Intel Wireless Display and Netgear Push2TV: PC video on your TV

Intel and Netgear have teamed up to make the fiddly business of getting video from your laptop to your TV much more of a doddle. Intel's new Core-series chips incorporate a technology called Wireless Display (dismayingly abbreviated to WiDi) that squirts video over your wireless network to a small box -- the Netgear Push2TV adaptor (pictured, above) -- that plugs into your TV via HDMI.

In theory, it should be simpler than a puzzle book for footballers -- you won't have to configure wireless settings for a media streamer, for a start. Here's a handy diagram:

In practice, the laptop requires the following: "select" 2010 Intel Core processors, Intel HD Graphics and Intel Centrino wireless with Intel MyWiFi Technology enabled. This should be flagged up by retailers, under the Wireless Display brand. Protected content such as Blu-ray movies won't work, but otherwise it's just your laptop display shown on your TV, so you can surf the Web or watch any content your PC can display.

The Netgear adaptor is being bundled with laptops or sold separately for $99 (£60) in the US. It's been warmly received over there, winning the CES 2010 People's Voice Award, voted for by readers of our august sister site CNET.com. Netgear says the Push2TV will be available in the UK this summer, but exact dates and prices haven't been decided on.