WHDI Reviews – Wireless HDTV News

Warpia StreamHD Wireless PC to TV Full 1080P

The Warpia StreamHD is a WHDI based wireless HD transmission kit that is designed to work with PC’s. It consists of a base station style receiver and a transmitting dongle that plugs in to the USB port of a laptop or a desktop. The base station connects to the display via an HDMI port. This ensures that the receiver base will be able to connect to anything that accepts HDMI, including HD projectors and HDTV’s.

The receiver base also sports an S/PDIF port for full 5.1 digital surround sound and you can directly connect your home theatre system to it. If you are looking for plain stereo and do not have S/PDIF compatible audio devices, there’s also a 3.5mm stereo jack port. Warpia thus scores well on the audio connectors area where most comparable solutions tend to just leave it up to the HDMI out.

Since the StreamHD Wireless is a PC-based solution, it is as much at home in a boardroom as it is in a living room. The transceiver kit can easily be adopted in an office scenario where computers can easily be connected to HD projectors without the need to run cables through the length of the room.

This kit has a standard 30 feet range with a line-of-sight requirement. That means the transmitter has to be able to ‘see’ the receiver base in order to transmit a proper signal. There cannot be anything blocking the transmitter completely from the receiver, like walls or furniture.

However, once you have a clear line of transmission, the image quality is crisp and true HD. This kit supports full 1080p HD with a native resolution support of 1920×1280 pixels. Customers report an inconsistent experience when it comes to lag. There are reports of some online services having minimal lag and other having some noticeable lag. Skype performance seems to be consistent throughout with a slight drop in call quality but otherwise stable performance.

This kit plugs in to your PC and behaves as a standard external display for your computer. Hence, you can either mirror your desktop or extend it to make more screen space. For most home entertainment purposes, a mirrored set up would do. However, an extended screen would allow the user to work on something else while the extended area was occupied with something else.

This kit is a good option for watching high-resolution images, online videos and local media files on your HDTV or HD projector. However, this kit cannot support Blu-Ray movies played on your computer. Another point to keep in mind is that this kit supports only Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. There is no proper Mac OS support as of yet but some of Warpia’s other kits have beta versions of Mac drivers.

The StreamHD has received a fairly good line of customer reviews on Amazon and other places. Most professional reviewers have also rated it well. The only caveats are the minor lags in specific applications and the line of sight requirement.

IOGEAR Wireless HD Computer to TV Kit GUWAVKIT2

The IOGEAR Wireless HD Computer to TV Kit GUWAVKIT2 is meant to be a simple plug-n-play solution for connecting your computer to your TV/Projector wirelessly. It is a simple solution that does not require any technical knowledge whatsoever to set up. As long as you have a TV that accepts computer input, you have everything covered.

It comes with a USB dongle as the transmitter and a small base station as the receiver. Set up is quite simple. You have to connect the USB dongle to your computer. It does not require a second USB port to power it. You then install the required drivers for your PC. If you are running on Windows, you will find the necessary drivers on the included CD. If you are using a Mac, you will have to go online and download the appropriate drivers. Once you have installed the drivers, you are ready to stream your computers display wireless to a TV. Great for those who want a second screen to work on or simply to watch movies and play games on. And since it plugs in to the USB port, you can use it on computers that do not have HDMI output, which a older models don’t.

The downside that I can think of is the fact that the maximum resolution is SXGA. At 1400×1060, it is slightly more than 720p HD but it is not full HD. However, as long as you have HD content playing your computer, you should be able to enjoy good image quality on your TV screen as well. The base station has a VGA as well as an HDMI out. If you are using the VGA out, you will have to use a 3.5mm stereo jack for Audio support. You can also use a VGA to DVI adapter (sold separately) for DVI-capable displays but you will still need the audio jack. However, if you are using HDMI you will get both video and audio together.

With a range of about 30 feet, the IOGEAR Wireless HD Computer to TV Kit GUWAVKIT2 is a good investment for anyone looking to easily set up a second display with minimal effort. And with a $100 price tag, it’s a very affordable investment too.

The RocketfishTM - 4-Port Wireless HD Kit Rf-whd200

The RocketfishTM – 4-Port Wireless HD Kit Rf-whd200 is a wirelessHD transmitter-receiver kit that gets the job done with minimal or no hassle. The instructions are simple and the steps are more or less self explanatory. You connect the transmitter to your HD source. And then you connect the receiver to your HD output (TV or Projector) and then you switch the system on and voila! It works.

One of the main plus points of this specific model is that it supports 4 different inputs on the transmitter. So you can connect your PS3/Xbox, your cable box and more and then switch between the inputs quite easily. The bundled remote works well for all things except for the little problem that it is a bit too small in the hand. One way out of this is to program all the signals in to an universal remote and then enjoy switching back and forth between your cable and movies and games and other things.

