Review. Behind The Set KIWI. View your photos on your TV
Thursday, 20th November 2008
Behind the Set KIWI is a little black box that allows you to view your Google Picasa photo album to be viewed on your TV. It doesn’t require the use of a computer. It’s all controlled by a remote control just like the one that came with your TV. I found this item through a google ad that popped up on my site (just goes to show you PPC works) and I contacted the folks at behind the set for a review copy which they happily sent. Pricing on the KIWI is $119.99.
Besides allowing you to view your photos on your TV, this little box that is not much bigger than a pack of cards allows you to:
- View YouTube Videos
- Connect via social bookmarking including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and LinkedIn.
- Use Google Apps such as gmail, google reader, google docs, google calendar, google notebook, and google news.
- Read News at CNN, USA Today, and KUSA-Denver
- View Sports at ESPN, ESPN Fantasy Football, NFL.com and MLB.com
- Shop online at Amazon, Ebay, Nordstrom, Best Buy, and even order a pizza at Pizza Hut.
- Get Info such as traffic, white page listings and weather via the weather channel.
- Search Reference resources at Wikipedia and Dictionary.com
- And, lastly view photos on your TV which is what I’m writing about today, as it applies to this site and it’s readers mostly
What’s in the box:
2. USB Wireless Network Adapter
3. Power Adapter.
4. Composite video and audio cable to connect to your TV.
5. Pre-programmed universal remote.
6. Kiwi quick start guide
7. Using the remote control
8. Troubleshooting help
Technical Details
· Box size 3.7”x3.1”x0.8”
· RCA composite video/audio
· Wired or Wireless Ethernet Connection
· Power 120v AC
· Box size 3.7”x3.1”x0.8”
· RCA composite video/audio
· Wired or Wireless Ethernet Connection
· Power 120v AC
When I opened the box, I confess I didn’t have high hopes. I saw the little black box, and the universal remote and thought, hoo boy – there goes an evening trying to get this thing configured. But, I was VERY pleasantly suprised. This item works! And well.
The manual is a joy to read. The quick start guide has TWO, yup, just two steps:
1. Connect the cables to the KIWI and the other end to your TV (yellow, red and white) and plug it in. If using the wireless adapter (supplied) plug it in too.
2. Choose your wireless network and enter password if neccessary and voila – you’re online and surfing youtube, your photos and more. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
There’s a full page with a life-size photo mapping out all the buttons on the remote and their purpose. Like all new remotes there’s a learning curve but after a bit it all becomes second nature. The remote comes pre-programmed to use with the device, and even includes batteries already installed. You really can just plug in the KIWI and go.
I first fired up YouTube and was able to easily navigate the menu and view a video. I picked one of Steve Jobs:
As you can see, the picture is pretty good for a youtube video. It’s a little pixely, but the video is meant to be viewed about 6 inches wide. The TV you see is a 26 inch wide.
Next on to the nitty gritty: Viewing your photos. I was able to easily view other’s photos on Google Picasa and mine as well with little effort. My only complaint was entering passwords and usernames with the remote. It uses the triple tap method using the numerical keypad. It’s doable, and the good news is the kiwi remembers your username/passwords for next time, but I’d kill for a keyboard with this thing.
Here’s some public photos I found using the search term ‘nikon‘.
And here’s the ONE photo I uploaded to Google Picasa just to test out this little black box. Again, my only complaint is entering username/passwords via the remote. But, thankfully the KIWI remembers usernames/passwords so you only have to do it once.
I didn’t play around much with the other features such as facebook, twitter, ebay, etc as that’s not really the scope of the review. I was interested in reviewing this item to see how easily I could view my photos on the TV – and the answer is easily – after I fiddle with entering username/passwords via the remote.
Summary
If you need to view your photos on your TV this little box allows you to do so easily. It’s easy to set up, comes with nice touches such as a preprogrammed remote and even includes batteries (sometimes it’s the little things) and doesn’t require a computer other than to get your photos on Google Picasa. Once you get logged into your accounts via the remote it remembers the username and passwords so thankfully you don’t have to do this every time. Perhaps the younger crowd that grew up with text messaging will have no trouble with the remote and the username/password entry but to this middle aged guy, I found it to be the only drawback. If you can live with entering text with a remote control, I have no problem in recommending this. It works as advertised with little to no hassle.
As an aside, the letter accompanying the KIWI says the folks at Behind The Set are working on being able to network with other computers by using UPnP in the next few weeks. They also say that they’re working on getting the KIWI on playing content from a USB Flash Drive or USB Hard Drive. As I write this those features aren’t available.
If you’d like one of these for yourself you can order it at
or you can order it at Amazon:
Kiwi – Bring Internet Content to Your Tv
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