Batlacit's stats
- Review count242
- Helpfulness votes924
- First reviewFebruary 13, 2016
- Last reviewNovember 2, 2025
- Featured reviews0
- Average rating4.5
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- Answer count55
- Helpfulness votes100
- First answerSeptember 21, 2016
- Last answerJanuary 21, 2022
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Experience unparalleled detail and rich color with this Hisense Quantum UHD TV. With a bezel-less frame, additional dimming zones and a display capable of over a billion color combinations, your favorite games and programs are more vivid than ever. Built-in voice control on this Hisense Quantum UHD TV lets you change channels with just a word.
Customer Rating
5
This is how you do HDR on a budget
on April 27, 2020
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
The 50H8G sets out to deliver the kind of experience associated with high-end TVs at an affordable price point. And it largely succeeds – delivering fantastic image quality, a capable Smart TV platform, and better than average sound without breaking the bank.
The main panel of the set is a ULED LCD – a tech currently unique to Hisense that seeks to marry the performance of OLED panels with the longer lifespan and lower cost of LCDs. These have been out for a few years, and produce some of the best image you can get out of an LCD panel. They’ve augmented this model with a quantum dot layer, which helps improve the transmission of red, green, and blue light from the backlight to help make colors pop. It’s a subtle effect most of the time, but when playing HDR content that can take full advantage of it the display looks absolutely radiant. There are also a variety of post-processing options to further improve image quality such as motion smoothing, noise reduction, and upscaling. Personally I don’t like the effect most of these have on image quality and as such turned them off very quickly, but if you like motion smoothing or watch a lot of sports I suspect you’ll greatly appreciate the top tier performance these features can offer.
The TV uses Android for its app platform, which should be familiar to anyone with an Android phone. Performance is excellent, with no slow downs, crashes, or stuttering that I could see. App selection is good, though as with most smart TV OS’s apps for Google’s direct competitors are either absent (Apple TV) or underwhelming (Prime Video.) If you rely on these a lot, you might still want to invest in a separate set top box. But for most everything else, you can probably get by just with the TV. Additionally, the Android platform allows you to link the TV to the Google Home ecosystem to control the TV with your phone or any Home compatible smart speakers you might have. It is not quite a perfect implementation at this point – support for a few basic functions like turning the TV off doesn’t appear to be implemented yet. But hopefully this is something that can be addressed in future firmware updates. And the integrated chrome cast works flawlessly.
Finally, there’s the sound. It’s very hard to find a TV with sound that could be considered great these days, since the best speakers generally need more room than you get find in a slim TV’s casing. But the 50H8G has enough depth in its design to include speakers that are better than average, and features full support for Dolby Atmos. True audiophiles will likely consider a good sound bar to be a must-have accessory, but for most I suspect the built-in audio will be more than enough for a TV for the bedroom or a small living room.
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Clean and deodorize your rugs, carpets and upholstery with this 64-oz. Hoover Paws and Claws carpet cleaning formula. Stainguard technology and enzymatic ingredients eliminate pet messes, odors and dirt, while the cotton breeze scent leaves your home smelling fresh all day. This Hoover Paws and Claws carpet cleaning formula has an optimized formulation that's safe to use with your deep cleaning machines.
Customer Rating
5
Great for eliminating the occasional accident
on April 9, 2020
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I use this detergent in concert with a Hoover carpet cleaner, and so far have found it to be very effective at removing both fresh and old stains from pet related messes from my rugs and carpets. The enzymatic compounds in it are quite effective when it comes to breaking down urine, vomit, and feces, and when used properly there isn't even enough left to show up under a black light. This is actually a fairly vital detail too, as it means it's breaking down the chemicals that your dog and cat use to identify spots they can safely go again in the future.
The scent is okay, but definitely noticeable. I'd say it's better than most products made to clean up after your pets, but it could still be a bit of a problem if you've got scent-sensitive individuals in the house. Fortunately I've found that if you take the time to rinse the carpet after shampooing it the smell only lingers for about an hour or so, and it leaves behind little to no soap residue within the carpet.