Coming to the image quality, there’s nothing to complain about. The transmitted signal carries a full HD video signal to the TV/Projector. Sound is crisp and clear. You are unlikely to find any difference between the quality on the Rocketfish kit and actually running an HDMI cable all the way. Resolution changes will take a few seconds to execute but then that is expected to happen. So overall, performance is exactly what is says in the box. It does what it is supposed to do with no jitters or drop in quality. And it comes with its own connecting cables, which are quite good.

The Rocketfish HD kit transmits a 6GHz signal, which is a blessing for those running dual-band routers and that is an increasing number of people. It does not interfere with either of the bands and runs above the 5Ghz upper band of the router. It also does not require line of sight and works well through furniture and dry walls.

For under a $150 (online), the RocketfishTM – 4-Port Wireless HD Kit Rf-whd200 is quite the package. Recommended for anyone who wants get rid unwieldily wires from the home setup.

The HP Wireless TV Connect is a simple wireless HD content transmission kit meant to be used for connecting TV’s and PC’s wirelessly. It is a simple plug and play solution but both the transmitter and the receiver need to be powered. The transmitter is powered through USB, so you have to have a free USB port along with HDMI to make the set up work. Which is a bit of a snag when it comes to laptops but it is okay for desktops.

One special feature that the TV Connect seems to have is support for a multitude of audio standards, which includes S/PDIF DTS HD, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus and AC-3 (5.1 channel) HCDP 1.0. One the video front it supports up to 1080p@60Hz HD. It has a wireless range of 5 meters (30feet) and the best part is that it does not require a clear line of sight. So the TV connect gives you more flexibility than some of the other wireless kits which require a clear line of sight to transmit to a receiver 30 feet away.

Even though it is marketed mainly for use with computers, the TV Connect can also be used with other HD equipment that have HDMI out. When doing this, the transmitter is powered through an external power source. The TV connector also needs to be plugged in to its power sources at all times for it to work.

For those who do not have an HDMI port, the TV Connect also works via a VGA to HDMI converter. The kit does not mention which band it is using but there’s been no reported interference issues even with other electronic devices running in close proximity to the transmitter.

The HP Wireless TV Connect is selling online for about $150, which for its features is a fairly decent price.

The Brite-View HDelight (BV-1222) Wireless Stream Uncompressed FULL 1080P HD Beam-to-HDTV In-Room Transmission Kit is a simple wireless HD transceiver kit that connects to any device that outputs to HDMI. It is an upgrade on the previous HDelight products from Brite-View and so far their products have delivered what they promise. They are not very heavy on features but HDelight line gets the job done simply and effectively without any setup hassles.

The BV-1222 is a plug and play solution like most transceivers of its kind. The transmitter unit is hooked up to the HDMI source via HDMI cable. There’s one catch however — the transmitter will suck a lot of power from your USB port unless you plug in the AC adapter that it comes with. Also, the transmitter has to have a line of sight to the receiver. The receiver has to be connected to the output device. Usually a HDTV or a projector. It supports streaming of 1080p@60Hz at a latency of below 1ms according to Brite-View. Whilst a latency of below 1ms is hard to achieve all the time, the BV-1222 is quite well suited to watching movies from local and online sources. It can also be used to play games but that does depend on whether you have a clear line of sight to ensure a steady stream. It has a range of 30ft.

The transmitter and the receiver connect to each other automatically, so it is completely plug and play. As for the sources, you can have almost anything that has an HDMI out and that now includes an iPad when you are using the special A/V connector that Apple recently introduced with the iPad2.

The BV-1222 uses Amimon’s WHDI chip for the Wireless HD transmission and that is why it can push the quality up to 1080p@60Hz and have a really low latency. It has an omnidirectional antennae which can broadcast in all directions but for longer distances, line of sight is necessary. The Brite-View HDelight (BV-1222) Wireless Stream Uncompressed FULL 1080P HD Beam-to-HDTV In-Room Transmission Kit is selling online for about $140, which is quite the bargain when compared to some of the other brands.

The D-Link DSM-750 Wireless HD Dualband Draft 802.11n Media Center Extender is an extender that enables you to wireless stream your media content from a PC running Windows Vista Premium or Ultimate. It can connect to both HDTV and standard definition TV’s and is essentially an extender for your media center PC and has an inbuilt navigation menu for browsing through your media collection including photos, videos and music on your PC.

The DSM-750 uses the draft 802.11n standard to stream content wirelessly over your home’s private network. However, due to this feature, networks working on older routers might not be supported by the DSM-750 because it requires the bandwidth provided by the 802.11n standard to stream HD content seamlessly. One good thing about this device is that is uses the 5GHz band instead of using the commonly used 2.4Ghz band to make sure that there is minimal interference.

It supports full 1080p HD resolution. However, it has a limited format support which extends to Windows Media Video 9 and MPEG-2/4. It has two different user modes though — one is its primary function of acting as a Windows Media Center extender and the other mode is called Medialounge.

