actual remote that you have not just in functionality, but in look as well. So you can jump right in and feel comfortable instantly controlling the TV remotely, was very impressed.

The ONLY difficult part with setup was getting my router to let the signal through, although even that wasn't very difficult (Sony help could EASILY walk anyone through this)... after that, the settings and options with the unit are easy to access and for the most part, everything is automatic and simplified. You can easily connect directly to the box via WiFi with the PSP or a computer and manage settings (not much to manage) but if I'm in another room, sometimes I'll just connect dirctly with my PSP and watch the TV.

Again, the picture/sound quality is excellent and providing you have a decent connection, I don't see there being any real issues.

I purchased a video/audio out cable for my PSP and plug it into hotel/friends TV's when I'm out of town and can literally watch my TV from home, on another TV easily anywhere I go.

I highly recommend this unit, it works as it's supposed to do, and because it has PSP functionality, it's much more valuable than a slingbox.

Also, if you are buying this and don't own a PSP - ignore the "gaming" aspects of the PSP, for $169.00 that the PSP sells for, it's worth it's weight in gold as just a simple movie/LocationFree viewing device.

great device, works great with PSP and PC. i read reviews that installation was a little more than expected. i found the installation to be a breeze, very easy. lol, i failed to use the ir (infrared) blaster. therefore, my remote was not working, DUU. basically, the ir blaster is a little device that plugs into the base station and sends the single out to cable or sat box like your remote would. place the end with the ir tip near your cable or sat box.

i am very pleased. hope you enjoy yours as much.

Like one of the other reviewers, I too had to get help from the Sony folks, but they were great. It is quiet complicated to get it up and running, especially since I was using a Mac, not a PC. You have to buy the Mac software from [...] as a download.

PSP - The picture is great. There is a slight delay when you use the remote but that is expected since you are controlling it over the internet. I love being able to get Laker games in any of the cities I travel to. Since I have it hooked up to a DVR, I can watch "my programs" instead of CNN for hours in an overseas hotel.

Mac - As long as you don't stretch the image to full screen size, the picture is quite good. I had read that the interface for the Mac wasn't ideal, but I don't see any problems.

Possible Cons - I have yet to get the PSP Component A/V output cables to work on a TV. I am only getting sound, but I have an e-mail into Sony to see if there is a simple fix.
I have read where people complain that there isn't a HDMI input. It is a copyright protection issue with HDMI, component does have the same issues.

Overall- I highly recommend this to anyone who travels a lot and spends too much time in hotels stuck with one or two channels that speak English.

Update: I have now had this for several months. I still love it. I had to go back to Sony Customer Service to help me when I replaced my wifi router. It is extremely complicated to swap passwords, change WEP to alternate encryption methods.

The only problem I have encountered is if you are at a hotel and they have weak wifi, your picture will suffer.
The sounds always remains strong though.

I was looking at the Slingbox products, but didn't want to pay that much. This device is great because it has wireless capability built in! No extra adapters needed, unlike Slingbox products. It even has a switch on the back to set to client mode so you can use with your current wireless router.
The wireless works better than expected.
The initial setup was a little challenging, only because of the many features of the product. Luckily though, I didn't have to call support...whew. The software viewer supplied was easy to install and setup. This product even has a feature where it will get your remote control settings using your existing remote control of your DTV or Cable box remote. The viewer software displays a virtual remote control, which looks exactly like the one at home.


Pros:
Great price!
Wireless built in!
Great video quality with no lags, even using wirelessly.
Remote control feature makes no down time while using how to work the controls!

Only cons that I can point out:
Set asise a few bucks for a set of component cables, only composite are included
No HDMI, but luckily my DTV receiver will output HDMI and component at the same time, so I didn't have to use the pass through feature

I purchased and have been playing with the Sony LF-V30 Location Free Base Station for several days. Overall I am very satisfied. Setting it up, however. I had a few issues.

1. I didn't realize you had to place the IR Blaster Wire over your DirecTV box (or whatever your video source is). I put the wire over the Base Station instead and was utterly confused as to why none of the on-screen remotes worked. Once I figured it out, setting the Base Station up on my PC was a snap.

