With an LCD display between the speakers, the iMV712 lets you watch movies from your iPod. Is it an improvement over the iPod's tiny screen? Read our full review.
Review summary of the Altec Lansing iMV712:
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 As a speaker dock, the Altec Lansing iMV712 would be a fine choice. It's sound is clean and accurate, and it can provide enough volume, without distortion, and a nice bass kick to fill a room with sound. As a mini-theater, the device is somewhat puzzling. Perhaps we can see planting the device on our office desk while we watch a movie, but if we wanted to sit through a movie we wouldn't watch it in our office. Still, to really see what's going on, you need to be close to the screen, but the screen doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. Besides, $350 is a lot to spend for a speaker dock if you aren't going to watch videos. If you really want to watch videos from your iPod, and you only have three feet of space and no television, this dock is for you. We're just not sure if there is a 'you' for this device. Release: May 2007. Price: $350.
Pros: Great sound. Very easy to use. Elegant, simple design. Works with other devices, besides the iPod.
Cons: LCD display quality was lacking. Remote is vital for some functions, but could be lost easily. Cannot mirror iPod menus.
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Full Altec Lansing iMV712 Review:
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The Altec Lansing iMV712 is a new category for iPod docks, spurred by the video capabilities of the latest Apple media players. Between the speakers sits an 8.5-inch LCD screen that can display video from the iPod. To test, we tried a variety of audio tracks and several movies and music videos downloaded directly from the iTunes store. We watched and listened at close range, about three feet, and also from a distance, about 12 feet.
Design - Very Good
In glossy black, the Altec Lansing iMV712 blended nicely into our living room without sticking out too much. More curvy and sleek than a clock radio, we liked the overall look of the device, but wish there was a better way to dock the iPod than have it stick straight out of the top like the black obelisk in Kubrick's "2001." Altec Lansing also includes a separate adapter to rest any similarly-sized media player atop the dock, and bundles an A/V cord that plugs into auxiliary input jacks in the back, so even if you don't have an iPod you can watch videos and maintain the same general aesthetic.
Controls on the dock itself are simple, only volume and an input source selector. Everything else is on the flat remote, which uses flat batteries to keep things slim. We wish there was a docking port for the remote, like Altec Lansing built into their iM7 iPod boom box, because we could easily see losing it.
There is little to the device's interface; most functions are carried out on the iPod itself. This is unfortunate, because browsing the menus would have been much easier on the iMV712's large screen, as opposed to the small iPod display. From across the room, we couldn't read the iPod and had to actually get off the couch to see which song or video we were selecting. Better if Altec Lansing could have mirrored the iPod's screen on the dock, but the only feedback that showed up on the big screen was for volume, input source and SFX controls.
Audio - Very good
We are always pleasantly surprised to hear Altec Lansing's larger iPod docks, mostly because they are so reasonably priced compared to high-end offerings from Bose and Apple. The sound has a more accurate quality than the popular Bose SoundDock, which means it will sound more flat, but Bose has often been accused of warming up their sound for novice listeners. We would have liked a heavier bass kick from the iMV712 by default, but increasing the bass level woke up the subwoofer on Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing." We were especially please with staging from the speakers, especially with the SFX mode activated. Though SFX seems to improve right and left separation at the expense of some mid-range sound, this made more of a difference on movies than on musical tracks. From 12 feet, the iMV712 easily filled the room with sound, and could happily drive a medium-sized party.
Video - Good
To test the LCD screen, we watched about an hour of "Ronin," which features plenty of explosions, car chases and dialogue, as well as some sweeping views of the French landscape. To compare, we used the iMV712's s-video output to run the movies through our 32-inch Samsung LCD TV, which is admittedly an unfair comparison, but it did help us determine if problems were due to the video quality on the iPod or the screen on the dock.
At close range, video looked a bit washed, and a pixilated, screen-door effect was obvious. Edges had a noticeable blur, but we found the same on our larger TV, so we're assuming this is problems with the low-res encoding on the movie. From a distance, details seemed more clear, but if you're going to watch an 8.5-inch screen from more than six feet, you might as well just hold the iPod. Comparing the video on the iPod's screen up close to the video on the iMV712, the smaller screen looked much sharper, but that was probably due to all those pixels being packed into a tighter space.
This made us wonder at whom the device was being aimed. Clearly, you need to be close to the dock to enjoy videos, but the quality of the LCD at close range is disappointing. We've seen much sharper screens on similarly sized portable media players, notably from Archos, but even a 7-inch Archos player can cost $200 more than the Altec Lansing device. At $350, the iMV712 might not be an apparent bargain, but for a small display and very good speakers, the price isn't bad.
Price and availability
The Altec Lansing iMV712 will start selling for $350 () in May 2007.
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