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The Hoover~ SmartWash~ PET Complete Automatic Carpet Washer is just as easy to use as our original SmartWash. Simply push forward to clean and pull back to dry. No trigger, and no mixing solutions. It~s literally as easy as vacuuming. And the SmartWash~ PET Complete is designed specifically for homes with pets. Use the Spot Chaser~ Pretreat Wand to pretreat stains before you clean or as you go. Plus, the antimicrobial FlexForce Pet PowerBrushes remove deep-down dirt while resisting pet odors. For those pet stains on stairs or furniture SmartWash~ PET Complete comes with an antimicrobial scrubbing tool.
Customer Rating
4
Painless and effective carpet cleaning.
on April 8, 2020
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
As someone living with a geriatric cat and a standard wiener dog, the occasional pet related mess is pretty much an unavoidable fact of life. I’ve generally sought to address this with a variety of spot cleaners. This is the first time I’ve tried a full mostly automated carpet cleaner, and I have to say that it’s hard to imagine ever going back to the smaller units.
The designers of the Smartwash have clearly gone out of their way to make the unit perform much more like a standard vacuum than your average carpet cleaner, which means operation is refreshingly simple. Pushing the unit forwards puts it in “wash” mode, where it lays down the cleaning solution and uses a pair of large brushes to work the cleaner deep into the carpet. Pulling it backwards switches to dry mode where the brushes stop and suction pulls the waste water and detergent into a gray water tank. In cases of particularly stubborn stains, pre-treatment can be applied via an applicator that serves double duty as the unit’s handle. Concentrated detergent is automatically mixed within the Smartwash on demand, and removing the small detergent tank at the back switches it to rinsing your carpet to get rid of any residual detergent – a very welcome feature for anyone who might be scent sensitive.
While I fortunately did not have any fresh stains to test the cleaner out on, I did have a few ghosts of accidents past that had taken place over the holidays (2 urine, one vomit) that had so far resisted all my previous attempts to remove them. The vomit and the first urine stain came up after just two passes using the Hoover Paws and Claws shampoo and a single rinse. You couldn't even find the spots that had been stained with a black light. The last one managed to hang on, however after using the pre-treatment wand and giving it another few passes it too fell before the brushes of the Smartwash. This unfortunately left me without a good candidate to test the included alternate cleaning head meant for deep stains that need a bit of extra work, but if it performs half as well as the standard cleaning head I have high hopes. The unit did just as well coaxing dirt out of carpet that I'd thought was clean. My carpets get vacuumed daily and the air in my home is filtered, so dust accumulation is usually not an issue. But this thing somehow managed to coax out a substantial amount of dirt and grime that the other appliances missed. Best of all: only an hour or so after I finished, the carpet was dry to the touch.
There are, unfortunately, a few downsides. First: it must be said that the SmartWash is very big even by carpet cleaner standards. The upright vacuum style brush head significantly adds to the overall footprint of the unit, making it noticeably chunkier than even a standard upright vacuum. You’ll probably want to be sure you’ve got the closet space to spare before committing to getting one. The second is the fact that there isn’t really a great way to move it around. The initial impulse is to pick it up by the handle, like you would any other vacuum, however it only took me about thirty seconds to realize this might not be a good idea. There is a large fresh water tank which sits above the gray water tank, and when full this makes the Smartwash deceptively top-heavy (as well as just heavy.) Since the handle is meant to be easily removed to be used as a pre-treatment wand, I have some serious concerns about how much weight it can realistically take and for how long. The carrying handle you’re meant to use is actually located much lower, about half way down the main body behind the gray water tank. With so much weight from the water tank being located above this point, it’s not exactly the easiest thing to lug up a set of stairs. Though given that you hopefully shouldn’t need to be using this thing on a weekly basis, it’s a flaw I think I can live with.
It’s not something I’d recommend for everyone. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s probably ludicrous overkill for most people. But if you do find yourself using a carpet cleaner often enough that it makes sense to get your own, a unit like this is probably the one to get.
