ZeeVee’s most popular HD distribution solution, the ZvBox 170, earned a spot in the company’s newly revamped lineup.

The good news for commercial integrators is that ZeeVee dropped the dealer price of the 170 by about $100.

The ZvBox 170 gained popularity because it’s rack-mountable, includes a VGA port and provides 720p60 content distribution for a low (now lower) price.

Rather than take the manufacturer’s word for it, here are thoughts from one of your colleagues.

Reviewer: Christopher Burns, Insight Audio/Visual Services, Sterling, Va.

Tell us about a project in which you used the ZeeVee ZvBox 170
It’s a health club with 90 TVs using eight ZvBox 170s modulating eight DirecTV channels, and there are plans to add a ZvPro [280] for digital signage.

The client had been migrating to HD and using SD modulation. [It had] 10 years of additions and Band-Aids on Band-Aids. It was an absolute mess.

Which features or specs were instrumental in choosing the ZvBox 170?
Ultimately, the client chose the ZeeVee product on this project, so the decision was already made for us. The client’s decision was the result of a meeting with a ZeeVee manufacturer rep and product demonstration.

Our company has spec’d and installed the product in the past, however, and we were most interested in the cost savings in utilizing simple coax cable distribution to several televisions instead of conventional HD video matrix switching.

Additionally, image quality is fantastic, and the ZeeVee products are very reliable.

What challenges did you face installing the ZeeVee ZvBox 170s?
We could’ve re-used the coax, but the client wanted a whole new system. So they ran all new coax and they added TVs in new locations.

Honestly, there weren’t really any problems. The only thing we ran into was we needed an amplifier, but it was expected and amplifiers are readily available, so we just picked one up and added it to the output of the ZvBox and it solved all of our problems.

For what types of applications do you recommend the ZvBox 170?
Digital Signage: In large-scale distribution, you don’t necessarily have to dedicate a signage player to each television. Instead, you can create channels of signage, distribute them over modulated RF coax and utilize far fewer players. For example, a casino with 150 LCDs might only have the need for 10 different signage feeds. Instead of 150 players, you could utilize 10 signage players, 10 ZeeVee modulators and inexpensive coax distribution.

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