FlipshareTV Brings Home Movies to the HDTV
Colin Dixon, Senior Partner, Advisory
December 2, 2009
I’ve been using the Flip Video HD camcorder for quite a while now. I love the small size and simplicity. It makes it easy to have with me at my daughter’s soccer games, on vacation and the like. For the money it’s hard to find an HD camera to beat it.
But one problem I’ve had is that it’s difficult to get the videos on my TV once I save them to the computer and delete them from the camera. Today Cisco (remember Cisco purchased Flip back in March of this year ) has a new solution to this problem: FlipshareTV. Cisco sent me one to play with and I can report that it makes watching my Flip videos on my TV a snap.
This $149.99 box is definitely one of the simplest products, next to the camera itself, which Cisco has ever produced. To install it, take the USB wireless key and plug it into the PC where you keep your Flip videos. The PC recognizes the key and automatically installs the drivers it needs. You’ll need to reboot the PC afterwards. Next, take the set-top box to the TV, plug it in to spare TV input, plug in the power and turn the TV on. At this point you should be done. The box finds the PC with the USB key and lets you browse and watch your videos instantly on the TV.
What I love about this solution is that I didn’t need to mess with my home wireless network and set up keys and SSIDs and the like. The USB key and set-top box establish their own private wireless universe without me having to worry about the details.
Flipshare makes it easy to share videos with friends and relatives. Now you can watch these videos on your TV through FlipshareTV.
One odd thing is that Flip provides only composite video cables. There is an HDMI connector on the back of the STB and, of course, the videos are in 720p HD as well. Users are bound to be disappointed with the results in standard definition on their 42 inch LCD. So why they don’t provide an HDMI cable is a little bit of mystery (although I suspect the cost of the cable might be the issue.)
Also, I hate having to rely on the PC being on to be able to enjoy the videos. I use a Cisco Media Hub to store all my media and that stays on all the time. The FlipshareTV box doesn’t work with the media hub today. Hopefully, that’s something they will add later.
All-in-all, FlipshareTV is a very simple solution for getting your Flip videos on your television. With the Flipshare feature you might also consider getting one for your relatives as well.
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