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Take your laptop on the go with this black Nomatic backpack. The durable water-resistant materials allow for everyday use, while the hidden stash pockets let you pack stationery and mobile devices for easy access. This Nomatic backpack has a full perimeter zipper for expanding the large compartment to accommodate more items, and the magnetic water bottle pockets help you separate liquids and your electronics.
Customer Rating
5
Gloriously Overengineered
on February 27, 2020
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I have owned many, many different bags, backpacks, and luggage sets over the years. And many have been very good. However very few end up lasting more than a year or so – possibly due to a tendency to push them right up to their design limits, then add just one more pair of pants in to keep me from having to check a bag. As a result I've learned not to get too attached. But after spending a week with the Nomatic backpack, I've had to break that rule.
From the moment I opened up the box to find a (slightly pretentious) poem describing Nomatic's mission statement to make bags for “life on the move” I knew that this was going to be a product that took itself perhaps a bit too seriously. But there are cases where that can be a good thing. And luggage intended to carry around $2000 of laptop and all the clothes and supplies you need to spend a few days (or a week) away from home is definitely one of those.
It appears that the goal in designing this bag was to create something that is meant not only to carry your laptop along on the plane will you, but your entire office. With dedicated compartments for both a laptop and a tablet, the option to invisibly thread charging cables into almost every compartment, and a zipper design that'll let you basically unfold the whole backpack into a desk/display case, this pack is more than willing to enable your tech addiction wherever it may take you. And unlike most laptop bags which throw in some semi rigid foam padding and call it a day, the designers of this bag have gone the extra mile to make sure it's all protected too. The entire case is waterproofed (including the zippers). There are RFID shielded compartments to store a wallet to keep your cards safe from anyone trying to skim them at the airport. And while it doesn't actually have an internal frame, the thickness of the rubberized exterior combined with a rigid case for your sunglasses offers a very good amount of protection from crush damage. In fact I can go so far as to say that should an over-eager toddler accidentally step on it in their haste to get off the plane and into Disney World, your laptop will be (thankfully) safe from harm.
It appears that the goal in designing this bag was to create something that is meant not only to carry your laptop along on the plane will you, but your entire office. With dedicated compartments for both a laptop and a tablet, the option to invisibly thread charging cables into almost every compartment, and a zipper design that'll let you basically unfold the whole backpack into a desk/display case, this pack is more than willing to enable your tech addiction wherever it may take you. And unlike most laptop bags which throw in some semi rigid foam padding and call it a day, the designers of this bag have gone the extra mile to make sure it's all protected too. The entire case is waterproofed (including the zippers). There are RFID shielded compartments to store a wallet to keep your cards safe from anyone trying to skim them at the airport. And while it doesn't actually have an internal frame, the thickness of the rubberized exterior combined with a rigid case for your sunglasses offers a very good amount of protection from crush damage. In fact I can go so far as to say that should an over-eager toddler accidentally step on it in their haste to get off the plane and into Disney World, your laptop will be (thankfully) safe from harm.
As much as I love this bag though, I do need to admit there are a few downsides. To start, the ergonomics aren't exactly great for someone like me with an unusually long torso. Now, to be fair, this is a common problem in backpacks but I'll admit I had hoped that this one with its slightly ludicrous attention to detail might have done better than most. In order to get the bag to sit properly to avoid straining my lower back I need to let the straps out a fair bit, which ends up raising the chest strap a few inches above my nipple line. It's not unusable there by any means, but it's also not what I’d describe as completely comfortable either. Making either the straps or the semi-rigid frame they attach to adjustable to accommodate different torso lengths would be a great upgrade should they ever decide to release a backpack version 2. Also, while I appreciate the addition of the expandable cargo compartment, the fact that it shares space with the laptop carrier makes me a little hesitant to fully use it. It's just a little too effective at compressing clothes and other soft objects down to easily fit underneath an airline seat – and I can't help but imagine my laptop being crushed by my laundry. Maybe one of the newer MacBooks with their fully aluminum bodies would be able to take it, but I'm not nearly confident enough in the plastic shell of my daily driver to chance it without some kind of rigid internal reinforcement to hold the socks at bay.
Overall though, my views on the backpack remain overwhelmingly positive. I look forward to subjecting it to many more years of habitual abuse on my travels.
