Visage 300XT Poker Timer Review

www.visagepoker.com
(This website appears to be closed - October 2007)

The Visage 300XT is a poker tournament blinds timer and message display. It is very sleek and sturdy and will certainly be the talk of the town at any poker tournament! The Visage will display your blinds information, the time of the day, and several customizable messages of up to 32 characters in length. It is an electronic billboard that can be used for much more than timing a poker tournament.

Installation

There is no installation other than unpacking the box and plugging the unit into an electrical outlet. When you turn the power switch on, you can press the [Grey] key to start the timer. The default blinds structure that will be used is a T1000 schedule that is identical to the one suggested by HPT.

Tournament Structure

There are four preset tournament structures (Game Profiles) that you can use or modify for your own purposes. There is a T1000 no-limit schedule for 8 to 20 players, a T10,000 no limit schedule for 15-40 players, a limit T1000 schedule for 15 to 40 players,  and a continuation of the first T1000 no-limit schedule that makes the tournament 32 levels long instead of 16. The blinds appear to be very similar to the ones that I suggest on this site. If you plug the unit in and choose Game Profile 1 - you will be playing the same blinds schedule as the HomePokerTourney T1000 blinds schedule, with one level added at the end.

Each blinds structure (Game Profile) can be up to 16 levels long but two structures can be combined to form a longer tournament of 32 levels. Levels are limited to between 1 and 60 minutes in length and every level must be the same length. You may enter a small blind, big blind, low limit and high limit for limit poker, and an ante for each blinds level. The maximum blinds amount is 50,000. You can program breaks and color-ups into your schedule.

You may enter two poker messages of up to 32 characters each that are displayed every ten minutes. The messages can be used to announce your payouts or the date of your next tournament or any other information that you would like to have displayed. The time of day is displayed after the messages are shown.

Multi-Table

 You can run timers for four different tables at the same time. The display will automatically switch from one table to the next and you can set the rotation delay time. You can manually switch tables by pressing the [Up][Down] buttons. You can pause each table individually and each table can use different blinds schedules and timer lengths. The Visage will remember the last configuration that you used - so when you power on the unit, you can simply press the [Grey] button to start the timer(s) for several tables.

Poker Alarm

The alarm beeps twice at the 2-minute warning and beeps solidly for 2-3 seconds at the end of each level. The alarm is louder than the alarm on the Poker Genie and you can adjust the alarm volumes separately for each table. You can turn off the alarms completely if you so desire. At the end of a level, the alarm will sound, the display will change to the next blinds amounts, and the timer will automatically restart itself. The timer will automatically pause itself at your scheduled breaks.

Timer Screen

The display screen is 1 inch tall and 12 inches wide. It is a blue-colored Vacuum Fluorescent dot graphic display on a black background. The display is very readable, even at a distance. The display is easier to read than what is shown in the photos on this page. There is a nice anti-glare surface and you can adjust the brightness of the screen.

Mode of Operation

There are three modes of operation: Poker, Clock, and Alarm. Poker mode is used to time poker tournaments and display two custom messages of up to 32 characters each. Clock mode displays the time of day and up to four custom messages. Alarm mode is similar to the Clock mode with two additional messages that appear when the alarm sounds.

You use the buttons on the top of the unit to enter the numbers and letters needed for your blinds and custom messages. The buttons are easy to use and the values move at a faster rate after you hold the button down for 2 seconds. Entering the data is a bit of a hassle, you hold down a button while the available characters scroll past. The message is not automatically centered, so you have to figure it out beforehand.

Clock & Alarm Modes

You can use the Visage as a clock that displays up to four custom messages of up to 32 characters in length. This function would be very useful for a commercial establishment that could hang the Visage on a wall and use the clock and message features to announce daily specials or any other non-poker information. In effect, you could use the Visage as an electronic billboard 24 hours a day and only convert it over to a poker timer when needed for your tournaments. You can flip back and forth between clock mode and poker mode by flipping one switch.

Messages appear automatically, one after the other, along with the time of day. You can set the rotation delay to anywhere from 1 to 25 seconds. The messages can be used to announce the date of your next poker tournament or any other information that you want, even non-poker information. You may enter four different messages of up to 32 characters each in Clock mode and another two messages that appear when the alarm sounds in Alarm mode.

Construction

The display unit is much heavier and sturdier than it looks. It feels a bit like an aluminum baseball bat. The outer shell is made of 1/4 inch anodized aluminum and has a very sleek look and feel. The unit is well-built and is available with a nice optional travel case and stands, making it very easy to travel and quick to set up.

The electrical cord is in two sections - four feet of cord with a transformer and another six feet of cord that plugs into an electrical outlet. The power cord plugs into the back of the unit and protrudes about an inch, making it a bit difficult to position the unit flat against a wall. In addition, the on/off and mode switches are located on the back of the unit near the power switch, meaning that you will need access to the rear of the unit. The unit will remember the settings that were previously for your tournaments but there is no battery capability.

There is a threaded hole in the bottom of the unit so that it can be mounted on a standard camera tripod. There is an optional base and a small (6 inch) tripod also available. Both are capable of being tilted and swiveled but are sturdy and there is little chance of the unit tipping over.

The Case

The carrying case is metal with thick foam padding inside. The unit is packed well in the case and will not move around. I would highly recommend that you use this supplied case if you plan to travel with the Visage - the unit is rather heavy and you don't want it banging around. the case is of good quality and has two combination locks, similar to a piece of travel luggage. The handle on the case was not a problem, as it as on many poker chip cases. The photo to the left shows the Visage unit at the top, the base below that, the tripod below that, and the power supply and cords to the right.

Price

The Visage 300XT is available in three different configurations. The basic package costs $695 and includes the unit and a power adapter. The standard package costs $794 and includes the unit, power adapter, and base. The deluxe package costs $883 and includes all of the above plus a case. If you are going to travel with your Visage 300XT, I highly suggest that you buy the case. The unit is fairly heavy and you definitely want to prevent it from banging around. The Visage 300XT is made in the U.S.A. and there is a one year warranty on manufacturing defects and a 14 day return policy.

Overall

The high cost of the Visage will limit it's appeal to the home user but someone who does this as a profession, or holds regular, large tournaments, will be more than satisfied with the Visage 300XT. It will certainly be the talk of the tournament! If you've got to have the latest in gadgetry, then this unit is a must!

The ability to use the Visage as an electronic billboard to display the time of day and up to four custom messages makes it an excellent tool for a commercial bar or club where the it could be used 24 hours a day. You could use the Visage to announce your soup of the day, your daily drink special, this Friday's music band, and the date of your next poker tournament! You can then flip one switch to use the Visage to separately time up to four different poker tables, using four different blinds schedules.

Visit the Visage 300XT Poker Timer website at

www.visagepoker.com
(This website appears to be dead - October 2007)

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