The Aries Pro by Nyrius solves the problem of wires… meaning how can you get an HD signal from your laptop, Tivo, game station, or other device to your HD TV wirelessly. There are times you want to do this to reduce the *clutter* around your television, but other times you may want to place your television in a spot that puts it out of reach of a cable box, laptop, or other devices.

The Aries Pro is a simple and elegant solution that works especially well with laptops (especially PCs…. you may need to buy an adapter for your Mac) that have an HDMI output (And again… many Macs do not have HDMI outputs…. although there are solutions… more on that later). With the Aries pro you simple plug the HDMI stick (about 50% bigger than a normal flash drive) into your HDMI output and then connect a USB power source into the side of the stick (for power). Next you connect the HDMI receiver onto the back of your television (a velcro mounting system is included), power it up using the included AC adapter, connect the IR cable, and then plug it into the HDM input on your tv… an voila …. your done! No software or computer interface is needed!

Notes

– I mentioned that you do not need to do anything to your computer in terms of software. Depending on the make and model you may need to select the proper HDMI output to send the signal to the Aries Pro.

– Range is stated to be 160 feet (About 50 meters), and this is likely true if you have a clean line of sight between your receiver and transmitter. As for me, I was unable to get a signal from my downstairs to my upstairs TV. The distance is 60′ to 70′ but the signal needed to pass through our floor and two rooms.

– Latency – no delay or drag was ever experienced. The audio and video were perfectly synced even when watching a program in 1080P 3D.

– Video playback was nearly perfectly at 1080P in 2D…. although I did get a small bursts of line fuzz/blur about every 30-60 seconds when using it in 1080P 3D. At first it was a minor distraction, but within 5 minutes or so I forgot that it was occurring.

– Audio Playback – Perfect using Dolby 5.1 playback

– Set-up – pretty straight forward…. the directions are simple – plan about 10 minutes

– One cool feature is that each receiver (which you mount to the back of your television) can support up to 8(!) transmitters. Meaning that you can have a transmitter on your Tivo, PlayStation 3, Blu Ray Player, and so on while using just one Aries Pro Receiver. Another way this comes in handy is that the Aries Pro will allow you to run 8 devices through a single HDMI input on your television. This is especially important if you are mounting your television on a wall and or/above a mantle.

– A small but useful remote control is included. The remote is needed for set-up and to toggle between HDMI transmitters.

– Use with Mac – there are two ways to do this. One is to buy a USB to HDMI (Female) adapter for your Mac (which I have never used) this should allow you to send audio and video from your Mac to your TV. The second option (which is the one I use) is to buy a much cheaper Monitor-out to HDMI (female) adapter this bascially allows you to use your television a giant monitor. The only negative is that the monitor-out does NOT support audio play-back. I solve this by either using one of three things …. a Bluetooth speaker connected to my mac, a USB audio transmitter – like the one made by Bose, or to use the headphone auxiliary output with a nice set of computer speakers or ipod dock.

Final Verdict – I am very tempted to give the Aries Pro a 5 star recommendation… the only reason why I am knocking off 1 star is due to the range being less than 160” (for those of us who have less than clear line of sight) and the slight fuzz when using the Aries Pro for 3D playback. I still recommend the product, and if you are not concerned with the range or 3D you can consider it a 5 star product.

4 to 4 1/2 Stars

5 Stars if you have clear line of sight and you are not interested in 3D playback

Note – I received this product for reviewing purposes

Check out the Adventures of The Assistant and Wiggles! It is our animated series featuring the Assistant, her Dog Wiggles, and science experiements! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoLQ9unpi4OHbJtfVcfgDIoyZw75FHF-E #Familyfun #Familyfunforeveryone #Theengineeringfamily

I have reviewed several small ipod/iphone/ipad speakers and they all have similar features. The MonsterBass offers all of the features at a very attractive price point. While it has a nice fit and functionality it is not so loud that it will blow you out of the room.

– Sound Performance is better than expected. The name is “MonsterBass” and the bass response is pretty good – although you do need to manage your expectations. The entire speaker measures less than 3″ across can only move so much air, so the bass response does have its limitations. I also noticed that the speaker does begin to distort if you play it at full volume. Again, this is not surprising since all of the speakers that I have evaluated distort at full volume.

– Small enough to easily fit in a back pack or carrying case.

– Sound volume is about 2x louder than the native speaker on the iPad.

