The PocketDock AV is the newest product from SendStation, a company that has made its name by bringing new and innovate iPod docks and connector products to market. The PocketDock AV is a small iPod dock and adapter that allows you to sync, charge, and connect your iPod to your PC, TV or your stereo. It incorporates all of these connections into one multi-purpose cable that provides USB, audio, composite video, and S-Video connectors. It also has a 7 pin video connector that can be used to connect the video port of a 15 or 17-inch Mac PowerBook to output its screen to any TV. With all of these connectivity options, the PockDock AV expands the capabilities of your iPod to allow you take advantage of your big-screen TV for watching video or home stereo system for listening to music.

Design

The adapter and dock are small enough to be easily carried along with your iPod, but long enough to provide some flexibility and options in how you connect it to your TV or home stereo. The composite audio and video connectors are color coded to allow easy identification of the connector type, while the rest of the cables are matched in black. I would have liked to see all of the other connectors color coded as well to make it easier to keep track of everything. The dock connector is long enough so that you can plug it into an iPod without having to remove the iPod from its case, which is a nice design touch that many users will appreciate.

Compatibility

• 5G iPod (video)
• 4G iPod (click-wheel) (no video)
• iPod Photo
• iPod Mini (no video)
• iPod Nano 1G/2G (no video)
• iPhone: Can be used only to sync & charge the iPhone via USB. Line Out audio and video output are not yet available.
  

Performance

To test the performance of the PocketDock AV, I focused mainly on connecting my iPod Nano to my home stereo system and listening to music. I also tested the S-Video connection to view pictures on my TV. Objective test measurements were not possible and so all of the test results are based on my experience during the evaluation.

Connecting my iPod Nano to my AV receiver was simple. I had no trouble with connecting the dock to my Nano, even though the Nano has a protective case cover, due to the dock extender. Once the audio cables were connected to my receiver, the iPod click-wheel controls functioned as normal and the sound level could be controlled either from the iPod or from my receiver.

The sound quality during my listening tests was exceptionally clear and accurate. I did not notice any deficiency in the sound quality as compared to listening through headphones. On the contrary, sound through my home stereo was much fuller and dynamic than listening through headphones. This will, of course, vary on your home stereo components – in my case my home stereo is of much higher quality than the headphones that come with the iPod. In summary, during my listening tests the PocketDock AV provided clear transmission of the audio signal and did not limit the sound quality in any way.

Connecting my iPod Nano to my TV was unsuccessful due to the fact that the PocketDock AV used with the iPod Nano does not support video. This means that it does not support any video output – even pictures. To test the video output with the PocketDock AV, I had to take it to a friends house who had a newer iPod video. The brief testing that I was able to conduct (I only tested it for a few minutes) confirmed that the PocketDock AV does provide solid video performance through the S-Video cable, with pictures and video transmitted through the S-Video cable showing adequate color depth and resolution. The image quality showed a few blurry edges, but the playback was smooth. The video quality did not match high-definition or even standard DVD quality level, but it was sufficient for sharing movies and pictures on a bigger TV screen.

SendStation PocketDock AV

The PocketDock AV is a very handy and reasonably priced solution for connecting your iPod to your computer, TV, stereo or any other media device. It is certainly a lot easier than carrying around separate adapters, docks and connectors for each device. If you want to take full advantage of all the possible ways that your iPod offers to play music, view pictures and watch video - then this is the product for you.

Pros: All-in-one cable easily replaces multiple other connectors, long cord and velcro strap make it easy to use.

Cons: Additional color coding on the cables would have been nice.

Rating: 5 out of 5

www.sendstation.com