Customer Reviews

ZeeVee ZvBox

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

 

 

The positives:

* This is a very creative approach to getting around the issue of streaming HD content (actually, VGA content) throughout the home. ZeeVee's paradigm is to broadcast your content from a PC over an unused cable channel...this is a great concept since it doesn't rely on any of the host of other transmission conduits that have have either not been reliable enough or deliver the adequate bandwidth necessary to get the job done, e.g. wireless, powerline, etc...

* When all is said and done, the product DOES work.

HOWEVER...(the negatives)...

* The installation guide just casually expects you to find the root source of the cable signal coming into your home and to hook in a little signal "reflecting" device to ensure your personal channel doesn't transmit all over the neighborhood. Otherwise, conceivably, your neighbor could watch your movies with you, watch you do your banking online, etc... If you install this device anywhere else on your cable line inside the house, you risk cutting off parts of your home from receiving your personal channel.

Now, perhaps in Massachusetts where these guys are based, that's no big deal since cable TV service was patched onto homes that were already decades old. Here in California, the cable connection is relatively embedded...it was installed when the home was built. While it's possible that I could go outside and open up the TV service panel and figure out some way to do all of that without losing signal fidelity, I'm less than excited about actually doing the deed. For many, I'd expect that this is far beyond their technical capability.

* Software stability issues. I installed the requisite driver software on a Vista PC, and my PC seems to be running into technical issues on a pretty regular basis. This is a "clean" PC--i.e. there's hardly anything installed on it to interfere--so I'd simply point out that you might expect to run into some software glitches initially.

* Image issues. I'm not going to nitpick the quality of the image transmitted (which is fine within all reasonable standards), but more about how its configuration is absolutely frustrating. First, the assumption is made that you'll simply patch their box onto the existing VGA line running from your PC to monitor. I hate to tell the manufacturers this, but it's 2008 and folks who are buying a device such as this probably are not living in a world of analog video signals. Nonetheless, I hooked it up to a laptop and found the software messing absolutely everything up on PC...screens going blank, resolutions being changed, etc...

In terms of usability, the problem ultimately was that even with the device's "calibration" capability, it was impossible to properly frame your PC's screen on the TV. For example, you're supposed to properly position a picture of a flower on the TV in order to ensure your video output will fit similarly. The first problem is that the image of the flower isn't 16:9...it's off somewhat, so you're fighting a battle of trying to figure out whether to crop off the top/bottom of your screen image or have black vertical bars on either side.

Ultimately, it seems to be impossible to get back to the point of trying to re-calibrate the Flower from Heck...the software keeps crashing (see earlier feedback), so in my case, I simply had to live with the minor issue of having no ribbon bar or start menu on the bottom of my screen.

* Fidgety remote. Again, I like the concept of having a single remote control that can command the host PC into opening windows, launching videos, etc... The problem is that there is a serious lag issue...you move the mouse on your remote, and about 3/4 of a second later, the mouse spurts around on-screen, somewhat uncontrollably. The remote, which is wireless, was only about two feet from the included receiver, so signal strength shouldn't have been an issue.

* Thou Shalt Be Channel 125. On a separate aside, you are "forced" to being on a single, pre-selected channel, all of which is dependent on which "reflector" is packaged in your box. (I guess 125 and 135 are the two models they're shipping out.) Unfortunately, both 125 and 135 are "real" channels on my cable system, so you effectively have to forfeit the content delivered by your cable provider. Theoretically, you can ask for a different reflector on a different channel, but I suspect they're going to give you the choice between...channel 125 and channel 135.

CONCLUSION

This is a cool technology to try out, but unless you're just a real nerd who likes the idea of creating his own TV channel and possibly hijacking neighbors' TV sets, I'd sit out this generation of product and wait for 2.0.

Wait for:

* the software to become more stable
* for some easier implementation of "reflectors"/filters (possibly like how DSL does it...a different filter available for each cable connection throughout the house.)
* for a DVI connection, not VGA (duh!), which should also lead to fewer "calibration" issues.

I wanted a PC-to-TV device ever since I started recording TV with my Media Center PC and ripping movies to my hard drive.

I have some other media streamers, but it seemed like where they come up short is in the number of formats they support and the limited amount of web content they can access. The ZvBox gets over all the format limitations by just putting what's on your PC monitor onto your TV screen!

Setup was easier than other reviewers made it out to be (you screw in a couple of coax cables and plug your monitor in), though you do have to know where the main splitters are so you can screw in the channel filter.

It also doesn't interfere with my cable-based "digital voice" and broadband services which is something I worried about.

The device itself performs reasonably well. Resolution is truly HD, frame rate is impressive, but darker gradients sometime pixellate because of the signal compression. The vast majority of content looks just as great on the big screen as the computer monitor, but I wouldn't stream Blu Ray over the ZV channel or anything because there ARE minor, usually unnoticeable quality issues that keep it from having the quality of a direct HDMI connection.

The RF remote that comes with it is pretty cool and functional, though you'll want to learn to use the directional arrows, play button, and "full screen" button to minimize the reliance on the laggy touchpad and the painful text-message style text entry (for the rare circumstance where you'd want to simulate typing via the remote).

Also ZeeVee created a streamlined interface to Hulu and a few other sites which provide a pretty solid selection of free, ad-supported streaming content from the internet. I wasn't anticipating watching a lot of Hulu when I got the ZvBox, but as it turns out, Hulu support makes me question if I should keep paying for Comcast on-demand content, since ZvBox gives as good of a selection, but with a better interface and for free!

ZvBox has its limitations, but the fact that it can play iTunes, Media Center, Amazon Unbox, Hulu, YouTube, Netflix.com and whatever other format or website that your computer supports make it the most versatile media streamer on the market, though not the cheapest or easiest to use!

