Article – from the horse’s mouth

Pioneer presents the XDJ-AERO, the first-ever wireless all-in-one DJ system, and the first native player for rekordbox™ music management software

Product Page

My Comments

Pioneer has bridged the small network to the DJ table by releasing the XDJ-AERO which is an “all-in-one” DJ workstation that implements Wi-Fi wireless networking. This network ability exists mainly to allow the DJ to bring down music held on a regular PC or a mobile device and use it in his “set”.

It is compared to using the computer with its audio infrastructure connected to the DJ console and loaded with DJ playout software to play music held as files. Some users may augment this with a USB controller that has jog / shuttle dials to mimic the operation of a turntable or playing a special record on one of their turntables that is connected via a special computer interface module so that the turntable effectively becomes a jog dial.

The network can be set up with an existing 2.4GHz Wi-Fi g/n wireless network such as one operated by the premises or one provided by the DJ using his own wireless router. On the other hand, the XDJ-AERO could work as its own access point to the same credentials as Wi-Fi Direct. This could eliminate the need for a wireless router if the devices are kept close to each other and Internet access isn’t desired.

DJs who use this unit for bar or outdoor gigs should use the access point mode, but use the XDJ-AERO as a client for areas with a “known” network like practice work or private-home gigs.

The computer equipment including the smartphones or tablets would need to run Pioneer’s free “rekordbox” music-management software which is optimised for DJ work. This includes the ability to identify rhythm patterns in the music and keep details of factors like “beats per minute” which would be ideal for this kind of work. Because the requirement is that the network computing devices stream the music rather than transfer it as a file, the Pioneer XDJ-AERO is also optimised for high-reliability connections using a high-capacity buffer and the ability to identify and use a music loop to keep the beats going.

Luckily the Pioneer DJ ecosystem doesn’t just support the trendy Apple computing ecosystem. The software also supports Windows regular computers and Android mobile devices. It is also worth knowing that the XDJ-AERO can support four source computer devices, which can come in handy with a group of DJs who are performing their own sets on the same equipment, such as a wedding gig where one DJ with expertise on lounge or chillout music may play for the dinner while another DJ with dance-music expertise would play for the post-dinner dancing.

Those DJs who work across different media can benefit from this mixer by its ability to connect to two regular music sources. This means they could connect their Technics SL1200 “Wheels Of Steel” to work with vinyl or their Pioneer or Denon DJ CD players to work with CDs. It is also laden with plenty of digital effects that they can use on their music material through the programme.

This is a sign of things to come for the DJ industry who may benefit from the idea of using a computer and small network to play out music whether as a sole medium or as an ancillary medium.

Article

HP Communities – Your Office in Your Briefcase – HP Communities

My Comments

I have reviewed a significant number of the ultraportable computers and had assessed them in their capacity for “working on the go”. The regular 15” computers would work well if you do most of the travel by car, but I have found the 13”-14” computers as being able to come up to the job when you do a lot of travel, by offering a lightweight form while being able to type easily and benefit from an easily-viewable screen.

Input devices

I have written an article about the kind of pointing device to use with your laptop, including the situations when the integrated trackpad would come in handy. For the wireless mice that the article was suggesting that we use, I had found that most wireless input devices would require a proprietary dongle transceiver that plugged in to the USB port on the computer. Here, I would prefer that we go for a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct mouse especially as nearly all laptops have integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and you wouldn’t need to carry or worry about losing those dongles.

Power Needs

As for power supply, it may be wise to check through the manufacturer’s direct-sale Website store incase they offer one of those AC/Auto/Air adaptors. These adaptors have a DC input and a cord which connects to the EmPower airline DC connector or the cigar-lighter socket in a car; alongside an AC socket for the regular power cord.

If you do visit one or two particular countries or regions regularly, you could use AC cords that have plugs that are local to those particular areas for your laptop and other gadgets that use standard AC input sockets. This can be seen as a way to “free up” travel adaptors for other gadgets like mobile-phone chargers or bathroom necessities.

