The dock itself measures 25 x 147 x 96mm and is cast in a coated black plastic which although not a high quality material doesn't feel too tacky. The top has 2 slots, one for your iPod which can be changed to accommodate the iPod range from the Nano through the the largest Video iPod (using dock adaptors) and one for the Homedocks own remote control which can sit in the dock when not in use. The Home Dock is the first iPod docking system to offer its own user interface onto a TV or LCD screen, other system have simply displayed the iPods own GUI which is designed for a much smaller screen. Here you attach the dock using the S-Video output on the rear of the dock to your screen and the DLO interface appears in a striking blue.

You can hook up the interface via the RCA connectors however you'll need an AV amp with a pass through mode as the 3 connectors Audio left / right and video are the same length making it impossible to split the video connector off to reach your TV while the audio goes into an amplifier. That said with everything in place the user interface is quite good, while it's not the same as the iPod it is very easy to use with the upper half showing you playback info about the track and artist and the lower section offering the means of browsing the content of the device.

We set up the unit with the AV signal running through our amplifier and LCD screen, this took just over 5 minutes and we had the DLO interface on the screen, then adding our 5th generation iPod into the dock which was satisfyingly secure we were able to browse the contents. The 18 button remote allows you to do everything you need to for audio files, you can browse the play lists, or albums as if you were using the front panel of the iPod and all this from your armchair. This is so much easier than buying an iPod remote and then straining your eyes to see the iPod display across the room! or for that matter the original Homedock which had just this problem and would cause you to visit you opticians within 6 months.

This DLO Homedock Deluxe wins hands down by adding producing a large TV filling GUI which makes using an iPod with your AV system simple. But hold on if you intend to use it to play video the new Deluxe unit starts to show some of the reasons the old Homedock was not a big seller. To play video from your pod you need to switch to video mode, this passes through the video output of the iPod straight through and you loose the on screen menus meaning its back to squinting across the room while using the remote (which still works).

Further the actual video quality is a poor VHS standard mainly due to the low 320 x 240 resolution of the IPod's video output which is woefully inadequate for the TV screen and shows how poorly encoded the videos from the iTunes tore are.

During our tests mostly with the audio navigation we noted that the scroll button on the remote (which lets you zoom through the list as if you had an Apple click wheel) seems to suffer from lag. So as you whiz through the lists of tracks and see the one you want, lifting off the button does not cause the scroll to stop for about another 50 or so items. It can therefore be quite infuriating to try and find exactly the track you want. Another of our initial concerns was quickly allayed when we found the three screensaver options which kick in after the controls are left untouched for a few minutes thus saving the screen from the dreaded burn in.

Overall the DLO Homedock Deluxe is a vast improvement on the old Homedock and is a very useable system for in home use of an iPod providing a big screen UI for you iPod. The remote is great and the whole system is frankly very tidy, the only let down is the way Video is handled but that is more of a limitation of Apples than from DLO.

Priced at around £130 it represents good value for money when compared to iPod remote systems that leave you needing binoculars to read the iPod screen or weedy iPod docks that have no screen at all. If only it handled video better then it would get our full recommendation.

Published - 04/11/2006

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