wireless hdmi

The 404 995: Where the damage is done (podcast)

Leaked from 404 Podcast 995:

Apple Mac OS X 'Mountain Lion' takes more bites out of iOS. Get started with iMessage for OS X. Low Latency No. 10: Good artists copy, great artists steal. Apple PR maintains a blacklist of journalists that it refuses to talk to. Bathroom break video : Live television texting-while-walking fail.

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CES: Philips intros first wireless HDMI Blu-ray player

LAS VEGAS--If you always wished you had a Blu-ray player equipped with wireless HDMI to stream video from across the room to a wall-mounted TV, Philips has a new solution: the BDP7580 wireless HDMI Blu-ray player.

Due out in April with a price tag of $499.99, the BDP7580 offers 3D playback, NetTV, Netflix, and Blockbuster streaming, as well as Philips MediaConnect, which allows you to stream content from your PC to your TV via a Wi-Fi connection. NetTV is Philips' integrated Internet TV feature that offers a built-in browser for accessing standard Web sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The … Read more

Intel Wireless Display: One year later

At last year's CES, Intel Wireless Display was one of our Best of CES nominees, standing out for its potential to bring streaming Internet video to an HDTV from a laptop over its own dedicated wireless channel, including audio. In fact, it was your pick as Best in Show, winning the People's Voice Award (as determined by a user poll).

Let's go back to early 2010: back then, connecting a laptop to a TV with a wired connection was still the best way to get Internet video content such as Hulu and Netflix without an additional set-top box. Despite having a slight delay in the video/audio signal, and requiring a $99 Push2TV box from Netgear plugged into an HDTV or non-HD television to receive the signal, the benefits seemed clear, and for those looking to make a laptop into a home entertainment solution, there was no better choice.

Times have changed, indeed, although Intel Wireless Display really hasn't. The debut of Apple's iPad, and its support of Netflix, Hulu Plus, and other streaming services, has changed the equation a bit, even if the iPad doesn't support Flash. Video game consoles now have Netflix across the board, and even (on the PS3, at least) Hulu Plus and Vudu. TV sets are including an ever-increasing number of Internet apps for accessing digital content, and set-top boxes such as the Boxee Box, the next-gen Roku box, and Apple TV offer a variety of solutions.

When it comes to methods of getting Internet or computer-stored video content on your TV, your options come to this: … Read more

Wireless high-def battle goes overseas

BERLIN--Though still struggling to find homes in the hearts of consumers in North America, the two competing standards for wireless high-definition home video have taken their battle on the road.

Here at IFA, several companies showed products using either WirelessHD, which uses the 60GHz band to send signals, or WHDI, which operates in the 5GHz band.

Philips, which has shown wireless HD kits at the Computer Electronics Show for several years, is giving it a go in Europe too. The new kit comes with a transmitter and receiver pair that can send up to 1080p signals at 30 frames per … Read more

Another wireless HDMI casualty: Belkin cancels FlyWire

Belkin will not be releasing its FlyWire wireless HDMI accessory.

CNET has learned that the company has decided not to offer the FlyWire for sale. A Belkin spokesperson confirmed the product's cancellation, saying that "its retail price of $1,499 would be out of line given the current state of the economy."

The FlyWire was introduced at CES 2008. The unit was a transmitter/receiver combo: the transmitter toggled between multiple audio and video sources (HDMI and analog), which were then wirelessly beamed to a receiver. Since the tiny receiver required only AC power and utilized a single HDMI output, it could be stealthily mounted behind wall-mounted flat screens or ceiling mounted projectors, eliminating the need for long unsightly cable runs. At one point, Belkin was mulling two versions: an initial high-end, multiroom-capable $1,499 version for multiple AV sources, followed by a less pricey single-source transmitter.

Early demos of the FlyWire impressed us--enough that we nominated it as a finalist in the Home Video category for Best of CES 2008. (It was edged out by the Dish Network DTVPal DVR.) But the FlyWire's premature death is just another indication that wireless HDMI technology is all but stillborn at the consumer level. Other notable no-shows, at least so far: the Philips wireless HDMI kit (introduced January 2007) and the Monster Express HD System (announced summer 2008). … Read more

Sony wireless HDMI system looks good, but less stable than Gefen

After years of fits and starts, the first wireless HDMI systems have finally hit the market. Sony's DMX-WL1 is one of two such systems, along with the Gefen EXT-WHDMI, and after comparing them directly, we're giving the Gefen the higher score.

It comes down to the reliability of the transmissions. Both systems deliver great-looking video, and, in fact, the Gefen, with its minor problems with false contouring, looks slightly worse than the Sony. But we stress "slightly," and the occasional breakup and dropped signals we experienced with the Sony, compared with the rock-solid Gefen, were enough … Read more

Gefen's wireless HDMI actually works

Sure you can get 30 feet of HDMI cable for $35 from monoprice, but the coolness factor of the $800 Gefen EXT-WHDMI, a wireless HDMI system with a 30-foot range, cannot be denied. And according to our tests, the system actually works--albeit not quite as flawlessly as the cable.

The idea behind wireless HDMI is that some installations, particularly wall-mounted flat-panel TVs and ceiling-mounted home theater projectors, just don't look right with scads of wires dangling from the bottom. To hide those wires you typically have to pay an installer scads of cash to run those wires through the … Read more

HDMI-over-power-line system works, but can't match an actual cable

"Wireless HDMI" isn't here quite yet--aside from Belkin's $1500 yet-to-ship FlyWire and Sony's $800 proprietary wireless link module--but Acoustic Research's HDP100 promises the next best thing.

The $300 system, which consists of a pair of identical-looking boxes, one transmitter and one receiver, takes an HDMI signal from a source component, runs it through your home's AC wiring, and spits it out on the other side for your HDTV to display. AR says the system isn't designed to work from room-to-room, like Ethernet-over-powerline adapters, but in our tests we were able to … Read more

New modular accessories bring wireless HDMI, built-in DVD to Sony Bravia TVs

The Bravia Internet Link is getting some siblings. Sony is adding three new accessories to its product line: the Wireless Link Module (DMX-WL1), the DVD Link Module (DMX-DVD), and the Input Link Module (DMX-SW1). Like the Internet Link, the new "Link" accessories are also designed as modular add-ons to specific current and recent Sony Bravia flat-panel LCD TVs. By snapping onto the TVs backside, they should still allow for a reasonably thin profile.

The $150 Input Link Module adds four HDMI inputs to compatible Bravias, while the $200 DVD Link Module adds a "built-in" upconverting DVD player to the mix. But it's the $800 Wireless Link Module that's the highlight of the new line. The two-part system includes a wireless video transmitter and a receiver (the latter of which snaps onto the back of the TV). Put the transmitter near your equipment rack, plug in up to five HD sources (four HDMI inputs, one component), and they're wirelessly transmitted to the TV for distances up to 65 feet (according to Sony). Video sources are limited to 1080i resolution, however, and it's unclear if there's any compression or lag (the latter is a big frustration for gamers). The Wireless Link Module is scheduled to hit in October, while the other two are already available.

Are any of these worth buying?… Read more