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Electronics : Keyspan TVI-200C TuneView for iPod classic 4G, 5G (Black) |
- A Keyspan's docks review (AV Dock and TuneView)I have owned the two Keyspan iPod's docks: The older one (AV dock) does not output full stereo sound to my home theater anymore, I've checked this out unplugging the home theater audio jack from the unit's audio out and plugging it directly to the iPod's headphone jack: the center and right speakers came back to life. And so happened with TuneView, too, few months after I bought it, February this year, not to mention the control issues I have had. Sadly, it all was a waste of money because I was so happy with the older model that I bought this "more powerful" one and now they both are broken. I have owned AV Dock since may 2007 and although it still does some work, it's not as it should be. The remote doesn't work as it should, neither (it's not a battery issue). I noticed the lost of sound quality few months ago this year. Since then, it lays at my desk, as a synch device...
The TuneView had some remote issues, as lost of connection or freezing. Later, it stopped working at all. Then I hook it to the home theater just to listen to the music and started to notice the above mentioned lost of sound quality. Then I went back to the AVDock just only to realize that it has the same problem, too.
Rating:
- Nice start but needs improvementThis is a good item as I am able control my iPod connected to my stereo while I work in my office upstairs. Very simple setup and working in seconds. Did take a bit to get it restarted after doing a software update. It is by no means rugged so not a good idea to subject to even light roughousing. My up button takes a little extra pushing. The interface needs more search features as you can't easily move around your songs other than mainly scrolling with the choice to start at the beginning, end or middle of your full list. Haven't played around if there is more as I just pick a song and let it randomly play. I like the tool but it can definitely be improved. I am glad I got it.
Rating:
- Great Accessory for Your IPod!This product delivers what it says it will do! Took only a minute to set up, and the remote syncs with your Ipod very quickly. Easy to navigate through the different menus. Only 2 things that bug me a little: Although the LCD screen is easy to read, the control buttons are not backlit, so they are hard to see out on the deck in the dark. Also, some of the lists (such as "purchased" songs, or playlists) are not in the correct order--just in a random order. I've found the best way is just put it on shuffle and let it go. Then its easy to move on to the next song if you don't like the one that comes on.
Great remote and dock station for the money!! Lets you control the volume via RF as well. Its sort of like buying the afforable alternative to Sonos.
Rating:
- Poorly constructed -- expect it to break.I love this remote when it works. It synchs automatically and makes my life easier.
But buyer beware. I know two others (besides myself) that have this device, and one can't use it anymore after he dropped it on the floor, and the other has had to piece his back together.
Mine stopped working altogether.
Rating:
- Great Concept; Design Flaw; Bad Customer ServiceI bought this product for my boat. The idea was to jack into the AUX of my boat's car stereo, have TuneView Dock plug into that, and remotely control the iPod out on the deck via the TuneView remote.
Initially it seemed to work fine. I even updated the firmware without a hitch. However, near the middle of the boating season for me (May-September), I noticed that the batteries housed in the unit (2 AA) started to rattle around, and if I shook it, they'd easily lose their connection, and the remote would go black.
I opened the battery door and looked a little closer. It appears that the actual housing for the AA batteries is physically larger than it should be, and and the battery terminals have the sole purpose of holding the batteries in place - and thus keeping the power source in tact. This is a pretty serious design flaw. What ends up happening is that over time, those slim metal terminals bend (its not like they are spring-loaded), and eventually the two AA batteries just jostle around in there and its up to the alignment of the moon and stars whether you end up getting power. I tried bending the terminals forward. This is a hack, and did not work in the end...as one of them just broke.
Here's my other issue with the unit: about a month after I had it, a black horizontal line showed up on the LCD and would not go away.
Now, here's my big issue with the company: Keyspan was purchased by Tripp Lite recently (2008). I bought the unit summer 2007. I *should* have contacted Keyspan immediately when I started to have issues...but I did not, and this is my fault.
I contacted Tripp Lite support and I was told that I could ship the unit to them at my expense, and if they thought I had dropped it, then they would simply return it to me. I explained that I felt the battery terminal issue was a design flaw, and I failed to see how that could ever be the result of dropping the unit, and they told me that "Past experience has shown us the bent battery terminals is sometimes a tale (sic) tale sign of the unit being dropped."
Given that, and the fact that I was 2 months past the 1 yr warranty, I did not ship it back. They indicated that if it was not in the 1 yr period, they were not liable to do anything anyway. I can understand that, and it is my fault for not taking more timely action, but still...I paid $170 USD for this thing, and now it is pretty much worthless.
One end of the battery terminals is a removable piece that I can probably re-inforce. The other side is soldered to the PCB, so I have fewer options there.
I felt compelled to post my experience here so others would be warned. I really feel the customer service at Tripp Lite could have taken the high-road here, but they chose not to. Your mileage may vary.
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