Protect your Kinect with Pritect

Introduction

We’ve been scouting for products that can take the wear and tear that a military deployment can dish out where it concerns our valuable gaming gear. Pritect recently appeared saying they had a way to protect us with our XBOX Kinect but not in the way you might think.

Security is one thing that the troops take seriously and yet far from their minds might be the video camera attached to the ‘harmless’ XBOX 360. Apparently there is cause for concern that the camera could be remotely accessed without the users knowledge and this is the protection that Catalyst Component has keyed in on with its Pritect Sensor Cover for XBOX Kinect.

Features

Sometimes simple is simply better and here you have a high gloss polished black plastic cover which at first glance melds so well with the Kinect that you’d hardly know it was there, well at least until you noticed that you couldn’t see the lenses for the video.

Personal Security

Whether you have video chat enabled or you are concerned with hackers able to access the video functionality of your unit, placing the Pritect on your Kinect gives you instant peace of mind knowing that you alone control what and more importantly when video is taken.

Lens Protection

No issue with scratched lenses as the unit covers them with solid plastic that is able to take any errant thrown or dropped item.

Doesn’t Block Voice

The Pritect does not interfere with XBOX Kinect voice commands so keeping the Pritect in place while the Kinect is active allows you to maintain your privacy yet still use your XBOX to watch movies or other content that doesn’t require the camera functionality.

Ease of Use

Slip over the top to install, pull straight off to remove.

Design

As previously discussed, it’s simplicity itself. Place the cover over the Kinect and the lenses are concealed as a small window allows the XBOX 360 logo to show. The design conforms with the XBOX sleek black design aesthetic and looks much better than putting a towel over the unit!

The Pritect slips over the top of the Kinect unit and does its job. We were looking for something that might do the same thing but offer the more ‘mobile’ gamer a way to protect the Kinect when we take it on the go but this is not that product. The Pritect will slip right off if you pickup the unit and mistakenly grab the Pritect when your intention was to grab the entire unit. In some instances you might even pickup the whole unit and the Kinect could come loose in the move. It’s hard to ding the manufacturer on this point since clearly that wasn’t the intention or intended use of the product but it might be better to make it more clear to the consumer.

Performance

It works, the Pritect blocks light that is necessary for the video camera’s to function and in doing so prevents any unwanted video access from taking place. The Pritect also blocks the IR so that there is no interference or accidental activation of the Kinect while using other IR based home theater remotes.

Quality

Solid feel and weight in a black high gloss look. The Pritect is well made with all the edges smooth while maintaining a lightweight feel. Inside the Pritect are cushions that keep it from scratching the lenses or the Kinect while taking it off or placing it back on the unit.

Value

At a retail US price of $14.99 and lifetime warranty, the Pritect does what it says it will do and for the security minded gamer, protecting yourself and your family from unwanted eyes or simply protecting the Kinect lenses from the outside world is a small but easy price.

We do wish to make note that they manufacturer could have brought this to market at a cheaper price point but we liked that it proudly displays the ‘A Product of’ and the Stars and Stripes of the United States. Here’s a product that could have easily been outsourced but wasn’t. Big tip of the hat from those of us here at Off Duty Gamers for that.

Final Word

We did note that this product is NOT designed for protecting your Kinect as much as protecting you and your privacy. The Pritect is a very easy and cost effective way to have a solution to stop unwanted video and IR interference but doesn’t address protecting the unit in a more functional form.