An Alternative To A Kitchen TV

I had fun installing a computer as a tv in the kitchen. Its time to think differently and have a go yourself.

A LCD or plasma television in the kitchen is the 'in thing' nowadays. It is fast becoming common place to find a television set that has been permanently installed into the kitchen as a feature. The reason why is simple. They look great with their slim features and they can be mounted anywhere where there is a little space, whether it is on the wall, in a cabinet or on the ceiling. The tv in the kitchen is no longer located there for entertainment, but with a combined DVD player it is possible to run cooking demonstrations while the cook follows the instructions. Rewinding is optional. Why does it always look easier when someone else does it - go Jamie.

It obviously has Internet access to the world wide web. Your emails or MSN alerts are received and displayed in real time while you are cooking. You can stream countless radio stations from anywhere in the world. The tv tuner can be connected to satellite and I understand that some ISP providers can stream cable tv via the internet. Endless amounts of music stored on the computer in MP3 format. It has all the functionality of a computer (because it is one) with all the MS Office programs accessible through the touch of the screen. The computer sound outputs connect to a high quality 5.1 sound surround system.

For all its worth, that's about it with a kitchen tv. It plays whatever channels it can receive or what ever DVD you put into the player. But what if the kitchen tv was more than just that. What if the kitchen tv was more interactive. Wouldn't it be a grate idea to install a LCD touch screen connected through a computer into your kitchen? I did and it works brilliantly.

So what are the advantages of using a computer and touch screen monitor to a standard kitchen tv? Where do I begin?

My first attempt was about 10 years ago when the early LCD screens hit the general market. I installed one into a friend's house who was remodelling their kitchen at the time and wanted to be able to access their email and check stuff on the internet. Touch screens were not readily available then, so we installed a standard LCD screen so that it was visible all the time and put the keyboard and mouse into a draw below. Because we had a good quality 5 metre monitor lead we were able to put the computer into an adjacent cupboard. We included a tv tuner module in the computer for local tv reception. The system worked very well and I also included MP3 player software which became a great source of continuous music.

Just recently we have replaced the old dated computer and monitor with newer equipment. The monitor is a new 19 inch LCD TFT touch screen and is connected to a new Pentium 4, dual processing computer. The monitor is the same type that they use for point of sales in retail stores. We still used the draw to put the keyboard and mouse into but we hardly use it and if we were installing this from scratch I would have done away with it. The great thing is that most of the programs we use are windows based and menu driven.

As more and more customers are upgrading their current TV sets to new widescreen HDTV capable models, displaying your digital-camera images on TV will take on a new experience. The innovators at Kodak realize that and have developed an unusually simple and easy way to present photos on your new screen. KODAK EASYSHARE HDTV Dock connects to your HDTV to process pictures from KODAK HD-enabled digital cameras, SD memory cards or USB drives to deliver an outstanding visual experience to share with family and friends. Over forty-percent of HDTV owners say they want to view their own photos in HD2 and now Kodak, with the launch of the HDTV Dock, is not only making it possible, but also making it easy.
Using the remote control feature on the HDTV Dock enables consumers to manage their digital pictures while relaxing on the living room sofa. The HDTV Dock makes it effortless to enjoy a full HD-quality slideshow, edit individual images, transfer images to a USB drive, or even print images to a connected printer. Along with being backward compatible with many KODAK EASYSHARE digital cameras, the HDTV Dock automatically charges the rechargeable battery so the camera is ready whenever needed. Unit Measures 6L x 3-3/4W x 1H
Customer Review: Nice try, but not well executed
This is a classic example of a product that should have been turned over to Apple to make it integrate well. The manual is poor. For example, there is no explanation of how to actually navigate to the pictures on your camera. With an SD card in the camera, the HDTV dock initially displays Zero Pictures and Zero Videos. We thought the dock or the camera must be defective, because the Kodak printer dock can access the photos immediately. A call to tech support revealed that you have to go down about 3 or 4 folder levels to get to the actual pictures. Picture display on my 720P LCD was generally good. Videos had an annoying green line at one edge. The remote operates the device so slowly that the wait for a new picture to show on the screen is agonizing. Slide show mode was ok. The buttons on the remote are confusing. Sometimes we had to shut off the HDTV dock just to make it go back to the main menu. The remote also caused our Olevia LCD to turn off, so I had to put black electrical tape over the Olevia "remote pickup" plastic to keep the Kodak remote from turning it off. The remote had to be carefully aimed at the dock or it wouldn't work at all. The dock, like all Kodak docks, needs the "insert adapter" that comes with the camera. But it you have two docks, such as a printer dock and the HDTV dock, you're out of luck, because Kodak supplies only one insert, with the camera. Four calls to Kodak didn't fix the problem, until finally the parts department proposed to charge me for an extra dock insert. And this despite the fact that presales at Kodak said they'd simply send an additional insert for free when I supplied the serial number of the camera. Hint to the wise: just claim the insert is missing, and after two calls, one to parts to get the part number, and one to sales, you'll have your insert. So much for the "one call, and we fix your issue" customer service ethic. The HDTV dock is compatible with some Kodak printer docks, so you can print what you see on the TV screen. But in the standard Kodak design way of not thinking everything out, the printers have only one USB port, so you have to do a cable swap if your dock is already connected to a PC. The HDTV dock is a brand new product, but is missing, you guessed it, an HDMI port. Oops. Ultimately we decided the hassle of the HDTV dock wasn't worth the result. Come on, Kodak, you can do much better than this! If "Easy" is the marketing tag, this product doesn't fit.
Customer Review: Warning!
This dock requires HDTV, at minimum 720P resolution. It does not work on regular TV. Like all other Kodak docks, it requires the custom camera insert included with your camera. If you have more than one dock, contact Kodak about getting extras. Using the dock without the adapter plate can cause damage to your camera, the dock, or both. It does not connect to a PC. You need a different dock, printer dock, or a memory card reader for that. Check camera compatibility before use. It is not compatible with CX, DX, or and most LS, model cameras at all. Some supported cameras DO NOT output in HD quality for picture or video. It will not play video at all from many models of camera, even when you use the memory card directly in the dock. The product strikes me as something Kodak stopped in the middle of development. It will not save many users from needing multiple memory cards or a laptop while traveling. The fact it only works with an HDTV makes it fairly useless for travel anyway unless you manage to find a hotel that has the required TV and allows you to mess with it.