If the laptop uses a user-replaceable battery, you could find that you can run longer with a spare battery. It is also worth paying attention to the optional “long-run” battery packs like what Sony offers as an option for their VAIO S and Z Series notebooks. These high-capacity battery packs clip on to or install in the computer and run as secondary batteries that provide a lot of extra run time.

Of course, there had been mention about the use of headphones or a headset for your laptop as well as use of Microsoft’s Office 365 and Office Web Apps as part of your business computing needs.

Conclusion

One might say that, because the article was written at an HP Website, it may favour the HP products but I would still give the competing products like the Acer and Sony products a go.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Fujitsu LifeBook LH772 Series notebook computer which is what I would describe as being a “bridge” notebook computer.

This is where it is a 14” notebook computer that offers what is expected of a 15” mainstream laptop computer with such features as a large hard disk, a DVD burner, plenty of connectivity amingst other things.

Some of you guys may be shocked at my reviewing a pink-coloured laptop but it is available in a white or black colour as well as this pink colour. As I had mentioned with the Toshiba Satellite L730 that I previously reviewed, the white colour may also appeal to those of you who customise a portable computer by applying lots of decals on it.

For those of you who are interested, this notebook is the first one that has passed HomeNetworking01,info to be equipped with the Intel Ivy Bridge processor chipset which has quite a few benefits like improved integrated graphics abilities and integrated USB 3.0 support.

The computer itself

Aesthetics and Build Quality

This pink-coloured iteration of the Fujitsu LifeBook LH772 is finished in something that makes you think of neapolitan ice-cream where there is the pink body and the white keyboard.

It is a well-built computer with felt panelling underneath. This would make it less likely to slip on most furniture and make it more acceptable on that good French-polished dining table.

As well, through the times I have used this Fujitsu laptop, I have noticed no overheating even though there is a vent on the left hand side of this notebook.

User Interface

The transparent trackpad and trackwheel set in the acrylic finish alongside the buttons and fingerprint reader being obvious

The keyboard has that hard feel about it but you can still touch-type easily on it. There is also a full numeric keypad which would come in very handy for accounting and similar applications.

The trackpad and trackwheel are easy to locate by feel although you see a distinct square and circular area in the palmrest. As for the fingerprint reader, it is also easy to locate by feel and is very accurate under varying conditions including different temperature conditions or after I was eating some greasy food.

Audio and Video

Right hand side – DVD burner, 2 x USB 3.0 sockets

The Fujitsu LifeBook LH772 has the dual-mode graphics with Intel HD integrated graphics as well as NVIDIA GeForce discrete graphics. But this uses the NVIDIA Optimus automatic mode-switching facility so you don’t have to wory about whether you are using discrete graphics for performance or integrated graphics while on battery.

Left-hand side – VGA connector, 3.5mm audio-in jack, 3.5mm audio-out jack, 2 x USB 3.0 ports

This has yielded a smooth visual experience with on-demand video as well as regular computer use. One letdown with the display is the use of a glossy screen, which can be limiting if you have to dim the display to conserve battery life or have to deal with difficult lighting.

The Realtek sound subsystem had yielded the same “punch” when I watched a drama via video-on-demand and listened with headphones. The Internal speakers sound very similar to a  typical large portable radio or speaker dock especially when they play music. Of course, gaining a sound that has life in it from a laptop’s integrated speakers will be a difficult exercise due to the way these machines are designed.

Connectivity, Storage and Expansion

Rear view – Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI port

The Fujitsu Lifebook LH772 has all the expected connections for a “bridge” notebook with VGA and HDMI video output, 3.5m audio input and output jacks, a Gigabit Ethernet jack and, best of all, 4 USB 3.0 ports. This makes me think that this notebook is future-ready as we connect more devices like 4G USB dongles and external hard disks to these computers.

The Wi-Fi wireless ticked the boxes as far as connectivity is concerned and there is a proper slide switch to enable and disable it for when you are flying. The Bluetooth subsystem is compliant to the 4.0 specification which allows it to work with sensor and controller that are required to work on a “watch” battery or 2 AA batteries for a long tine. This would work well for someone like a repairman who is using a Bluetooth 4.0 Smart thermometer to log the temperature of a fridge or air-conditioned space to check for efficiency or the behaviour of the thermostat.

