For many consumers, the cost of a Home Theatre PC is simply cost prohibitive and yet a media appliance such as the Western Digital Live Plus, or Seagate GoFlex TV doesn't quite meet their needs. Many consumers DO however own a fairly powerful laptop yet have no way getting the signal off their laptop and onto the screen wirelessly. For this niche, the Veebeam HD video streamer may just be perfect as it allows - via Certified Wireless USB - customers to turn their laptop INTO a HTPC. This is the theory behind the Veebeam HD wireless USB streamer, but is the reality the same as the theory? Read on to find out in my full review.
Review Verdict
While the Veebeam HD video streamer does indeed allow you to wirelessly stream High Definition media to your TV, most consumers will be better served with a dedicated media appliance, as while the hardware is good the same can not be said of the software.
Pros & Cons
- Small and lightweight
- Interesting yet stylish look
- Veebeam's implementation of Wireless USB works very well at seamless streaming of media across the room
- 1080p Streaming works flawlessly
- Line of sight wireless capabilities only
- Software does not include any CODECS
- Software does not support alternate audio streams
- Software and manual are not included in the box and need to be downloaded
- Price
- USB Antenna is overly wide and will block adjacent ports
Essential Specs & Stats
- Interface: Certified Wireless USB
- Video output: HDMI, composite video
- Max. video resolutions: 1080p
- Operating range: Maximum 10 ft.
- Supported platforms: Windows XP SP2, Vista, Windows 7 or Mac
- Power source: Self-powered
- Released date: November 2010
Package Content
- Veebeam HD Video Streamer
- Veebeam Wireless USB adapter
- AC/DC Wall/Mains power supply (plug type determined by shipping location)
- Composite audio/video cable
- Quick Start Guide
First look at the Veebeam HD Wireless USB Video Streamer
The Veebeam HD is not some boring black box! The first and most obvious difference from this and a media appliance (such as the Seagate GoFlex TV) is the diamond-shaped footprint. Basically this unit is a square shaped device much like any media appliance but by turning it 45º Veebeam have made it much more "interesting" diamond shape. Even though its official size rating is 120 by 120 by 80mm by turning things this way they have actually made the footprint BIGGER than it should be. With that being said, I doubt anyone will have trouble finding room for it in their home theatre entertainment setup!
The second thing which is blatantly obvious is the front "peak" and the fact that the outer skin of the Veebeam HD is covered in cooling holes (this is a passively cooled device). The peak actually serves two purposes. The first and major reason for its existence is it is the antenna tower for the Veebeam HD. The second reason for its unique shape is that it doubles as the USB wireless dongles storage cradle. When not in use, you can literally tuck the little USB dongle into this slot and it will be safe and secure; more importantly, it will never get lost.
The rear of the Veebeam HD is where all the actual ports reside. You not only get composite "RCA" ports, you also get optical audio out and of course the ubiquitous HDMI port. In other words, you will be able to connect to this to darn near any TV out there. Heck, they even include two USB ports for increased storage abilities.
The Certified Wireless USB dongle (a.k.a. Host Wire Adapter) itself is actually larger than you would expect. It is not overly tall, but it is overly wide and as such may block adjacent USB ports from being used on your laptop. I know this on my Asus laptop, but it depends on your laptop's USB port layout. When it came to actual performance of this WUSB device, I was fairly impressed. It is rated for 10 meters and I was able to get about that amount of reception distance. The only issue, and it is a BIG one, is the fact that this is a LINE OF SIGHT only setup. Anything which is between the receiver and the Wireless USB dongle will block the signal. This is inherently a limitation of Certified Wireless USB technology. Luckily, someone walking between the two devices won't cause it to drop the signal, but someone STANDING in between them for more than a couple seconds WILL. It is unfortunate, as it would have been nice to have set up the Veebeam HD on a computer in another room, and use a wireless mouse / keyboard to control it without needing to have a computer in the same room.
To be honest, I don't consider this line of sight issue a deal breaker, as the intended controlling device is supposed to be a laptop; so it is hard to find fault with a limitation that shouldn't matter to most of the intended consumers! It is however something you should be aware of as it does add an extra layer of hassle factor as you need to not only have the laptop / computer in the same room as the base station, both components need to be at ALL times in direct line of sight of each other. If you are going to do all that, why not just plug the laptop directly into the TV and use a wireless mouse?
Veebeam HD Streamer Software
Where this unit is more of a wireless transmission and replication device than a true media appliance, the software it comes with will make it or break it. The software for the Veebeam HD actually does not come in the box and you need to download it. This is not a big deal but what is, is the fact that it does not come with ANY built in video CODECS, and in fact the manual tells you to go and download them from third party sites!
Once you have the software installed and the necessary CODEC's installed, whatever you can play on your laptop can be played on your TV. This certainly is a good feature as some more esoteric codec's are usually are not supported by media appliance such as the GoFlex TV. This program literally only has one job to do and that is retransmit the data to your TV in a format that your TV can understand.