– Comes with a cable extender

– Has a built a rechargeable battery that has a life of about 10 hours

– 3 watts of power.

– Multiple speakers can be connected together

Final Verdict – The MonsterBass Mini Speaker is a great value for a small travel speaker for you ipod, iphone, or ipad. The key is that you manage your expectations, because it does sound for its size…. but since it is so small you have to accept that it can only put out so much sound.

Please Note – I received this product for reviewing purposes

Note #2 – all music played is in the public domain since it was composed 150+ years ago

4 to 4 1/2 Stars

There are tons of options for Speakers – see some of my other speaker below!

BlueTooth and wireless Speaker

Turtle Shell Wireless Boom Box by Outdoor Technology http://youtu.be/sZAhUZAE3xI

Braven 625S Bluetooth Speaker and Power Source – model BZ625BGB

Accessorise Portable Bluetooth Wireless Mini Speaker System http://youtu.be/o–fEiOttE8

Panasonic SC-MC07 Compact Wireless Music Streaming http://youtu.be/NAghBDpj2N0

Ecogear EcoXBT by Grace Digital (My favorite Bluetooth speaker – to date) http://youtu.be/59xaOBob_P8

A Comparison of Bluetooth Speakers http://youtu.be/7X2esC1ibzg

Philips Shoqbox Bluetooth Portable Speaker System SB7200 – rugged travel speaker http://youtu.be/qJJ1bC73Yog

Philips Shoqbox Bluetooth Portable Speaker System SB7300 http://youtu.be/5nI6KTv0Z-o

Kinivo BTX095 Small Bluetooth Speaker for iPod, iPad, and iPhone http://youtu.be/BGKfPXSx4wY

Best Small Travel Speakers fo iPod, iPhone, iPads and MP3 devices http://youtu.be/ckMlsqKLwwc

Kinivo BTX110 Wireless Bluetooth Mini Portable Speaker review http://youtu.be/AfDw6bIXhBg

Monster iClarityHD Precision Micro Bluetooth Speaker 100 Portable Bluetooth Speaker (A Great, Great Option!) http://youtu.be/q7unI101I_Q

Bose Wireless Computer Speaker with Bluetooth http://youtu.be/kWM5DZ8zb7E

Or Look at some of the Wired Speaker Reviews

Accessorise Your Life Wired Mini-Speaker http://youtu.be/-Cm0BSy5Nlk

Kinivo ZX220 Portable Twin Speakers with Rechargeable Battery http://youtu.be/j8CRiDU42fQ

MonsterBass Mini Speaker for iPhone – iPad – iPod http://youtu.be/CNuo52B1scM

Kinivo ZX100 Speaker for iPods, iPhones, iPads and other devices http://youtu.be/tu7xrdBsTQc

WOWee One Power Bass Portable Speaker for iPad, iPhone, MP3 Players, and Laptops ://youtu.be/kWM5DZ8zb7E

Below iPod and iPhone Docks that I have reviewed

Fluance High Performance 2.1 Wood Tower Speaker Dock FiTSD600 (truly a great sounding dock) http://youtu.be/I-ChBn2Zo38

Philips Fidelio Docking Speaker DS8530 iPod, iPhone, iPad dock http://youtu.be/UZnbqKI2rlk

Altec Lansing iMT810 Digital Boombox http://youtu.be/YDcDKiuiHr0

JBL On Stage IIIP Portable Speaker Dock for iPod and iPhone http://youtu.be/4IKlbYaG-gY

Logitech S715i Rechargeable Speaker for iPod and iPhone http://youtu.be/i5kSYvU_2oA

Fluance FiSDK500 Two-way High Performance Wood Speaker Dock http://youtu.be/pN6SKHzgQ7Y

Subwoofers

VELODYNE ACOUSTICS CHT-12BV Classic Home Theater Series Powered Subwooferhttp://youtu.be/u40bvL5ymFk

JBL Balboa SUB 10 – 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer http://youtu.be/Zxmy8jYkUEA

Make Your Own Speaker!

Making a Transducer Speaker, adding sound and vibration to your home entertainment center http://youtu.be/QQpw9sKZzMc

Check out the Adventures of The Assistant and Wiggles! It is our animated series featuring the Assistant, her Dog Wiggles, and science experiements! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoLQ9unpi4OHbJtfVcfgDIoyZw75FHF-E #Familyfun #Familyfunforeveryone #Theengineeringfamily