The review sample came with a 750Gb hard disk and a DVD burner which would make it suitable as a main or sole computer for most people, rather than a secondary computer. As well, there is an SDXC card reader for downloading pictures from that digital camera.

Battery life

The battery can last the day with regular use including hotspot-surfing .

The long-lasting battery can allow the Fujitsu to work well for a long day of hotspot surfing at inner-city cafes and bars

It was able to play a DVD continuously for 4 hours, 15 minutes with the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless subsystems running. It would be considered average for laptops that implement the dual-mode graphics technology and fall back to the newer Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge integrated-graphics technology while on battery power.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

One key limitation that may come about here is the price and availability of this series. I would like to see  some lower-price and mid-price configurations with the i5 processors and lesser hard disk, but available with all the different colours. Similarly, Fujitsu could also run with a fourth colour like a blue or bronze colour if someone wanted that “manly-looking” colour.

Conclusion

This Fujitsu LifeBook LH772 series has become, in my honest opinion, a viable 14” bridge notebook option that could be targeted at people who work from home and like the idea of a portable computer that can connect to an external display or many other applications where this class would appeal.

The third-generation Intel chipset and the NVIDIA discrete graphics with Optimus mode shift can allow this computer toe work well with most games, video playback and most image-manipulation tasks. It is also a representation of a laptop that is brought to the latest hardware standards like USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 Smart Ready and can take advantage of these when the time comes.

I have written this article as an updated version to the one I originally published. This is because of newer activity on the UPnP AV / DLNA front and newer situations that this technology has been exposed to.

If anyone is wanting to question me why my editorial slant in HomeNetworking01.info is geared towards UPnP-based network management standards, especially the UPnP AV / DLNA Home Media Network standards, I am writing this piece to state what I am about.

I am not a spokesman for UPnP or DLNA or any of the companies that are behind these standards. But, as an author and editor of this site, I do place a high value on networks, network hardware and network media software supporting any of the UPnP AV / DLNA Home Media Network Standards.

Reasons

Ability to work across nearly all networks

One of the main reasons I value these standards is that they work across any IP-standard subnet (logical network) and allow the hardware manufacturers and software developers to integrate the home media network in to their creations without reinventing the wheel.

It doesn’t matter whether the network uses different segments such as the common Wi-Fi and Ethernet setup in a home network or a switched Ethernet setup in some larger networks.

A simplified setup and media-discovery experience for the user

For the user or system installer, due to the nature of UPnP, they doesn’t need to “run backwards and forwards” between devices to make sure devices are pointing to the correct network shares and that usernames and passwords are correct on both the client device and the server. This can become more of a headache when setting up devices that don’t have the full QWERTY keyboard on them and require the user to use “SMS-style” or “pick-n-choose” text entry which can increase room for user frustration and mistakes. They also make the establishment of these multimedia networks as idiot-proof as possible, which would benefit home and small-business users where there isn’t a dedicated IT team available.

There is even the ability with DLNA networks where new DLNA servers are exposed to the client devices the moment they become available. This feature makes it easier to “get going” with the material that is hosted on these servers.

Fostering innovation in a common-sense way

I also agree that a standards-based IT environment like UPnP AV / DLNA, supported by many different technology vendors, is a breeding ground for hardware and software innovation. This also encourages a “common-sense” approach to technology as outlined below. Here, it can also lead to these concepts being implemented in the most cost-effective manner, which makes the device affordable for most people, while there is the ability for manufacturers to provide the premium-grade equipment that works in the same ecosystem.

This has led to hardware that is compliant with this standard becoming increasingly ubiquitous; as well as top-shelf audio-equipment manufacturers of respect turning out the high-grade hi-fi equipment capable of playing music provisioned over a home network.

Device and system ubiquity

Sony BDP-S390 Network Blu-Ray Player – an example of a component that adds DLNA to existing equipment in an affordable manner

I know that Windows supports the standard through Windows Media Player 10 and has full “three-box” implementation in Windows Media Player 12 which is part of Windows 7. As well, I have noted that the open-source community have developed servers and similar software that can work with a Linux system. This feature is now considered “par for the course” for nearly all consumer and small-business network-attached storage units.

