Terk Technologies Leapfrog Lf-30s Wireless reviews – what do others think about Terk Technologies Leapfrog Lf-30s Wireless?
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171 of 172 humans found the following review helpful.
Works great… unless you use other 2.4Ghz devices
By K. Dommer
I was looking for a wireless way to send the video & audio from my living room to a bedroom, so that I could watch movies coming from my cable box & DVD player. Having a remote control feature, I chose this model.
I may tell you that the picture was very sharp, and the sound was great. However, I also have a Panasonic KX-TG2730 expandable cordless phone system, which operates on the same 2.4Ghz frequency. With the phone’s base plugged in, it produced crackling sound and wide dark bands that scrolled vertically along the picture. Unplug the phone system, and it was flawless. I had read other mixed reviews on interference caused by 2.4Ghz phone systems, but I may tell you that the Panasonic scheme I cited did cause interference for me. I tried moving the phone base, and tried all four channels on the Leapfrog Wavemaster 30 video transmitter, but not one thing helped.
In short, if you don’t use any other wireless gimmicks using the 2.4Ghz frequency (cordless phones, wireless network devices), the Terk Leapfrog Wavemaster 30 delivers a great picture with evenly outstanding sound. If you do use other wireless widgets on the same frequency, I would look for a video transmitter that uses a dissimilar frequency (or a wired one), or be prepared to return it to the store.
120 of 121 people found the following review helpful.
Works as well as may be expected for 2.4ghz
By Matthew D. Huwiler
I applied this product for various weeks to transmit satellite TV from our living room to a computer upstairs (with windows media center). It was easy to set up and the remote worked great; however, if you are giving careful consideration to buying this product, you ought to be conscious of some things:
1. The price of this product is dropping speedily because it’s inferior to RF links that run on the 5.8 GHz spectrum. I strongly commend taking into account spending the extra cash on a product that runs on this less-crowded spectrum. Specifically, be prepared to run into disturb if you are running a wireless 802.11b or 802.11g network (which uses the same frequency), 2.4ghz cordless phones, and microwaves. If you live in a condo/apt complex close to other neighbors, you will want to be sure they are not using productions on this spectrum. Also, the 5.8ghz productions have a range roughly 4 times as far as this and other 2.4ghz products.
2. If you determine to go with this product, I commend buying an extra long (6-12 feet) audio video cable so you may move the receiver around more flexibly. Be prepared to move it around to a good deal of areas and to spend time experimenting. It took me assorted hours before discovering a receiver/transmitter position and channel that worked reasonably well.
Matt
70 of 70 people found the following review helpful.
Works great, even with WiFi (instructions here)
By Bruce Morris
The remarks on the Terk LF-30S seem to run in two distinct camps. It either works great, or won’t work at all, normally due to WiFi interference. You may beat the WiFi problem, and I’ll show you how.
First, my experience with the Terk has been positive. It was easy to set up and everything you need is included. We use it to send a signal from our Comcast DVR (hooked to our main big-screen TV) to a secondary TV in our kitchen / family room area. We use a secondary output on the DVR to hook up the Terk sending unit. The signal is sent amid two floors of my house. I did a little measuring on the two floors, and with a little basic geometry, was competent to aim the antennas acceptably on the firstborn pass. Its not like a satellite antenna – intention in the rectify standard direction will be fine. It is a wood frame house. Your mileage may vary.
The IR extender function works well. The IR emitter (at the sending unit to control the source Comcast DVR) is rather strong. I never figured out incisively where the IR “eye” is on the Comcast box, but no matter, the IR emitter works as long as I put it anyplace on the right side of the box. As with the antenna aim, close is good enough. The IR commands miss when it comes to 5% of the time, but I can’t be sure that isn’t just my poor intention with the remote (the Terk receiver is not right next to the TV).
Picture and sound quality are excellent, as some others have noted. I was surprised. I am also impressed by the Terk’s capacity to handle wide-screen content coming off the cable box. It appropriately displays that content with black bars top and bottom on the secondary TV, which is the old style 4:3, even altho the Comcast DVR is set up for a 16:9 widescreen format.
Our huge dog likes to sit in the signal path, which once in a while produces both audio and visual static. Better antenna intention helped, but ordinarily we just ask her to move. Static likewise occurs when using a Bluetooth headset close to the receiver, which also uses the 2.4 GHz band, but this is an infrequent occurrence. But you are probably reading this to find out how to handle static from WiFi and other 2.4 GHz devices. So here’s the story on how to handle this problem.
First, galore people have panned the product because it is not 5.8 GHz. That is silly. You need to valuate what 2.4 and 5.8 GHz merchandise are already in your home, and then determine which frequency spectrum is less crowded given what you already have.
Phones: In our home, we got rid of our old 2.4 GHz phones because they interfered with the WiFi. Most modern wireless phones mechanically try to chose the clearest channel – you can’t restrict this operation, and the problem is worse if you use a phone with Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) security. So we opted for 5.8 GHz phones. If you have 2.4 GHz phones, the Terk may not work well for you depending on the proximity of phones, base units, etc. to the receiving unit. (And if you have 5.8 GHz phones, then a 5.8 GHz version of the this product will have similar troubles you won’t be capable to control. Note that Terk doesn’t make a 5.8 GHz version, but other makers do.)
Microwave ovens: These interfere in the 2.4 GHz spectrum, and make a mess of the Terk product if the receiving unit is in the same room as the microwave. The microwave likewise made a mess of the our old 2.4 GHz phones, another reason we swopped to 5.8 GHz phones. When we use the microwave, we turn of the TV momentarily due to extreme static, but do not forget that our microwave is close to the Terk receiver. If you want to cook and watch TV at the same time, the Terk may not be for you. Find a 5.8 GHz product instead.
WiFi: Here is how to make the Terk work with your WiFi. First, perceive your WiFi. Although there are 11 WiFi channels in the USA (more in Europe), these channels overlap. There are only 3 non-overlapping channels: 1, 6, and 11. You must choose one of these channels, based on what is in use by your neighbors. (Using only these 3 channels is also more polite to the neighbors too as it leaves more room for them.) Now, knowing what channel your WiFi uses, choose a Terk channel that won’t interfere as follows:
Terk channel A: Interferes with WiFi 1, OK with 6 and 11.
Terk channel B: Interferes with WiFi 6, OK with 1 and 11.
Terk channel C: Interferes with WiFi 6 and 11, OK with 1.
Terk channel D: Interferes with WiFi 11, OK with 1 and 6.
The data above was gleaned from the Terk manual and a website that listed the frequencies applied by WiFi channels. (Google it or undertake www.moonblinkwifi.com/2point4freq.cfm)
This will have to get you where you need to go. The Terk doesn’t reject signals as well as I would like. When using my laptop at the kitchen table, it now and again causes interference with the Terk receiver in the same room, even even though I’m not using an intervening channel. However, plainly altering the orientation of the laptop normally does the trick. Our WiFi router isn’t that far from the Terk receiver, but it is far sufficient that there isn’t a problem. Having the WiFi router in the same room as the Terk RECEIVER could be a problem. Having the router in close proximity to the Terk sender wouldn’t cause a static problem (but it might cut the range of both the Terk and the WiFi).
Sorry if I got too geeky. Hopefully your WiFi router and/or computers are far sufficient away from the Terk receiver that you won’t have this problem, but if you do, there is a way around it. I’d also be sure to get the Terk from someplace that has a good return policy. That way, if you can’t resolve the RF interference problems, you may return it for a 5.8 GHz version from another manufacturer.
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