Sony Bravia Wireless HDMI Link (DMX-WL1) photos

Sony's system is comprised primarily of a transmitter (top) and a receiver. Unlike the competing Gefen EXT-WHDMI, neither has a visible external antenna.

The front panel of the transmitter has indicators for inputs selected, power and three "bars" of link level strength. A blue accent light illuminates the glossy front panel when the box is active.

The little receiver unit can stand alone or attach to the back of compatible Sony models using an included bracket.

Sony gets big points for the included a remote control. It not only operates the wireless link itself, but it also makes switching among input sources--a big weakness of the competing Gefen unit--relatively painless. You can also program the remote to control various gear in your system, and have those remote codes transmitted wirelessly. This system lets you point the remote control at the TV and change the channel on a cable box stashed across the room inside a cabinet, for example.

Sony includes an HDMI cable and five IR blasters, which work with the remote to allow the system to control gear from across the room. The blasters are designed to attach near the IR receiver windows on the front of nearly every remote-controlled component. The catch is that your device must be contained in Sony's remote control code database, which is way too sparse for such an expensive system.

The transmitter's back panel offers an ample selection of inputs, including four HDMI jacks, a component-video input and an optical digital audio output. The digital audio output, absent on the Gefen, enables the DMX-WL1 to play nice with legacy AV gear that lacks HDMI inputs. The Sony sends the soundtrack from any of the HDMI jacks--up to Dolby Digital or DTS, but not, of course, Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master Audio--out via the optical connection. We tested this setup and it worked as advertised.

The receiver's back panel is appropriately sparse, with just one HDMI output and a pair of service ports. All audio from the transmitter, both digital and analog, is routed through the HDMI output.

With a stable signal the overall video quality of the Sony was very good, and delivered just about everything we'd expect from 1080i video conveyed over an actual HDMI cable. On the other hand, depending upon installation conditions--namely the distance and number of obstacles, such as a TV or a human body, present between transmitter and receiver--the Sony's signal wasn't as stable as we'd like to see.