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Record audio using your smartphone with this Samson Satellite USB/iOS broadcast microphone. Two 16mm condenser capsules capture clear, accurate audio, and the three pickup patterns let you record detailed audio in a variety of situations. This Samson Satellite USB/iOS broadcast microphone offers easy portability and includes USB and Lightning cables for connecting to a range of devices.
Customer Rating
4
Surprisingly good little mic & editing suite
on January 17, 2020
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
I find myself fairly impressed with the Satellite as a portable broadcast/recording solution. It's the first condenser mic I've seen that's got decent support for mobile phones, crystal clear recording quality, and a highly attractive yet compact package that you won't mind showing up on camera.
The mic has support for most of the features you'd expect, and you can tell a lot of thought went into the design. The mute button is touch sensitive, ensuring that you don't have to worry about the mic picking up mechanical button presses. The built in stand folds up into the sides to expose a threaded socket on the bottom for use with a standard mic stand. Cables are provided for both USB and lightning connections. And the whole thing feels very solidly put together. And best of all, the mic comes with a free copy of Motu Performer Lite, a surprisingly full featured music production suite.
While I do occasional recording work, I'll freely admit that I don't have a ton of experience actually setting up and tuning in the gear. I found the mic and the software to be fairly painless to get going, albeit it took some experimentation to get the mic's sensitivity right.
While I do occasional recording work, I'll freely admit that I don't have a ton of experience actually setting up and tuning in the gear. I found the mic and the software to be fairly painless to get going, albeit it took some experimentation to get the mic's sensitivity right.
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Introducing the BISSELL~ air220 Air Purifier. This machine packs powerful indoor air purifying power into a simplistic and sleek machine, bringing form and function together in your home. The unique design is apparent in the air220's clean lines and smooth edges. Underneath the sleek design you'll find three layers of filtration, including an activated carbon filter and a HEPA + pre-filter that captures hair, dust, pollen, dander, home and pet odors, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This air purifier is a powerful machine you'd expect from BISSELL, a trusted homecare brand. The air220 has a soft-touch dial that lets you control both fan speed and power. It has a discrete cord wrap on the back panel and filters that can be accessed from the front panel, so you can keep it against a wall in your home. The air220 is tested to the AHAM standard to have a Smoke CADR of 172 for rooms up to 266 sq. ft., making it great for bedrooms, living areas, basements, and dining rooms.. You~ve trusted BISSELL to clean and care for the floors and surfaces in your home. Now, let us clean your air! Plus, every purchase of this product helps save pets. BISSELL~ proudly supports BISSELL Pet Foundation~ and its mission to help save homeless pets. When you buy a BISSELL product, you help save pets, too. We~re proud to design products that help make pet messes, odors and pet homelessness disappear.
Customer Rating
5
A purifier I don't mind having in the living room
on December 18, 2019
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
As someone with a dust allergy, I’ve had a lot of different air purifiers over my life. This has taught me that finding one that does the required job isn’t particularly hard – but finding one that does so without you being painfully aware of its presence gets a bit more tricky. Bissel hasn’t completely solved this issue, but they’ve come closer than most of the ones I’ve used over the years. The air220 is sleek, stylish, and most importantly a lot more quiet than the other options I’ve tried that offer this level of filtration. And that goes a long way towards endearing itself to me.
Given that the package is basically just a fan pointed at some filters, it shouldn’t be a surprise that setup is very straightforward. Just about the only trick to it is making sure you open the thing up to strip off the bags they ship the filters in before turning it on. Once you’ve done that, just about everything else can be automated. A light provides a real-time assessment of the quality of the air being passed through the filter (going from blue to red) and fan speeds can be automatically controlled by the quality sensor to make sure it never makes itself too conspicuous. This is a feature I’ve seen in a few different air purifiers, but the air220 is the first one I’ve tried that actually seems to work reliably. You can still manually control the fan speed if you want, but so far I’ve found it to be responsive enough to sudden spikes in irritants like smoke coming from the kitchen or letting air in by opening up the patio door to keep me from needing it. The unit also gets points for the addition of a light sensor to let the thing know when you’ve turned down the lights to go to bed or watch a movie, at which point the fan controller will disable all the lights and spin down the fan as low as it can to prevent it from disturbing your sleep if it’s located in a bedroom. As far as I’m concerned, this feature alone makes it worth the premium you pay for it.