2. Setting it up on my PSP was easier, however none of the supplied on screen remote choices worked. I could not change the channels or power my DirecTV box on with my PSP. I have the DirecTV HD receiver, the H20. I looked up information online and found out that I had to create my own on screen remote by using the "learning function" of the Base Station. Once that was done, and the file was created on my desktop, I had to move that file to my PSP. To do that, you have to connect your PSP to your PC via the USB cable. Then, create 3 folders on your PSP memory stick. Then, move the file you created to the proper folder. When you use the player through your PSP, you have to scroll to the bottom and select the "Custom Remote" option and select it. Then you're good to go.

From a performance standpoint, I think the picture and sound quality are excellent. It's great to be able to watch and change the channels from my computer. Then, simply hook my PSP up to my bedroom TV with the AV or Component cable and I have access to all of my DirecTV channels. Or, simply watch on the PSP screen.

Overall, this is a great product.

Four stars only because there are insufficient inputs for a wider variety of source devices. However, the LocationFree assumes you are hooking up from a Cable TV STB, DVR, TiVo or VCR or DVD player. I hooked up my LF to the component A/V output from a 400 disc, carrousel (or Jukebox) style DVD player and enabled the LocationFree player built-in to my PSP Slim. Now, I can remotely select and watch movies anywhere there is a WiFi HotSpot, high speed, access to the Internet. SWEET!

Device does what it promised. Sony makes it much of it straightforward. For reasons that are unclear I had difficulty making the component inputs take a signal and pass it on. I almost think that you need to power cycle the device anytime you make changes, even hardware ones. Despite recommendations of 300kbps for upload speed, the best picture comes from 4mbps which I easily got over a wired and wireless connection to my Time Capsule (not Base Station). My signal from the Base Station was Fair so I couldn't get a consistently good picture unless I left it wired. It is located a floor and 2 rooms away from my Time Capsule. The LocationFree Player for Mac OS X is a separate purchase and nearly impossible to find. It is of poor quality compared to the Windows version. If you are a Mac user, run Parallels in windowed mode (not coherence, otherwise black and white picture only) then use the software provided with it. You will be much happier. The PSP setup was straightforward and worked fine. Output from the PSP via component cable to a 42 inch LCD HDTV was surprisingly good. Definitely soft picture but all things considered, very good. Sony support was helpful with setup and minimal hold time. If setup was easier I would have given it 5 stars.

I originally researched the SlingBox and truth be told, I probably would have spent the extra money for it had going wireless with it not been so expensive. After digging a bit, I found the Sony LocationFree Base Station. As I researched, I found out that the Playstation Portable (PSP) has a built-in LocationFreeTV viewer... and that ultimately was the clincher.

I could not be more pleased at how easy it was to get the box set up and working! It took me no more than 30 minutes from the time I was handed the package at my door to watching cable tv on my computer. I had absolutely no issue with getting the box connected to my home network and the PC software connected to the base station.

The home wireless network signal is only 70% at the box, but the streams have been surprisingly free of glitches and freezing. I am really impressed at how well it streams and how little it seems to affect our network. I work from home and we have a LOT of network activity but there has been no noticeable impact at a video bit rate at or below 1500kbps and very little impact even at 3000kbps.

I also purchased a PSP as a viewer for the LocationFree box. I had always wanted a PSP anyway, and the combined cost of the LocationFree box and the PSP was roughly what I would have paid for the mid-level SlingBox, so I decided to buy the bundle. I am AMAZED by the picture on the PSP -- its gorgeous!!

To sum up, I think this LocationFree Base Station was a wise purchase. It will pay for itself in about eight months since I won't have to pay for a cable outlet installation and monthly box rental. I am pleasantly surprised by the picture quality and despite being ready for an unpleasant installation experience, it went without a hitch. I highly recommend this box, especially if you require a wireless network interface.

The product is much better than a slingbox. It is easy to setup as long as you follow the directions. Perfect for college students. quality is great. I would not purchase any other similar product. this product works great, is cheap, and easy to use