ScreenCast AV 4: Getting rid of the tangle

Dubai Belkin’s Screencast AV4 is recommended for anyone tired of dealing with a tangled wires. With Screencast AV4 you can connect up to four HDMI devices to your TV wirelessly and still enjoy Full HD Wire-quality output. The only wires you need to connect to your television are the power cable, an HDMI cord linking it to the ScreenCast receiver and, possibly, an antenna cable.

All of the equipment that you’d normally hook straight up to the TV, such as your Blu-ray player, cable television box or game console, are connected to one of the ScreenCast AV4 transmitter’s four HDMI inputs. The transmitter and receiver communicate on the 5GHz band via a proprietary wireless format. You can enjoy full-HD 1080p resolution, 3D video, and up to 5.1 channels of surround sound.

It’s a nifty product that allows home entertainment gear to be placed in other areas of a room (or in a completely different room) rather than directly next to (or under) a TV. The major upside is a living room that looks a lot neater, but you need to walk further to load a Blu-ray or DVD.

With the transmitter and receiver comfortably within their range of 10 meters, picture quality for 2D and 3D 1080p content, as far as my eyes could tell, was identical to a wired HDMI connection.

Setting the device up is very simple as the transmitter and receiver are paired up in the factory. Once all of the appropriate connections are made and you switch your ScreenCast AV4 and TV on for the first time, you may be prompted to go through some set-up tasks. The remote for the device is a simple affair, with an OK/Menu button flanked by up and down buttons.

If the devices you connect to the transmitter are hidden in a cabinet or in another room, you’ll need to use the set of included infrared transmitters and point them to your devices’ IR ports. If the alignment is even slightly out, it can take several attempts before they register.

The transmitter includes infrared blasters so that you can still use your device remote controls, even if they are in another room. The remote’s signal will pass through the receiver to the transmitter and through its infrared blaster cables.

In case your transmitter cannot link up with your receiver, you can press the reset buttons on the rear of both units to re-initialise them or you can try the ‘pair’ buttons on the back of the device. You will know if the units are not linked up because their status lights will turn from blue to red. A successful link will see both lights shine blue.

You could stick the receiver behind your TV or place it flat on your entertainment unit. It’s small enough to not be conspicuous in your living room, except for its blue LED when it’s switched on.

ScreenCast AV 4 supports all video resolutions right up to full high definition at 24 frames per second.