As far as filter maintenance goes, the air220 is fairly typical in that regard. All the filters are accessible by a large removable panel at the front which also serves as the primary intake. The perforations in the front panel can easily trap a lot of dust so it’s not quite as simple as just wiping the front clean, but a couple minutes with a hose or in the shower will do the job. The only real trick to it is making sure you lay it down on its back before trying to remove the filters to make sure you don’t end up dumping all the stuff you’ve been trying to get out of the air into your face. The filters themselves seem to be of fairly good quality, and with some regular cleaning can probably have their lives extended a bit (though obviously if you’re exceptionally sensitive to air quality you’ll probably just want to follow the suggested replacement cycle.
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The Philips Hue HDMI Sync box adds premium surround lighting to your home theater by syncing your Hue smart lights with movies, music and video games. Watch, listen and play with more wonder and excitement as your lights dance, flash, dim and brighten with your screen. Requires Hue color capable lights and a Hue Bridge (sold separately).
Customer Rating
4
Just fun!
on December 4, 2019
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Hue products arguably aren’t the most practical or cost effective smart lighting system out there. But they are unquestionably one of the most fun. And products like the Sync Box exemplify why that is.
The sync box does an admirable job of reproducing the kind of localized context based mood lighting that’s been available on some Philips TVs for a few years now with just about any screen imaginable, and is compatible with both standard hue bulbs and dedicated light strips and bars that can be mounted directly to a TV or entertainment center for a more discrete installation. Setup just takes a few minutes, and once everything’s plugged in and programmed in the app there’s very little you need to do past that. Once it’s running the effect is surprisingly neat. I can’t say it’ll revolutionize your viewing experience, but it’s pretty cool seeing the lighting in the room react to match what’s happening on the screen and can make action scenes and colorful animation pop that much more.
The design is a definite highlight as well. Aesthetically it’s a basic curved black box just a bit larger than your typical streaming device. But it becomes very clear that the engineers who assembled this thing put a lot of thought into the overall user experience. To begin with, it eschews the standard power adapter for a brick that can power two additional Hue lights/strips in addition to the sync box, meaning you can power your entire TV lighting setup from just a single outlet. Admittedly I'd have rather they not gone with the wall-wart design for this, as it's big enough to be difficult to fit onto most surge protectors, but it still beats having to find three outlets. It’s also got an option I’ve never seen before to detect the power state of your TV by running a USB cable to one of the ports found on most modern Smart TVs, a slightly more reliable means of detecting when the thing’s been turned on than the HDMI-CEC connection it uses by default. And the 4 port HDMI switch works brilliantly, handling automatic signal detection and device switching almost flawlessly.
That said, there are still some rough edges here. To begin with, it does struggle with detecting the signal from streaming devices that are basically always on, such as a Roku. I’ve found I often have to manually power on the sync box as a result. It also lacks a dedicated remote control, and your options for controlling it via the Sync app are a bit on the sparse side. Speaking of, I’m also not the biggest fan of their decision to split the Sync Box app into its own program rather than just integrating it directly into the main Hue app so you aren’t having to constantly switch between them. It’s also currently lacking in any sort of integration with Google Home or Alexa – which could arguably help make up for some of the other shortcomings. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that these features are something that might one day find their way into a software update – but for now it does feel every now and then like I’m working with a beta version of the final product.
Overall, while the Sync box doesn’t really do anything that I’d consider essential (or especially useful,) I’d still recommend it as a fun toy to get a bit more use out of your Hue White and Color bulbs while adding a bit of extra flair to your next movie night.
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Up your game with this Corsair RGB wireless gaming keyboard. Six programmable macro keys let you easily rebind important functions or create powerful hotkeys to help you win in the heat of battle. SLIPSTREAM WIRELESS, Bluetooth or wired USB connectivity let you choose how to reduce lag and overcome your opponents with this Corsair RGB wireless gaming keyboard.
