HD Digisenders - Marmitek Gigaview 821 vs Provision

I posted this on another AV Forum, but thought it might be of use/interest to folks here...

Marmitek Gigaview 821 vs Provision...Marmitek wins (for me)


My experiences of both the Marmitek Gagaview 821 HD Sender and Provision HD Sender.

I've tried both units broadcasting my SKy HD signal from the lounge, upstairs to my bedroom:-
Lounge: Sky HD (1080i) --> Transmitter --> 1080p TV
Bedroom: Receiver --> 720p TV

With both units, when you turn on the TV upstairs, say first thing in the morning, there is always a good 10 second or so delay while the sender/receiver negotiate and get there act together etc.

Gagaview 821
Pros:-

• HDMI pass thru built in.
• Two HDMI inputs which you can select between.
• I believe there is little/no delay with the image being sent, meaning using the remote over it is quick and responsive. You may even be able to play your console remotely?
• Full surround sound can be sent.
• 3D TV can (supposedly) be sent.

Issues:-

• When you turn on either TV, the signal to the other is disrupted for 5-6 seconds while the two units negotiate.
• The lights on the receiver are very bright and go in all directions. Quite literally it lights up the walls all around our bedroom. I suspect some black tape will be employed by me!
• Once or two over the course of the month, the units have glitched or refused to wake up properly, so a power cycle on the receiver has been required (ie: unplug the power).
• The IR sender seems a little restrictive. In the end I simply take it to a black cable tie which I taked to the shelf a inch or so infront of the Sky box. This raises the sender right up infront of the Sky Box pointing at its IR receiver. Works perfectly and means you don't have to stick the IR sender to the Sky Box.

Provision
Pros:-

• HDMI pass thru built in.
• You can have multiple (3?) receivers.
• If you turn the receiver's TV on or off, the image on the sender is not disrupted.
• The IR sender seems good. Does not need to be stuck to the unit, just sits on the shelf pointing back/up. Note: I could not test it as the box didn't include the IR Eye for the receiver, so I could not test the remote control functionality.

Issues:-

• When the TV on the sender is turned on or off, the signal to receiver is disrupted for 5-6 seconds.
• Only stereo sound is sent.
• Sometimes when walking around near the Provision Receiver the image broke up.
• My unit was not supplied with a IR unit for the receiver to allow a remote to be used, so I could not test how responsive a remote control was, but from what I understand there is a small delay in the transmission, hence meaning you don't see the outcome of your remote control for 1/2-1 second. This delay would obviously mean playing a console game would be impractical.

Gigaview 821 vs Provision
On first trying the Provision, after a few weeks of using the Gigaview, my partner immediately said she thought it was not as good a picture. And I too thought it just didn't seem quite a "natural". Indeed, I watched a bit of an HD program from Sky on the Provision, then watched same footage again using the Gigaview, and the Gigaview seemed, (a) smoother & more natural, (b) to have less/no artifacts. In one dark scene there seemed to be huge blocks of artifacts from the Provision in the dark areas, which were not apparent on the Gigaview at all.

Conclusion
Even though the "negotiation" is bloody annoying - ie: When either TV is turned on, the other cuts out for 5-6 seconds - the superior picture quality of the Gigaview seems worth it. Additionally the signal seems pretty much rock solid.

It's a shame you can't add more receivers to the Gigaview, but again, the image is worth it IMHO.

NOTE: From my guesswork the IOGEAR GW3DHDKIT is just a rebadged Marmitek Gigaview 821.