facebook rss twitter

HP announces Wireless TV Connect

by Pete Mason on 1 September 2010, 12:58

Tags: Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HPQ)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaztv

Add to My Vault: x

While Intel is busy trying to gather momentum behind its Wireless Display (WiDi) technology, HP has decided to jump-in with its own offering.  Called Wireless TV Connect, the new solution should allow content to be seamlessly streamed from any computer to an HDTV.

Unlike the competition, HP isn't going to require any chips to be integrated directly into a computer.  Instead, the system uses HDMI to connect to a laptop (or desktop) and draws power over USB.  This should mean that it will work with computers from other manufacturers as long as they have the right connections.

Another box will then plug into an HDTV - again via HDMI - to display the image.  According to the manufacturer, that is all the set-up that's required.  No software needs to be installed, meaning that the TV will presumably show up as if it were directly connected via a cable.

Wireless TV Connect will support resolutions of up to 1080p and can push protected-content, including Blu-ray movies, over the link. Both of these are things that Intel's solution can't do - at least not yet.

Unfortunately, HP hasn't gone into any more details as to how the link works, including the range that it can operate over.

The Wireless TV Connect will be available in the US sometime next month and should cost $199 (£155 including VAT).  This is about twice the price of a WiDi receiver-box, but obviously won't require a shiny new laptop with the technology built in.



HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
Looks like it could be a promising set-up, and at below $100 price point and range at least 20 feet with no serious lag that might be something that interests me.

but with a box that big, and at that price it might be a tough sell.
With a giant ugly thing like that, you may as well lug around a HDMI cable. You'd save weight and bulk and money :/
Hmmm. I like the idea, but I think it pretty much fails in the execusion.

This would be a better solution, although I presume it does need drivers: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/wireless-usb-box-streams-video-from-laptop-to-tv/

Where I can see this being of use is in offices as you can connect this to laptops of visitors without needing to install software and without having to have a cable running across the meeting room to the screen or spending a lot of money to have the cable run through walls, floors, or ceilings. Shame it isn't VGA on the sender side as well though.

edit Asus have a pretty much identical product announced at Computex. I have had a thought where this could be usefull though, It gives me more options as to where I can hide an HTPC and not worry about getting a signal to the TV :)