Customer Rating
4
Just wish it were mechanical...
on November 15, 2019
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
It's tough finding a decent wireless keyboard to use for gaming - particularly if you don't want one of the smaller tenkeyless designs. And I've never really been able to figure out why. Modern transmitter designs have reduced latency down to levels that are comparable with wired devices. Batteries have gotten very big and very cheap. And micro controllers are good enough to handle any internal logic required for macros or key re-mappings.
The K57 is an attempt to remedy this - and it is so very, very close to being the perfect wireless gaming keyboard. But unfortunately it fails on one simple criteria: it's a conventional membrane design rather than a full mechanical design.
Don't get me wrong, it's an extremely good membrane board. Key response is crisp and you don't get the mushy feel that a lot of cheaper boards have. But it really can't compare with the tactile feel or overall responsiveness you get with proper mechanical switches.
If you can do without though, I suspect you'll be very happy with this unit. it has dedicated macro and multimedia keys, rather than relying on keyboard shortcuts. Despite being made of plastic it has little to no deck flex. The fast RF receiver has absolutely no perceptible latency or problems with rollover. It supports pairing with a total of 3 devices (1 RF, 2 Bluetooth). And, if you'd rather stick with wired, you can plug in a Micro USB cable and have no worries about your gameplay being cut short by low battery or latency. This also unlocks a much wider array of lighting effects, controllable through Corsair's iCue software.
So, for me at least, the quest for the perfect wireless gaming keyboard continues. But until someone produces one - I'm more than happy sticking with this!
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Enjoy an immersive audio experience while gaming with this carbon CORSAIR VOID RGB ELITE wireless headset. The custom-tuned 50mm high-density neodymium drivers offer crisp, powerful sound, while the breathable microfiber mesh and soft memory foam earpads add comfort to all-day gaming. This CORSAIR VOID RGB ELITE wireless headset has an omnidirectional microphone for clear communication, and the on-ear controls help you adjust sound settings easily.
Customer Rating
5
Wired quality without the fuss
on November 15, 2019
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Corsair's got a reputation for quality hardware - and it shows in his headset.
One of the first things you'll notice on unpacking the Void is its significant heft. While most gaming headsets can boast about the build quality, the Void features a lot of metal parts and some very dense plastic that feels like it can stand up to a a lot of punishment. The RGB elements are fairly understated, with a single light on the mic that doubles as a mute indicator and a lighted logo on each side. The padding is thick and quite comfortable without being too hot. If there's one downside to the way it's built though, it's that it lacks a certain degree of flexibility. It sits on your head rather than wrapping around it, making it a bit easier to accidentally knock it off.
Audio is crisp, clear, and plenty loud. It's got a bit less bass than some headphones out of the box, but if you do prefer more low tones then it's not that hard to pump them up with an equalizer. Mic performance is very good with or without the included baffle, and I noticed no perceptible lag from the wireless transmitter. All in all, it's one of the better gaming headsets available at this price point.
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The entire Meta Portal family is video calling designed to bring people closer. Simple to set up and fun to use, Portal is a smart video calling device for a closer connection to friends and family~wherever they are. Whether you~re having meaningful conversations or getting help with a recipe, it~s easy to make smart video calls to anyone via Messenger, Whatsapp, Zoom and more~even if they don~t have a Portal. And once you~ve connected, Smart Camera pans and zooms to keep you in frame so you can move and talk naturally, while Smart Sound minimizes background noise and enhances your voice. Working from home becomes easier as you free up your laptop with a dedicated calling screen for conference calls and screen sharing via Microsoft Teams, Webex, Zoom and Workplace. An expanding AR library lets you blur backgrounds or add effects to liven up calls, while StoryTime uses AR, animation and music to let you tell immersive bedtime stories to loved ones anywhere in the world. And when your calling is done, Portal~s picture perfect frame will display your favorite photos from Instagram, Facebook or uploaded from your phone via the Portal app. With Alexa Built-in, you can control your smart home and connected devices with the sound of your voice. Explore with Portal~s browser and, with additional account activations, enjoy music with Pandora and Spotify or content via Facebook Watch and more~all with room-filling sound. Portal~s simple privacy settings mean you can easily disable the camera and microphone, or block the lens with the camera cover. All Messenger and WhatsApp calls are encrypted.