Plus, when you do have questions, the company is small enough that you get personalized support from American reps, which is a rarity nowadays!

All in all, I'd highly recommend it if you can get over its few quirks/usability issues and high price tag.

UPDATE/TIP: If you have an iPod Touch or an iPhone and you buy this device, I recommend an application called "Air Mouse" which lets you control your computer's mouse and keyboard with your i-device. It's a handy way to get full keyboard functionality when operating the ZvBox without buying an expensive wireless keyboard.

I got my zv box yesterday and did the setup this morning.Seting up the hardware part is not that hard and did not effect my internet or cable service.I have a new home and my cable box is in my master closet so i installed the filter and did not have to go out of the house and look for the outside cable box. I have a sony xbr 46 and a sony xbr 52" .They both working perfect with zeevee.Yes it has some minor problems like pointers responce lag issue but not that bad.And now i am watching turkish channels for free from my hdtvs for free.Thats what i wanted to to for a long time.One problem about hulu is i can not watch it in full screen when i use zeevee viewer.I do not know if its my fault or not.But overall i waited to buy zee for couple months to compare with sling catcher(which i use slingbox pro and very happy with it) but it was a big disappointment when i try it and returned it .Zeevee does the job and does it well.It has small problems but in time i am sure they will fix it with some firmware updates.And before ending my review it took me about 40 minutes to setup everything.

The zv box is a really great idea. Too bad it doesn't deliver.
To begin with, the spec's never said anything about it only having vga connectors. this alone would have keep me from buying it.
I assume that their target buyer is one, like me, that likes to keep current with technology. Not having hdmi or even a simple cable connection seems to limit their customer base. just a cable connector would make it so much easier for most of us.
The touch pad is virtually useless. It jumps around, returns to it's starting point, and generally is unusable. A track ball would have made a lot more sense in terms of simplicity and usability.
The software self-installs quite easily. However in use the system disables your computer monitor, leaving you blind unless you have a television in the same room. That combined with a useless touchpad is a bad joke. It would be simpler to just have the monitor mirror the broadcast.
This is a really great idea, and when they finally make it user friendly I will be happy to beta test it for them.

I purchased the low end 100 product and what a headache to get it to work. This product seems to me hit the market before the company was ready to support it. Support gets one star.
In a nutshell (at the time I bought this):

1. There was no information available it wouldn't work on a MAC. Not even a mac running any
flavor of windows. Come on. MACs are preferred for video applications.

2. The unit only works on a selective number of video cards. The list is not mentioned in
their web page. Ofcourse you find this out after you purchase the Windows PC because the MAC
didn't work.

3. Now I have my new DELL ZINO. Guess what, it doesn't work. Sigh. ZeeVee doesn't support Windows 7. I'm not a complete idiot to buy it with Vista. This company is not ready for the real world.

Conclusion: I assembled an old PC running XP just so I wouldn't completely lose use of a $500 unit. The Zino went on to be a content server for an Apple TV which took the place of the ZeeVee.

Don't buy this product until you have talked to someone (Melanie) at ZeeVee to see if it will work on your system first.

First of all, I am very excited that after 2 hours of hard working I finally got it to work on one of my HDTV..

Pro: The concept is awesome and it does work.
Con: Try to make it work takes a lot of patience and time...
According to the manual, you supposed to know where your main cable comes in..and put a filter there... and here is my problem, my home is brand new and I have over 20 coax cables in the little cable box that corresponding to different wall plugs in the home, and I had to dig hard to find the one that actually comes from outside.... But now, I can't get it to work with my old 37' HDTV monitor. I bought a Samsung DTBH260F as an external tuner, hoping it would work with zeevee box, but no luck yet.....it would really suck if zeevee box can't work with those hold HDTV-ready monitors

Support is great by the way.

This product is great. Not difficult to setup if you can follow directions.
Blows boxee away. One box in the den, a d it works on three tv's on three floors with the included remote! Zinc browser rocks! The one flaw is the lag on the remote when moving the cursor. Can an update fix this? I'm looking to buy the keyboard but I don't know if the cursor lags on there as well. (anybody use it yet?) the great thing about this is you are futureproofed. If some great new media software comes along you can still use it. Hell, if you like boxee,xbmc you can still use them with this. (zinc's better in my opinion though

Absolutely gorgeous picture and the remote works everywhere. Everything needed is included in the box. Easy hookup and worked the first time. Thanks.

Finally, a high quality, easy to use device for watching computer content on my HDTV! I've been waiting a long time for this!

Pros:
My daughters and I spent about an hour setting up the ZeeVee; the directions were quite simple and easy to follow.

ZViewer makes it easy to surf the web for media, rather than having to enter URLs in a web browser all the time. But, using a browser is easy too (although a keyboard would help) - we like to stream Netflix videos (using IE) to our HDTV.

The picture quality is phenomenal, as is the audio (the developers at ZeeVee clearly know media).

Broadcasting over cable is brilliant! No more wireless devices, or extra cables hanging off the TV just to use my computer with my HDTV. Also, the computer can now be anywhere in the house that has a cable connection, freeing-up space in the living room.

The remote has everything on it that I need to sit back and surf the web.

Cons:
I wish there was a remote keyboard (with mouse) because I would actually like to work from my couch using the ZV. It would also help with other data entry tasks, such as URLs.

The mouse pad is a bit difficult to use sometimes; it requires careful maneuvering with your thumb, especially when clicking on small items. It is, however, usable.

What could I say, this product rocks. I got it fast and it was very easy to setup. Blu-ray and Hulu look great but there are few bugs with software. Also the support is excellent they have told me that they are working on a software fix and will be out soon.

Rakesh