To do actually do this, you have two options. The first option (and the default option) is screen mirroring or what Veebeam calls "screencasting". Whatever is on your laptop's screen will be faithfully recreated on your TV. This does make things very easy, but quality of the image may suffer as the resolution of your laptop is going to be the limiting factor (after all it can NOT mirror at a higher definition that what your laptop's screen is). Luckily, Veebeam has foreseen this being a major limiting factor and included a second built in option, aptly called Video Play-To mode (a.k.a. "Veebeam Player" in the software itself). This option does NOT mirror the image from your screen to the TV, rather it "plays" the media only on your TV in the media's default resolution.
This mode makes for a MUCH better image if you are like me (and many) and only have a 720p capable laptop screen. As an added bonus, it is also easier on the laptop (and its battery). In testing I found the screen mirroring option to have about 30 to 35% CPU utilization, whereas Veebeam Player mode only used about 20-25%. Playing high definition media and then transmitting it via Wireless USB does take a pretty beefy laptop and that is why Veebeam HD's minimum recommended system is a 2.2GHZ Core 2 Duo!
Sadly, while the software is extremely intuitive and easy to use, the more useful Veebeam Player option does have some MAJOR drawbacks. The largest of these drawbacks is its extremely rudimentary interface and "advanced features". In fact, it has NO advanced features and lacks crucial features such as being able to select different audio streams.
On the positive side, when you are dealing with lower resolution files (like YouTube or DVDs) neither of the above limitations is going to matter. These limitations will also be moot if you don't have a 1080p capable TV as you can easily use VLC to play foreign language movies in screencasting mode, and you can play most others in the Veebeam Player mode. All in all, this IS a major limitation and you will need to think LONG and HARD before opting for the Veebeam HD rather than a dedicated media appliance which basically do everything the Veebeam HD can do (except be wireless) and do so for LESS monetary outlay. Let's take a close look at the actual performance of this device to see if it can overcome these software induced limitations.
Veebeam HD to the Big Screen TV
For video testing, I threw together a batch of videos in various codec's using various audio formats of various length (everything from 30 minute anime episodes to 2+ hour movies); sat down over a period of a couple days; and watched them using my Asus K52J laptop and Veebeam HD unit. For music, I threw everything from high bit-rate MP3 files to FLAC to Ogg Vorbis to even some WMA music files I had kicking around. This is what I found out.
When it comes to this Veebeam HD's abilities to handle media, be it audio or video, its abilities are mainly limited by your laptop. If you have a 1080p laptop screen, you will be extremely impressed with the Veebeam HD's streaming abilities as it not once skipped a beat when my data was on the laptop's hard drive. Though with that being said, there is a good three second lag between what is displayed on your laptop's screen and your TV so you can forget about using this for gaming or any interactive media! Sadly, I do NOT have a 1080p screen on my laptop but do have a 1080p HDTV so was forced to use the less than optimal "Veebeam Player" mode as anything else would result in lowered image quality. As mentioned in the software section, this means no "director's commentary" as you do NOT get any options when it comes to audio streams (it uses the default stream 1) this rules out most of my anime and foreign films as their stream 1 is NOT English!
There is also one more caveat worth pointing out: bandwidth limitations. When the test files were on an external unit, I did notice some major pauses and stuttering due to my laptop's USB bus being shared by TWO data hungry devices (the Seagate GoFlex 1.5TB USB drive and the Veebeam HD's dongle). Luckily, when it was on my NAS things went smoothly, but this is because I not only have 802.11n enabled device, but ALSO a clear network for testing. In other words, the only way you are going to watch high definition movies is if: a) the files are located locally on your PC or NAS b) you don't mind giving up alternate audio streams and c) your laptop is in line of SIGHT at all times to the Veebeam HD's base! That is a lot to ask from something which should be easier to use than a basic media appliance such as an Asus 0!Play, Patriot PBO Core, Seagate GoFlex TV, WD TV Live Plus or any of the myriad of other CHEAPER options on the market today. Colour me unimpressed.
Recap
When all is said and done there is a couple things which I REALLY like about the Wireless USB Veebeam HD. The biggest thing I like is it actually delivers on its promise of WIRELESS HD streaming! This does mean that at the hardware level this unit is everything it promises to be. Though it does have one major drawback and that is: its LINE OF SIGHT only! Even something as simple as a person standing in between the receiver and the base station will make the Veebeam HD lose connection. In theory, it doesn't sound that big a deal, but in practice, it does make it a finicky beast which is much more hassle laden than a simple media appliance should be!
Honestly, I could "live with" the hardware limitations IF the software was great. Sadly, while it does work, it too has some major limitations. The biggest of these is the Play-to mode's lack alternate audio stream playing abilities and all round lack of basic features combined with the screencasting mode's inability to play at resolutions above that of your laptop's screen! When you add up all the good and all the bad, the end result is a unit that has MUCH potential but NEVER lives up to this potential. Until Veebeam works on their software and makes it MUCH more powerful, most consumers will be better served buying a connected media appliance if their laptop doesn't have a HDMI port.
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