PeakDo Wireless 4K HDMI Docking Station Review – 4K Wireless HDMI Transmission with Zero Latency but No HDR or 4k 60Hz/120Hz

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I believe most people at some point wish they could connect their laptop/console/phone to a TV or monitor without the need for long HDMI cables.

Wireless HDMI extenders have been around for years, but their performance is far from ideal. Most of these launchers can’t keep up with modern technology. They rarely do 4K, and they almost always introduce lag. This can cause serious problems, make gaming unpleasant or cause serious audio lip-sync issues.

PeakDo is one of the few companies on the market that may have a solution. Unlike most other products, it uses 60GHz mmWave to provide a lot of bandwidth and zero latency, but how well does it work?

Wireless HDMI Specifications

• exhibit:
  • High refresh rate mode: 1920*1080@120Hz
• Range: 30 meters (100 feet)
• Transmit power: 28 dBm

components

PeakDo sent me three different devices. You will need a receiver. You can then choose between the dock or the launcher.

recipient

The receiver plugs into your TV or AV receiver, this needs to be powered by USB, you can connect it to one of the USB ports on the TV.

It also has a threaded hole for physically mounting it to things like the back of a TV.

transmitter

The transmitter is designed for use with a laptop or PC and plugs into your HDMI port via the included 90-degree adapter or HDMI cable. Then it will need power from USB.

Dock/Hub

A docking station is a useful addition to the kit. It has an input for the transmitter and can accept USB power or batteries.

The batteries used are 18650, which is their actual name and capacity rating, and you can buy a pack of 4 plus chargers from Amazon for around £20.

Then it has micro and SD card slots and two USB-A ports. So if you have a compatible phone, you can create a proper working environment with a keyboard and mouse.

set up

I had some issues setting it up, but it wasn’t specific to the hardware I provided.

I received three separate pieces of hardware and all written instructions are in Chinese. I received a video showing the setup process I followed.

However, it seems Huawei Matebook 13 I initially tried it and it didn’t want to output HDMI through its USB. It detects the second monitor, but no image is output.switch to Huawei Matebook 14it has a proper HDMI port and works the first time.

Then my Pixel 6 will not detect anything. It should be able to handle HDMI output, but it doesn’t recognize the connection at all. Not all phones can output HDMI, and I ended up getting it to work with Huawei.

As for the hardware, I provided the HDMI receiver, but then provided two separate transmitter kits, a mobile docking station. The dock has two dongles, the larger one is the transmitter, but the smaller one is a mystery. In the end, I found that you plug it into the launcher, which is just like the base itself (compared to a full-size mobile base).

Assuming all your hardware works with the kit, it’s relatively easy to set up. You plug the receiver into the TV/AV receiver’s HDMI port and power it through the USB cable.

Then you do the same on the transmitter side. Then you need to long press the small button on the transmitter and receiver and the LED should temporarily turn off from red, then to blue.

They are all blue, they should be paired, and your device should recognize the screen connected via HDMI.

is using

Huawei Matebook 14

I had the best experience when transferring from my laptop. The Matebook automatically recognized it as a 4K monitor and I was able to stream to my 65″ Sony TV with no issues.

Huawei P40 Pro Docking Station

This Huawei P40 Pro Works fine, but not what I want.

Once your phone is in the dock, you can also plug in peripherals like a mouse and keyboard.

You can also switch the P40 Pro to desktop mode, switching from mobile display mirroring to a desktop-like display.

However, the P40 Pro’s display resolution won’t work perfectly with a 4K TV. You have three options, Large, Medium and Small, which are not suitable for 4K monitors due to the incorrect aspect ratio.

Depending on what you want to do with the display, this works great, but if you plan to stream 4K content or similar, it won’t look as good as expected. Casting your content would be a better solution.

I can imagine that the Samsung Galaxy series with DEX destop function will work perfectly with the docking station.

Gaming PC with Samsung C49RG90 Dual WQHD 1440p 120Hz Monitor and 27″ 4K Monitor

My next test was on my work PC, where I tried HDMI transmission with two separate monitors.

This worked immediately; as soon as I switched the monitor to the HDMI input source, my desktop popped up. 4K screens default to 100% scaling, so need to switch to 125%, which is normal for that screen size.

At 4K, as the spec says, your refresh rate is limited to 30Hz, which isn’t ideal for gaming, but I wouldn’t mind using it for general work.

Turning it down to 2560x1440P, I was still limited to 30Hz, but switching to 1080P allowed me to hit 60Hz, which is the limit of a 4K monitor.

Nvidia Shield connected to a 4K Sony AF8 OLED with Dolby Vision/HDR

along with Nvidia Shield, apps like Netflix allow me to watch movies and TV in Ultra 4K, so HDCP doesn’t seem to be a problem when using an HDMI transmitter. However, Netflix does not appear to be using Dolby Vision or HDR 10.I suspect this is something like [email protected] limit.

Price and Alternatives

The new PeakDo dock is not currently available for purchase, but retails for $404. You can reserve a pre-order spot for $1, which will give you 40% off, bringing the Kickstarter super early bird price down to $225.

Book your early bird spot here

The older PeakDo 4k Station Pro is available from PeakDo US for $330

Peakdo has a 1080P Wireless Transmitter on Amazon for $169.00

Competing brands on Amazon claim to offer 4K 60Hz wireless HDMI transmission for as low as £120.

However, multiple reviews point out that these don’t support 4K, and the marketing literature doesn’t mention latency. Most of these competing devices appear to be using 2.4/5G, which will significantly reduce bandwidth and increase latency.

Products that claim low latency are geared towards videographers and come at a premium. Hollyland MARS 400S PRO for over £600.

Another option might be HDMI over Ethernet. DDMALL 70m 4K HDMI Extender Can Do It [email protected] The fee is £175. However, this is obviously a very different product as you need to physically connect the device to Cat6.

comprehensive

The PeakDo worked as advertised, and I was able to get a solid 4K wireless connection to my TV with no noticeable lag.

Anyone thinking of using it for gaming should be aware of the refresh rate limit. For my gaming preferences, I don’t care too much about 120Hz, but 4k @ 30Hz is a bigger problem for many gamers and could be a deal breaker. Sure, you can do 1080P at 120Hz, but you’ll spend a lot of money on a transmitter to get sub-par resolution.

For non-gaming applications, performance is good, great for streaming (except for the lack of HDR) or working on a PC/laptop with a wireless connection. It is especially useful for business applications such as presentations. For home and business users, I can imagine this would be very useful for projectors, avoiding the requirement to run long cables from AV equipment or laptops to ceiling mounted projectors.

As a mobile docking station, the appeal seems a bit limited. Not all phones can output to HDMI, and almost all have some kind of screen casting capability. While screen casting isn’t lag-free, it’s easier to set up and less expensive.

For me, I might use it while traveling, allowing mr to connect a hotel or AirBnB TV to my laptop or phone, allowing me to work or watch Netflix on the big screen during downtime.

While this doesn’t provide a perfect replacement for a physical HDMI cable, I couldn’t find a better wireless alternative due to HDR and refresh rate limitations. Due to the lack of competition, this is a great product, just make sure you get rid of its limitations.