As well, the Microsoft XBox360 and the Sony PS3, which are considered “must-haves” as far as games consoles are concerned, have inherent support for this technology. Similarly, the big-name Japanese and South-Korean consumer-electronics companies like Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are implementing DLNA in most of their consumer video equipment, save for the low-end models. Most of the big-time electronics manufacturers who have a line-up of home-theatre receivers have this feature in at least the high-end models, with some manufacturers pushing the feature in to the mid-range models. As well, nearly all Internet radios can play audio material held on DLNA-based media servers.

Similarly, most consumer-electronics equipment manufacturers are starting to sell speaker docks and similar equipment that are not just designed to work with the Apple iPhone. This has been brought on by the popularity of the tablet computer and the highly-capable Android smartphones. Cheaper variants would have a Bluetooth A2DP setup as well as the iPhone dock while more expensive variants that connect to home networks would have support for both the Apple AirPlay and DLNA MediaRenderer operating modes. A handful of these units even support WiFi Direct so as to create their own wireless-network segment for that tablet or smartphone/

Marantz CR603 CD receiver – One of the many DLNA-capable hi-fi components shown at the Australian Audio & AV Show

The Australian Audio and AV Show 2011 which was held at the Melbourne Marriott Hotel was an event that underscored what DLNA was all about for high-grade network audio distribution. Some of the hotel rooms which were purposed as showrooms for the hi-fi equipment distributors had live DLNA Home Media Networks based around a common Wi-Fi router that was the hub of the network, a small NAS holding the music and one or two network-enabled hi-fi components playing out the music. Here, these networks were used to demonstrate the concept of network-distributed file-based audio being a real concept for the premium hi-fi environment.

DLNA can work beyond the home

Some of us may think that the UPnP AV / DLNA technology can only work within the home but there is the potential to allow it to work beyond content in the home. This arrangement can allow the ability to create and maintain a network-based distributed AV system in the business, hospitality or other environment using cost-effective easily-available equipment that is suited for the job at hand.

The hotel room

An example of a hotel where DLNA network media technology can be relevant in the guestrooms

The network setups at the previously-mentioned home entertainment show which was hosted at the previously-mentioned business hotel, had even led me to write up this article about the feasibility of implementing DLNA technology in the hotel room because of the fact that most of us would be bringing in phones, tablets and laptops which have this function in a server or other role. I was coming at this issue on a “network-only” angle so as to move away from the use of highly-expensive specialist set-top boxes or TV sets targeted at this industry but towards a large range of cost-effective equipment with increased flexibility. This doesn’t just mean televisions and video peripherals like Blu-Ray players but also encompasses music systems or home-theatre systems which could earn their keep in those “top-shelf” suites or apartments.

This concept encompasses not just media held on a guest’s devices but multimedia applications that this industry values like in-room pay-per-view movies, line-level feeds for conferences and cabarets or even implementing DLNA as an IP-driven alternative to distributing satellite TV via coaxial cable run through the property.

The small business, school or community organisation

A cafe who can benefit from DLNA network AV technology

It also runs alongside the idea of using this technology to provide multimedia in the business using the data network that exists there but using cost-effective and highly-available equipment. This is something you can do with a Windows-based computer running Windows Media Player or you could use low-cost DLNA software that can work as a server or control point.

One key application is to purpose a DLNA-compliant “smart TV” or a TV set / projector that is connected to something like the Sony BDP-S390 as cost-effective “digital signage”. This is where you create the signs and visual material using Photoshop, PowerPoint or other graphics and presentation software then “push” the material using Windows “Play To” or TwonkyManager to the cost-effective equipment for display.

Provisioning multi-channel pay-TV

Similarly, the DLNA technology is being considered as an alternative to the classic set-top-box model for multichannel pay-TV setups. For example, it is being considered as an idea for a “gateway” device to be installed in the home which works as a PVR or “broadcast-LAN” tuner. This box could be a “headless” box which isn’t connected to any screen or could be a traditional set-top box serving the main household TV with content.

