Yesterday I got the Logitech Revue delivered, now that updated software for the device was confirmed I figured that I could take the chance and ordered it from Amazon.  As I live in the Netherlands I expected some stuff to not work out, and I’ll talk about that as well for anyone else considering.

Unboxing

The box comes with the Revue, a wireless keyboard with batteries, power adapter with US power plug, HDMI cable and 1 IR Blaster. Nothing fancy, but then again, the magic should happen onscreen.

The power adapter is 100-240V, so can be used in the Netherlands, you do need a US 2 Euro adapter. I have a few cheap ones from dealextreme.com, so it was a minor hurdle. But if you do order one, be prepared for that.

Setup

Hookup was pretty simple, HDMI to my receiver, Network cable and power. It supports wifi, but didn’t test that.

When switching on you get a simple wizard, it will make internet connection and start updating the software. All steps are simple and clear, just make sure you skip stuff like zip code, as it will not expect nor understand dutch zip codes.

IR Blaster

The Revue also works as a universal remote in some way, if you provide your brand/type TV and Audio Receiver during setup it will allow you to control volume and power. A nice feature as I can do everything I want from the Revue Remote Keyboard. I was surprised by how good this works. Even when there isn’t a direct line of sight.

DLNA

For me the most important feature would be the ability to play stuff that’s on my QNap 419P+ storage, this machine has TwonkyVision DLNA build in, and that works as expected. The interface is a bit boring, and search takes forever on the moment, but it plays video’s without issues and the image is clear. I hope that the new software update will allow for a better interface, either shipped or 3rd party.

Browser

This is something that makes the Revue much better than most, a full browser with flash enabled. This means you can use nearly all sites. Things get a lot nicer though when the site is optimized for Google TV.

I first tried youtube, but got the normal site and this didn’t feel relaxed at all, then I got a popup requesting me to try “Leanback”, an optimized page for Google TV and this turned out to be a joy to use. No more using the trackpad to click stuff, but everything working with the quick hotkeys.

Verdict

Clearly, the limit isn’t the box, but on the moment the software. Everything works as expected and if you have a DLNA enabled machine to stream your media from it’s excellent. If you are looking for a media player than the current pricepoint of 99$ is good even if you can not use all the functions it was designed for.

Expect a second review once the new version hits, and maybe a 3rd when I get a set-top box with HDMI so I could use the HDMI-in part.