Peerless HDS200 HD Flow reviewed by FCTT

At first glance, the $500 Peerless HDS200 HD Flow system conjures up endless memories of other wireless video systems that have come and gone – most of them falling far short of the mark. I personally have reviewed way too many to count, but this system may be a game-changer compared to past failures.

The Peerless HDS200 HD Flow system comes equipped with a variety of inputs including VGA, two HDMI inputs and even a composite input. The composite input would come in to play here at A&M-Commerce because we have the rare bird of the VHS tape in lectures.

This system was capable of sending all forms of signals over 50 feet away. We like to think that 50 feet will be a safe operating distance but over 75 to 100 feet is feasible in a conference room or hotel ballroom setup. The thing to remember is the further the distance, the greater chance you have of the wireless signal being interfered with. I was impressed with the fact that the receiver could take a VGA input with an audio input from a laptop and send a high resolution signal to an HDMI projector with the sound embedded into the HDMI output. This feature alone is $250 in my opinion. There is also a way to stream a LAN Ethernet signal as well but this includes too many more wires to truly be called “wireless.”

The only negative issue we discovered was concerning the power to the unit. You can still use the functions of the transmitter and receiver without the included remote, but both units cannot be powered down by the remote or a button on the unit itself. Basically both the receiver and the transmitter need to be left on. This can cause major problems if the receiver unit is installed high above the ceiling next to a projector.

I would like to see the new HD Flow system to exclude the composite connections. Composite is now officially extinct. I would also not mind getting rid of the component out on the receiver. Component is good for connecting the system up to older projectors or LCD monitors but for $500 you want to be looking forward not backward. Overall we here at the FCTT were impressed with the system’s functionality and the reliability of the wireless signal. It is a good investment for a hotel, university or conference center, but probably a little out of budget for a regular home theater setup.