DLO HomeDock Deluxe puts iPod navigation on your TV

You might have thought Apple was the only company making iPod and Mac-related product announcements lately, and Stevie J. would probably be perfectly happy to let you make that assumption. But there are still other companies making iPod accessories — at least until Apple eats their lunch with its own versions. And one accessory that might actually be worth considering  is DLO's upgrade HomeDock Deluxe. The docking station works like the original HomeDock; you just place your iPod in the cradle, run some cables to your TV and/or stereo, and you can control it via the included remote while audio and video are routed to your home components. But the Deluxe adds one key feature: the ability to control your iPod directly from your TV screen. This could be especially handy if you've got a lot of video on your iPod and want to be able to easily jump from one recorded show to another — if, that is, the HomeDock Deluxe allows this. The specs only list the ability to control music and slide shows from the TV screen, and if you can't do the same for video, we'll skip this one. It's due out in March for $149.99; we're sure we'll find out more before then.

[Via I4U]

[Sunny @ Jan 10th 2006 8:05PM]

I'm loving this. great product.

[David Hakki @ Jan 10th 2006 8:29PM]

looks cool im buying

[BrianV @ Jan 10th 2006 8:41PM]

I'm in the market for a dock for my new ipod, and htis might fit the bill (except it's a little expensive). The knocks ont he original homedock seem to center around how weak the remote is. If this one works better, it might be worth picking up.

[squeek @ Jan 10th 2006 11:17PM]

Yea great idea, and the interface sounds great but $150 for a dock you can get an ipod for that kinda money! Why can't this stuff be cheap?

[Z @ Jan 10th 2006 11:33PM]

The website says:



"View and navigate iPods music directly on your TV screen".



"View picture slideshows with music on your big screen TV".



"Plays iPod videos on large screen TV via AV connection or S-Video".



"Control everything from the sofa with the included 20 Button Remote Control".





I would have to assume that this means you can not only watch your iPod's videos on the TV screen, but control them with the remote while they're playing, as well as navigate through them, all via the TV screen. What else could be concluded? Everything is controlled via remote according to the site, so I think we're all good to go with this one.



Something I would definitely buy.

[Rick @ Jan 10th 2006 11:49PM]

The guy who posted this article (Marky Perton) sure is ignorant. Apple doesn't release signficant add-on products for the iPod. The closest thing they have is the basic dock. Apple wants to make sure the ecosystem of 3rd party developers is happy.

[truongn2 @ Jan 11th 2006 1:14AM]

Do they make one for nanos?

[Robert @ Jan 11th 2006 2:02AM]

Apple actually has the universal dock out there that can be hooked up to a TV. And they sell that remote control that comes with the iMac to control Front Row. I have the dock and remote control but quickly found out that the controls from the ipod do not show up on the TV screen. If this new DLO dock does this, which it does clarify in the tech specs, then I will buy one.

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[G @ Jan 11th 2006 6:18AM]

Right, like people are going to watch ipod-resolution video on their home theatre systems. Still cool, though.

[Gordy @ Jan 11th 2006 7:30AM]

#6: "Apple wants to make sure the ecosystem of 3rd party developers is happy."



You might want to check around on that one. You can start with the creators of Watson, Konfabulator, and iFM. Unless, I hope, that was sarcasm.

[Gordy @ Jan 11th 2006 12:53PM]

Check out Griffin's TuneCenter. $99.



http://www.griffintechnology.com/

[Noah Kravitz @ Jan 11th 2006 2:38PM]

I got a demo of the DLO yesterday at MacWorld. It's still officially a prototype but basically the unit that will ship, minus a few on screen menu tweaks. The new remote is significantly more functional than the remote on the current DLO dock, but what the DLO rep told me is that it CAN'T start video playback because of "the Apple firmware in the iPod." So you have to start video playback from the iPod's buttons itself. Once videos are playing, you can pause, rewind, etc. He said something about a workaround if you load your videos into a video playlist - that the remote CAN start video playlists from scratch. I couldn't confirm that from the demo.



If you're interested, here's my review of the original HomeDock, which is a really nice product for what it does - the lack of onscreen menu is a draw back for me, but it's the best dock I've seen (that's actually shipping now):

http://www.powerbookcentral.com/columns/hildreth_kravitz/homedock.shtml



That Griffin dock looks nice. Griffin just told me it'll ship in March and review units may be out a little before that. They usually do iPod accessories very well, so this might be worth holding out for, especially at the price.



-nk

[steve @ Jan 11th 2006 4:05PM]

Whether or not this does video is irrelevant. A dock like this has been begged for by folks such as myself for ages.



Hooking your ipod up to your stereo and controlling it with a remote is a useless way to try and integrate it into your home theater setup. If you're far enough away to bother using the remote, there's no way you're going to be able to read what's on the ipod's screen.



This is the perfect way to finally make the ipod double as a useful home theater/stereo component even if it just does music. Video would be a definite plus (though I don't have an ipod video), but believe me, plenty of folks won't be "passing on this one" if it only does music.

[Aaron Reichman @ Jan 12th 2006 1:15AM]

Followup to #13, as I just got back from Macworld as well. I thought the TV screen interface on the DLO model looked like garbage. It was not very graphical and quite ugly if you ask me. Griffin had a video demo of theirs running and it looks much prettier. We'll have to wait and see when these things actually ship though.

[Z @ Jan 12th 2006 8:36AM]

If it's true that you can't start video with the remote, that would be stupid. But from the looks of things, Griffin's TuneCenter looks like a much better option.

[macaddict @ Jan 19th 2006 12:20PM]

(in response to #15) The interface DLO has pictured on their website looks pretty cool to me. Griffin's looks pretty cool too, though. BUT, all the articles say that the homedock on display was a prototype and they will be 'polishing' it up before they ship in march. I'll have to wait and play with both before i decide which one will look better on my big screen :D