Here, multiple DLNA-enabled TVs, video peripherals or viewer applications can tune in to pay-TV channels or content held on the PVR without the need to install a set-top box on each TV. It also allows for the customer to have equipment of different capabilities such as a DLNA-capable Blu-Ray player attached to a small entry-level TV in the master bedroom having access to the same content as what would be available on the big TV in the main lounge area. It is infact something that is being pushed by consumer-electronics vendors in the USA as a standards-compliant way of delivering cable TV.

This application and the above-mentioned hotel-room application can now benefit from a super-standard called RVU. This integrates DLNA and a “remote-desktop” standard like VNC or Microsoft’s “Terminal Services / RDP” in order to provide a consistent branded user interface for advanced pay-TV services like movies-on-demand or account management.

Conclusion

So the main reason I place a lot of value in the UPnP AV / DLNA Home Media Network is because of the ease that there is in establishing a heterogeneous multimedia network with innovative easy-to-set-up products that suit what you want to do.

Article

Beware the allure of Apple’s Retina displays | Apple – CNET News

My Comments

Those of you who have heard a lot about Apple’s latest iPhones and other devices will know about them being equipped with the “Retina” display. This is primarily Apple’s take on a high-pixel-density display, and this will become an increasing trend over the next few years for most computing environments.

What is the high-pixel-density dsiplay

These are displays that have a pixel-density of at least 200-250 pixels per inch and are represented by devices like the 3rd generation Apple iPad, tie Apple iPhone 4S or the Sony PlayStation Vita. This is compared to most desktop and notebook computers offering a pixel density of 120-150 pixels per inch.

The main benefit is to see an image on the display that looks like what you would normally see with the naked eye. For text, this would appear as though you are reading a regular book; and would come in to being with e-book applications but can also apply to regular word-processing or similar work.

Similarly photos and computer graphics would acquire the smoothness of a photo that was taken using ordinary film or an painting that was painted by an artist.

Requirements

As well as the display surface having this kind of resolution and the display subsystem being able to show images to this resolution, the operating system would have to paint the user interface at a regular viewable pitch. This is no mean feat with the current desktop and mobile operating systems like Apple’s desktop and mobile operating systems, Windows 7 and the Android mobile operating system.

This has been aided through the use of vector images for the text and shapes that form the user interface and the ability to determine certain viewable pitch. It then allows for these features to be rendered at a more natural look that takes advantage of this higher pixel-density.

Current obstacles

At the moment, the high-pixel-density display will be limited to smartphone, tablet and laptop applications up to 16”. This is until LCD and OLED display fabricators can supply display subsystems with these pixel densities at a cost that allows the construction of larger displays at prices that are tolerable to the mainstream computing market.

Conclusion

What I would observe is that the Windows 8 platform would increasingly, with the increasingly powerful display subsystems. make the idea of the high pixel-density display common for most Windows-based regular computing platforms rather than just the Apple platforms. This same idea could be taken further with the next or subsequent generation of mobile and dedicated-purpose computing devices.

Article

An update on OUYA’s exciting Android-based console project: Success! | Hello Android

From the horse’s mouth

OUYA Web site

Kickstarter Web site

My Comments

From my observations, Android has been known to offer an open-frame computing platform for the smartphone and tablet. This has included access to independent content services as well as access to third-party browsers, independent content-transfer paths, and standards-based setup.

Now the Kickstarter project has asssisted the OUYA Android-based gaming platform which has been called as an effort to “open up” the last “closed” gaming environment i.e. the television. This environment has been effectively controlled by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo through the sale of loss-leading consoles and developers finding it hard to cotton on to one of these console platforms without having to pony up large sums of money or satisfy onerous requirements.

The OUYA gaming platform could be seen as an effort to take Android’s values of openness to this class of device, especially by allowing independent games authors and distributors to have access to a large-screen console gaming platform. One of the main requirements is to provide free-to-play parts for a game title like what has successfully happened with games for regular computers, mobile devices and Web-driven online / social play. This is where games were available with demo levels or with optional subscriptions, microcurrency trading or paid add-on content.