Customer Rating
4
Video calls, simplified
on November 8, 2019
Posted by: Batlacit
from Madison, WI
Even though the ability to do video teleconferencing is baked into just about everything with enough space to mount a webcam these days, there are surprisingly few devices that are explicitly designed for video calls on the consumer market. Of those that do exist, Facebook’s portal devices are arguably the most feature rich and refined options out there. The second generation Portal does an admirable job of continuing in this tradition while also offering a much more compact and unobtrusive design that’ll look more at home in your living room than their predecessors, and for the most part does a pretty good job.
From a design perspective they’ve pretty much nailed it. When you’re not using it for video chats, the Portal looks like a very nice digital picture frame. It pulls directly from your Facebook account, cycling through photos ever few minutes and occasionally offering an update on the weather or suggestions about things you can do with it. Once you activate it via a voice command or tap the screen the pictures are replaced by a minimalist but highly functional interface for calling your contacts in Facebook’s Messenger or WhatsApp platforms. Video calls themselves are a little less “magical” than the ads suggest, with the camera sometimes making unneeded adjustments to zoom or positioning because it thinks it’s spotted a new face or the lighting just changed, but it’s nonetheless highly capable and features much better audio than you could expect to get with a cell phone. The AR features it offers, while not quite on par with the ones available on platforms like Snapchat, all work well and will delight any young children on the other side of the chat. Overall the user experience is polished enough that you won’t mind spending an hour or two on a single call, which speaks to the level of polish and attention to detail that’s been given to the device and its software. I’m also pleased to note that there is a physical button allowing you to shutter the camera and shut off the mic pickup – pretty much necessary in my opinion given Facebook’s somewhat spotty record regarding consumer data collection.
That said, I do find there are a few things that keep me from giving it full marks. To start, the design of the unit pretty much requires that it be set up on a desk or table, as the power cable (strangely referred to as a “charging cable” in the documentation despite the fact that the Portal doesn’t have an internal battery) doubles as a kickstand. I don’t have a ton of spare desk space, so both the 10” unit I received (which I’d definitely recommend for the addition of a USB-C port allowing you some additional connectivity options) ended up taking up more of it than I’d like. Given the choice I’d much rather mount it on the wall or to the back of my desk’s hutch, but I don’t see any way to achieve that with this sort of design. There were also several cases where I found myself thinking that it really would be nice if there were some kind of internal battery that would let me take it into a neighboring room to show my nephew something or let someone else say hello without needing to go through the whole process of booting it up and restarting the video call. And, of course, there is the Facebook issue. Facebook has insisted on numerous occasions that they aren’t watching the data from Portal calls, nor are they identifying specific users to gather metadata. And they have done an admirable job in making their privacy notices highly visible and clear enough for a layman to understand them. But I can’t say I don’t feel a little uneasy at times given their record, and I probably wouldn’t recommend this unit if not for the inclusion of the privacy controls for the camera and mic on that basis alone.
Despite those issues, I do think the Portal has a lot more to recommend it than not for a lot of people. Particularly for customers who aren’t necessarily the most tech savvy, such as grandparents or their young grandchildren. The overall simplicity and comfort of the UX on this thing is refined enough that they’ll likely find it considerably less intimidating than the alternatives available, and it’s pretty enough to fit into anyone’s décor. Overall, an excellent improvement over an already solid product.
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The Philips Hue HDMI Sync box adds premium surround lighting to your home theater by syncing your Hue smart lights with movies, music and video games. Watch, listen and play with more wonder and excitement as your lights dance, flash, dim and brighten with your screen. Requires Hue color capable lights and a Hue Bridge (sold separately).
I just bought the hdmi sync box but have a smart tv where Netflix and so on all apps are built in or downloaded to my tv. I only have a sound bar form the acr running. How or can I use the lights with out hdmi cable
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Batlacit
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