The Medialounger mode is essentially meant to access media from everywhere else. Such as other PC’s that have shared files on the network, NAS drives (Network Attached Storage) and also USB drives. It has one USB port in front to attached storage drives to. In addition to all this, it also allows you to watch and record live TV, essentially acting as a TiVo (without of course using the name).

One feature that I really like about the DSM-750 is the number of different outputs that it has — HDMI, Component, Co-axial, S-Video, Composite Video and digital audio out. The D-Link DSM-750 Wireless HD Dualband Draft 802.11n Media Center Extender is selling online for about $250, which is a fairly good deal for its functionalities.

The NETGEAR Push2TV TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display PTV1000, is a companion device to Intel’s WiDi wireless HD streaming technology. It allows the any HDTV/Projector/Device with an HDMI input to display the wireless stream from a WiDi computer. Basically, it acts as the receiver for the wireless stream. It is sold separately and is not included with WiDi laptops. However, if you have a WiDi laptop, it can be worthwhile for you to make the purchase.

Connecting the Push2TV to a TV is quite simple. The connection needs to be done with an HDMI or an AV composite connector and from there on, all it takes is a few clicks of the mouse on the laptop. On being connected, the HDTV works like a second monitor, thereby allowing the user to use it for any application he desires. He can continue to access the web or play games on the big screen just as he would do on a laptop screen. The screen can also be used to access all the applications present on the laptop. However, due to a lack of HDCP compliancy, Blu-Ray and movie playback is not yet supported on the NETGEAR Push2TV.

The Push2TV adaptor comes in an extremely compact and conveniently designed box that approximately measures only 4.17 x 5.43 x 1.25 inches and weighs as little as 5.56 pounds. It is small enough to be carried around even. The sleek design also makes it easy for the user to switch between TVs. The adaptor comes with an HDMI cable included, an installation guide and a power adaptor. The NETGEAR Push2TV TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display PTV1000 is selling on Amazon for $75 right now and it comes with a 1year warranty.

The GefenTV Wireless for HDMI 60 GHz is a wireless transceiver kit for connecting a HDMI source to a HDMI compatible output unit. With several other similar HDMI wireless transceiver kits in the market, GefenTV tries to stand out with its high-end quality and it certainly has the look for it too. The GTV-WIRELESSHD also separates itself from the competition when it comes to the price. At over $700, it is definitely not a casual investment. However, if you are serious about your home theater set up and really want  it to be wireless without any compromise on the quality of both audio and video.

The GefenTV’s biggest advantage, in my opinion, is its ability to stream uncompressed HDMI 1.3 audio and video over 30 feet in any direction. And it can also maintain resolutions of up to 1080p60, which is commendable. It supports up to 8 channels of 24bit@192Khz LPCM audio — as an audiophile I find that quite impressive. It is enough to win me over. Another good thing about it is that the firmware is upgradeable via the built-in RS-232 port. So there aren’t that many hoops to jump through and it is definitely preferable over no upgrades at all. Because this is a first generation device, you can rest assured that you will see some upgrades coming downstream soon. One more feature that I like is that it is HDCP compliant, making sure that you can stream all the HD content that you have, including the protected ones.

Other than the core features, you have an LED array to indicate operational status. Also, it has a 36-antenna array, much like some of the newer routers in the market. Thanks to this, there’s a steady signal and no drops or disconnections.

The GefenTV Wireless for HDMI 60 GHz is going for $719 on Amazon right now.

The D-Link Wireless HD Media Player is a digital media player hub that wirelessly connects to your PC and also connects to the Internet via WiFi. Its features include high-quality uncompressed HDMI 1.3 audio and video. It gives remote display of resolutions up to 1080p60 to a distance of 30 feet. This wireless HD media player supports up to 8 –CH. 24-bit 192 kHz LPCM audio. The firmware can be upgraded thanks to the built-in USB port and standard connections 802.11g and b. There are also LEDs that indicate the functional status of the machine. It also comes with a powerful array of internal 36-Antenna — a recent design feature found in a lot of WiFi routers to increase signal strength and throughput. The device can out put to HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), Coax Digital Audio, Composite Audio and Video, Optical Digital Audio and S-Video. So you are not likely to run out of options for common A/V connectors.

It comes in a compact size of 16 x 19.8 x 3.7 inches and weighs around 5.4 pounds. You can currently only get it in the US but D-Link has plans for introducing it to the other countries.

The D-Link player can stream media easily from the computer to your home entertainment system. The video playback high quality as long as the source is good. Audio is also reportedly quite good. Since it connects to your network through WiFi, it can access online services like online radio and video. You can also access media files form a USB stick. The player also supports software like Windows Connect Now.

Format support is extensive: MP3, WMA, AIFF, WAV and Ogg Vorbis. In images, it supports, JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, JPEG2000 and GIF while in videos, WMV9, MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, