Stream HD video wirelessly to your TV with Veebeam

January 26, 2011 – Keven Thibeault

Okay, first, apologies for being away so long… I am back.  Business calls sometimes.

I LOVE MY NEW VEEBEAM!  (no I dont work for them or get any bennies for my gushing)  See video of how it works below.

First things first: Having always been a true audiofile, since college I have always bought the nicest audo equipment I could afford, including speakers, cd players, receivers, even Technics 1200 DJ turntables – the same ones found in the best clubs worldwide.

With home entertainment however it took a while to sink in.  TV was secondary.   I love my music more than video. But of course now we have big ugly Motorola Cable box from Comcast for TV programming, that is the main video fixture in the house. And over the last few years as the kids added Wii, Sony DVD, and Apple TV to our home entertainment system, I was forced to buy a high end audio video receiver to support em all.  I chose Harman Kardon because it had 4 hdmi inputs, excellent sound, and the best onscreen programming system out there.  I also had an audio only Harmon Kardon from the 1980s… that lived forever and sounded like systems costing 2x.

What was missing? Flat screen audio and visual content originating from my Mac i7 (or pc)!

Now, I will admit that in addition to pricey cable,  I currently own a Netflix account, and use their live streaming via Wii and also their DVD mail service for the GOOD movies.  (Come on Netflix! stop dumping the crap movies and documentaries into the Instant Queue)  I use Apple TV for shows, movies, and iTunes radio (but not Youtube).  The Wii for gaming.

So what is left ?

• DVD’s I had ripped to my laptop for long trips on the plane
• Hulu for SNL, Family Guy, and The Office
• and millions of fantastic Youtube videos explaining the age of the universe?  Or when time will end?
• and of course the pictures and videos I shoot of the dog, the baby, the teenagers, my wife, me, or my friends – ALL TRAPPED in iPhoto on my Mac

Have you tried to view a video on a 15″ screen with more than 2 people watching?   Impossible.

Enter Veebeam.   After careful research before the holidays, I found what I consider to be the holy grail of home entertainment – the bridge between digital and analog entertainment.  For me, it is as big as the advent of video rental in the 1980′s, freeing us from the movie theater, and adding the ultimate convenience of watching what we want, when we want.

Without cables of any kind, I pull up content on the laptop, plug in the usb transmitter (30′ limit on distance from Veebeam receiver), and start watching my laptop video on my 50″ flat screen.   Audio is automatically muted on the laptop or else you would have an echo.  The video displayed on TV is about 1-2 seconds behind the laptop video.  It is a bit distracting, but you can just turn the laptop toward the dog or the kids so it is not in your peripheral vision.

See this video for a full review of how it works

Veebeam Overview from Veebeam on Vimeo.

My only complaint is that I now have run out of available HDMI inputs in the (kick ass) receiver I bought last year.  I have to reach behind the DVD player and unplug, plug into Veebeam receiver unit.  Working on an aftermarket solution for that now.  The unit by the way is about 2″ tall by 5″ square, about the size of a CD jewel case, but taller.

It is high def – up to 1080p, and the audio is perfect, though limited to 2 channel stereo at the moment.  This is okay because 2 channel stereo is all you get on the internet these days anyway.

Bravo to the guys in Burlingame!!    This is a real game changer for home entertainment – enjoy!

January 26, 2011 – Keven Thibeault