Wireless technology is extremely popular, for a very good reason. It isn’t always practical to connect devices via a cable. Maybe you want the device to remain portable without cords hanging out of it, or you might want to avoid having cables run across the floors or through doorways. Whatever the reason, Wireless HDMI dongles are a great solution to transmit video signals from one device to another and can be as reliable and easy-to-use as your home Wifi.
The Nyrius Aries Prime HDMI transmitter and receiver package can be a fantastic addition to any home theater with the right setup. It allows you to stream any kind of video you want from virtually any device to almost any TV, projector, or desktop computer.
It’s got a simple, no-frills setup, and if you get a product that works, it’s going to work extremely well. We’re talking crisp, high-definition video with absolutely no lag time. It completely eliminates the need for an HDMI cord. You can easily stream all your favorite movies, YouTube videos, or video games, and it doesn’t even take WiFi to do it.
Its technology hasn’t quite been refined yet though. Some users have had issues with this product’s performance right out of the box, while others have noticed somewhat of a decline in usability over a couple weeks. Although plenty of people have no issues at all and love it, it should be noted that the tech is still far from foolproof at this point.
Wireless HDMI technology needs time to mature through a competitive market of models offered by multiple manufacturers all over the world to really attain its peak performance potential. Although there are other manufacturers, this is currently one of the best wireless HDMI adapters. Let’s take a closer look at what it offers.
Specs & Features
There are two different versions of this product – the wireless HDMI adapter with a 30ft range, and one with a 100ft range. Its 5GHz video transmission is a lot less noisy than some other frequencies, and it’s supposed to be able to stream straight through walls and doors, so you won’t really have to worry about the location of your transmitter vs. your receiver.
Note that this kind of transmission distinguishes it from, say, Google’s Chromecast dongle. You’re not going to have to rely on WiFi to stream your video. That means you can use this thing on the go, in the field, or any time your WiFi cuts out. You also don’t have to worry about slowing down internet speeds for other people in your house.
Out of the box, you’ll get pretty much anything you might want or need to operate this product:
- Wireless HDMI transmitter
- Wireless HDMI receiver
- 100-240V AC power adapter (for receiver)
- Mini USB power cable (for transmitter)
- 5-foot HDMI cable
- Right Angle Adapter
The transmitter is an especially handy little device. You’ll be able to plug it into just about any device – laptops, desktops, Android TV box, tablets, even video cameras. It’s tiny and totally portable. The one small drawback is that it will take up a USB slot on your computer, which you might find pesky if your laptop has a limited number of those and you’re using them for other things. Still, that’s a pretty small price to pay for wireless video transmission.
The receiver, meanwhile, can hook up to anything that takes HDMI. So, almost any desktop, laptop, TV, or projector. Keep in mind that you will also have to plug the receiver into an outlet.
Once you’ve got it plugged in, that’s about it. You’ll be able to stream in 1080p HD video, without any lag. This thing can handle anything from online gaming to 3D movies. And in terms of audio, it’ll take uncompressed 7.1 PCM, DTS, and Dolby Digital Surround Sound.
The functionality of the transmitter and receiver aren’t too shabby either. The transmitter works from 32 degrees to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and you can store it from 14 to 131 degrees, if you ever needed to for some reason. It’ll also only work in up to 80% relative humidity, something to keep in mind if you live in a humid climate. The transmitter is 5VDC and 1.5A, and the standard protocol is HDMI 1.3, HDCP 1.2.
The receiver is 40 MHz, and with a 1 RX / 1 TX channel. It’s not recommended that you use digital to analog adapters here, but you can use HDMI to mini HDMI/micro HDMI adapters.
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All in all, these specs are quite good. They’re also not terribly complicated. Just plug it all in, and you’re good to go!
Design
Again, there are just two main pieces to the Nyrius Aries Prime: the wireless HD transmitter, and the wireless HD receiver. The transmitter is about the size of a flash drive, while the receiver is a small box (5.8 x 7.69 x 1.22 inches). All that plugs into the receiver is an HDMI cord and a regular USB power cable. One downside is that you’re probably going to want to get an HDMI adaptor for either the transmitter or the TV, just so that you don’t have to directly plug into a device and risk breaking the head. Since this product isn’t exactly cheap, that’s not a chance you really want to take. You’ll definitely need to get that extender if you have a lot of the latest Mac laptops since they don’t even have HDMI ports anymore.
Another problem you might find with the transmitter’s design is that it’s powered by a USB power cable, which you’re probably going to want to plug into your laptop. This is an issue if you have something like a MacBook Air, which only has two USB ports to begin with. So if you want to have anything else plugged into your computer while you’re streaming video, you’re fresh out of luck.
Unlike the Nyrius Aries home, which lets you hook up to pretty much any device in your house and control it all from a single computer, the Nyrius Prime is a simple, extremely user-friendly product that doesn’t take much more effort than finding the HDMI port and plugging a couple adaptors in. That’s it. No software, no drawn-out process.