Other companies have stood behind OUYA as an IPTV set-top box platform with TuneIn Radio (an Internet-radio directory for mobile phones) and VeVo (an online music-video service with access to most of the 1980s-era classics) giving support for this platform.

The proof-of-concept console uses the latest technology options like a Tegra3 ARM processor, 1Gb RAM / 8Gb secondary flash storage, 802.11g/n Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking as well as Bluetooth 4.0 Smart-Ready wireless peripheral interface. The controllers have analogue joysticks, a D-pad, a trackpad and link via this Bluetooth interface. They are also a lightweight statement of industrial design.

But I would like to see some support for additional local storage such as the ability to work with a USB hard disk or a NAS for local games storage. This could allow one to “draw down”extras for a game that they are playing

What is possible for the OUYA gaming platform

Hardware development and integration

But what I would like to see out of this is that the OUYA platform is available as an “open-source” integration platform. This could mean that someone who was to build a smart-TV, an IPTV set-top box or a PVR could integrate the OUYA platform in to their product in the same vein as what has successfully happened with the Android platform. For example, Philips or B&O could design a smart TV that uses the OUYA platform for gaming or a French ISP like Free, SFR or Bougyes Télécom offering a “triple-play” service could have the OUYA platform in an iteration of their “décodeur” that they supply to their customers.

Similarly the specification that was called out in the proof-of-concept can be varied to provide different levels of functionality like different storage and memory allowances or different hardware connections.

Software development and distribution

For software development, the OUYA platform can be seen as an open platform for mainstream and independent games studios to take large-screen console gaming further without having to risk big sums of money.

Examples of this could include the development and distribution of values-based games titles which respect desired values like less emphasis on sex or violence; as well as allowing countries that haven’t built up a strong electronic-games presence, like Europe, to build this presence up. There is also the ability to explore different games types that you may not have had a chance to explore on the big screen.

The OUYA platform could satisfy and extend vertical markets like venue-specific gaming / entertainment systems such as airline or hotel entertainment subsystems or arcade gaming; and could work well for education and therapy applications due to this open-frame platform.

Conclusion

What needs to happen is that there be greater industry and consumer awareness about the OUYA open-source large-screen gaming platform so that this platform is placed on the same level as the three established platforms. This this could open up a path to an open-frame computing platform success that the Android platform has benefited from.

Introduction

I am reviewing the Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet 6700 Premium business colour inkjet multifunction printer. This is the successor to the OfficeJet 6500 series of network multifunction colour inkjets pitched as a SOHO or small-business printer and has a similar capability to these printers. They have money-saving functions like a four-cartridge ink system and automatic duplex printing as well as a Super Group 3 colour fax and automatic document feeder.

But this one, like the OfficeJet 6500a, also supports the HP ePrint ecosystem and Apple AirPrint abilities which allows email-to-print as well as app-driven walk-up printing. They also use a different cartridge to their predecessors but which cost similarly and have a similar page yield to these ones.

Prices

Printer

Recommended Retail Price: AUD$279

Inks and Toners

The printer itself

The HP OfficeJet 6700 is the typical size of a SOHO / small-business inkjet multifunction and, like most HP printers offered nowadays, has the paper concealed in a tray that is fully closed. It is not as well-built as the OfficeJet 8600 Series but is still well built as expected for an office printer.

Walk-up functions

The touchscreen control panel

The OfficeJet can become a high-quality colour copier which can also support ID copy abilities. It also can become a colour fax machine which works to Super G3 fax standards.

The USB port on the front of the machine is for walk-up printing of photos held on memory keys or memory-card adaptors. It can support walk-up scanning of documents to the memory key but doesn’t support walk-up printing of PDF or similar documents. As well, it could benefit from working as a print device with PictBridge-enabled cameras.

The ePrint apps allows the printer to work as a “walk-up” stationery or newspaper printer and even has access to the various document repositories like DropBox so you can have documents available to “print on demand”.

