Article: RedEye WiFi To Infrared Bridge Review

[SeeHear]

Chris,<br />

<br />

The in-lane switching (IPS) screens are no more frugal with power consumption than the twisted nematic screens. In fact,until recently, IPS screens required more power to achieve a given brightness level compared to TN panels. Recent advances in technology (eIPS) have improved IPS brightness and power consumption performance relative to the older generation IPS panels.<br />

<br />

IPS screens offer superior resistance to light leakage and a far wider useful viewing angle range resulting in improved contrast and better off axis viewing. The downside is their response time is slower than TN. However, in practice, the slower time is rarely a problem and is outweighed by the increased image quality. The new iPhone4 retina display is an eIPS panel.<br />

<br />

LED backlights are inherently more economical than CFLs, but that is also true when they are used in TN screens. An LCD screen works like a film projector - the light is always on and the pixels open and close to let light pass or not. <br />

<br />

There is a technology called local dimming that does turn down (or off) the back light in response to darker program material but I am unaware of that ever being implemented in small, portable sized screens. But, it's purpose is not to conserve power, but improve perceived contrast.<br />

<br />

<br />

Regards,<br />

SeeHear<br />

[wgscott]

After extensive agonizing over this monumental decision, I pulled the trigger and ordered this from Amazon.com today ($167 ). It is supposed to arrive tomorrow (I love the prime membership shipping -- two day shipping is one day in this case).

 

What sold me, in addition to Chris's review, was the following:

 

(1) I wanted to be able to control everything from a laptop or desktop computer, which the browser-based app allows you to do. Roomie confirmed they had no plans to add such a feature, and I was unable to find any evidence that iRule allows you to do so. The GlobalCache hardware looks more solid, and I liked the idea that you could change software without changing hardware. So really, the deal-breaker was the software being tied to iOS devices only. I realize other software, including OpenRemote, is available that would allow me to do this, but frankly I don't have the time and energy to invest in something that isn't reasonably turn-key.

 

(2) I looked at the documentation for the scripting language it uses. It uses a scripting language called Lua, which I had never heard of, but it has nice clear syntax that doesn't suck. Soft of combines the best of python and javascript, but with much simpler syntax. I wanted the ability to script this, and thus this was a huge selling point.

 

My guess is the redeye hardware is going to be the low point. We shall find out shortly...

[wgscott]

I've now added some detailed commentary on my blog, regarding the RedEye, if anyone is interested:

 

Remotes, Part II: My RedEye Remote experiences - Blogs - Computer Audiophile

[wgscott]

I've been tooling around with this a bit, and blogging some of my findings (link in previous post).

 

The main advantage of RedEye over the other options I looked at are (1) you can run it from a web browser on a desktop, in addition to an iPad/pod/phone, and (2) you can make your own web pages that act as custom remote apps because every command has a uniquely-defined URL. So, for example, I made a page that shows up on my desktop and iPad; the iPad version also can launch Apple's Remote.app. I also figured out how to do IP control of a mac mini, so I have some remote control functionalities that permit audio source switching, control of Audirvana, etc.

 

This is how it looks from my iPad:

 

 

The image is chopped up, so the buttons on the remote and the nova actually work.

 

One of the links gives us the less picturesque IP command page:

 

 

This gives some control over Audirvana and other computer functions not readily available via IR.