All in all, the design is definitely an upgrade from any convoluted HDMI cord setup. You won’t have to leave your computer in front of the TV anymore if you want to stream video off of it. Just park your receiver next to the TV and plug in the cord. Note that you might be a little annoyed if you were hoping to wall mount the thing, though – you’re supposed to be able to screw it in, but the feet are fairly firmly attached to the bottom of it so it won’t be able to get flush. It really seems designed to sit, not hang.
The most obvious benefit of this product’s design is how easy it makes streaming movies onto other devices. But there are also other, less obvious advantages you can play around with once you get this thing. You can set it up at work, for instance, and have a larger screen or another computer mirror whatever you’re doing on your laptop. You can also stream any kind of video you want.
It’s really not complicated. Just get it all set up and press “play,” and you’ll be set.
In Use
At its best, the Nyrius Aries Prime performance is really top-notch. Zero latency, fantastic video quality, perfectly synced audio. It’s impressive for a wireless setup.
Once you start trying to use this device in more demanding setups, there is a small chance you’ll start running into a couple issues though. In some ways, that’s just the nature of a device like this. Wireless connections, in general, tend to be kind of a gamble. You’re relying on radio signals, and the thing with radio signals is they don’t discriminate. So while 5GHz definitely isn’t the noisiest frequency, you might start to have some problems if your neighbors also use a lot of devices that take a 5GHz connection.
Slow Streams or Buffering?
Are your streams loading too slow? Getting constant buffering? Not able to stream at full resolution? Check out these tips to improve your streaming experience:
- Use a modern Router that has advanced features like QoS to prioritize video content. Check out our recommended Routers for Streaming.
- If you are using a Wifi connection, be sure to check out our 9 easy steps to improve your Wifi for Streaming.
- Some Internet Service Providers throttle video streaming traffic without telling their customers. A VPN encrypts all your traffic and circumvents throttling, blocking and geographical restrictions.
And of course, using two of these devices in the same house is totally out of the question. The receiver doesn’t really know what to do when it’s getting two signals at once. It doesn’t just stick to the stronger one. Instead, it often sort of freaks out, hurting your video quality in some unpredictable way.
That’s the most forgivable of this product’s performance issues. It’s not something you can really fault it for – that’s just how transmissions work. If you want a product that you won’t have to worry about that with, go for something WiFi based or just stick to your HDMI cords (annoying as they are). Then again, the chances of your neighbors having a similar device at this point in the game are very slim. It is a new technology after all. You can always check with your neighbors, if you’re feeling neighborly that is.
But the real problem with this product’s performance for some users is that it simply does not do what it says it will. Some may find that the signal starts getting spotty when you’re trying to stream video through walls or doors (something the product expressly claims will not happen). Some might find their range shorter than they thought they were paying for. Again, most people probably won’t experience this, and for most of us, our transmitter is going to almost always be in the same room as our receiver.
And then there are the issues some users experience with basic functionality. Some of these products come right out of the box non-functional. Others start developing problems within a matter of days, while for others, it might take weeks or months. There’s a pretty wide range on the type of issues you might experience. Maybe your video will be a little low-res. Maybe there will be a little lag between your laptop and the screen, or between your audio and your video. We’re dealing with electronics issues here, so everything is different for different people. Especially with a relatively new technology, there’s always the risk of some unforeseen malfunction.
Alternatives
There are a couple of obvious alternatives to using this product, each with advantages and disadvantages.
The most obvious alternative is, of course, to just stick to your HDMI cords. They’re a lot cheaper, but they are definitely more of a hassle. But someday in the not-too-distant future, these kinds of cords will be obsolete.
Another option would be something like the Chromecast dongle or one of the many Anycast dongles (). They are cheaper but they rely completely on a WiFi connection. The clearest advantage Aries Prime has is, of course, that it doesn’t rely on WiFi. This makes it substantially more versatile, and in theory, there’s absolutely no possibility for delay. WiFi can lead to lag times, but transmitters like the one Aries Prime uses send out their signal at the speed of light.
There are also other devices that function the same way as the Aries, i.e. a direct connection between transmitter and receiver. The Actiontec ScreenBeam Mini2 gets a lot of good reviews but isn’t compatible with Apple devices.
If you’re looking for more of a hub for your devices around the house, you might be better off with the Prime’s sister product, the Aries Home. It’s a little clunkier than the Prime, but it comes with five HDMI ports and is better for connecting devices throughout the house. The main advantage of Prime is that it’s simpler. Neither of them are without rouge issues popping up for users around the internet, but each offers an intriguing new way of connecting your devices that the majority of people have never seen before.
Conclusion
All in all, the Nyrius Aries Prime is a solid product for most people. It’s a neat new way of streaming that offers much more than just novelty, even at this early stage of its existence. However, you might find it a little dicey for the price if you’re very concerned with value. Part of that might just have to do with the fact that it’s wireless, and wireless systems like this do tend to sometimes have problems. If you’re in the vast majority of people who understand the utility this product, though, you’re likely to be highly satisfied with your purchase.
Last update on 2024-12-20 at 02:29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