Computer functions

The driver software setup was very quick and it didn’t need the printer to be fully awake for the computer to discover it. Even as the installer was loading the software on to my hard disk, the printer was being discovered as a destination device while it was in the dormant mode with just the standby light glowing.

The print driver doesn’t draw too much on the computer’s resources and is able to give a rough preview of how the print job would appear with the current settings. It even provides just the basic setup options with the ability to go to the advanced options by clicking the “Advanced” button. This tactic avoids the need to think of “hope I have set it up correctly” and can benefit those of us who may find the computer difficult to use. Similarly, the scanning function that is part of this driver responds properly to control-panel-initiated scanning and doesn’t take up too much resources.

Like nearly all HP network-capable printers, this printer supports the HP ePrint system which I have covered a lot on HomeNetworking01.info. This has the printer having its own email address so you can send documents to the printer at that address. It also has the ePrint Apps facility so you can turn out newspapers, forms and similar documents.

Print quality and useability

Front-loading ink cartridges rather than lifting a heavy lid

Like its bigger brother the HP OfficeJet Pro 8600 Plus, the HP OfficeJet 6700 has a front-loading arrangement for the ink cartridges. This avoids the need to mess with a heavy lid when you need to change the inks. But the print area isn’t illuminated which may be of concern if you had to identify the location of a paper jam in the print path.

The speed in which a document is printed was very quick where it took only a few seconds to turn out one side of a document. The dwell time that has to occur between printing each side of a double-sided document was around a few seconds and could be capitalised on by slowly retracting the paper in to the duplexer while this occurs rather than pausing then retracting the paper.

Speaking of this, I did a registration test on the auto-duplex function to see whether there was any drifting when a double-sided document was printed. The duplex print of the “Stop The Traffik” download-to-print door-hanger was exact in such a way that you could print then cut out the document exactly. This is a bonus for those of us who do desktop publishing and want to print booklets, door hangers, luggage tags and other documents where an exact lineup between front and back are critical.

As I have observed from this, the printer has been very reliable with the basic print job which uses regular office paper. It didn’t matter whether the job was turned out on one side or both sides.

The HP OfficeJet 6700 has a problem with the scanner when it comes to handling bound documents like books. Here, the unit shows up paper-jam error messages relating to the automatic document feeder if the lid is partially open and allowed to rest on the document, usually to allow optimum copying of these documents.

The  HP has shown a problem with loading and handling photo-grade glossy paper and doesn’t even support this paper as far as the driver is concerned. I even noticed that it shown up “out-of-paper” error conditions when it tried to feed the glossy paper where I had set the driver for “other brochure papers”. However, it loses definition in some areas and is weak with some blue colours but is OK with other colours including flesh tones.

Limitations and Points Of Improvement

Being a cheaper printer, the HP OfficeJet 6700 has a smaller display which may affect useability with some older people.

The automatic document feeder could be worked on so as to allow the user to partially close the scanner lid when they scan or copy bound documents. As well, like many multifunction printers equipped with this feature, it could be able to handle till rolls and thermal receipts in varying conditions when users scan these as part of receipt reconcilement for tax or expense reimbursement.

Similarly, the HP OfficeJet 6700 could be set up to work reliably with glossy photo paper so as to handle photo printing tasks, which may be asked of in a SOHO environment.

The walk-up printing abilities could be improved with an SD card slot for camera SD cards, PictBridge support and / or the ability to print PDF and XPS files off the memory keys.

As far as connectivity goes, this printer should support IPv6 as this next Internet standard is becoming a “given” amongst business computing hardware and will be a standard for all network and Internet setups. Similarly, the fax could work as a T.37 / T.38 Internet fax endpoint as we move away from the traditional circuit-based telephony setup towards IP-based telephony.

Conclusion and Placement Notes

I would recommend that people purchase the HP OfficeJet 6700 printer as an entry-level printer for small-office / home-office use where photo printing is not important but fax use is important. This is more so if you want to use a business-grade printer in your home because of its high-capacity ink cartridges.

It could also work well as a colour inkjet multifunction printer that you may use in your workplace as a secondary or “particular-user” printer. This may include applications like a reception-desk printer where you want one machine as a fax and ePrint endpoint.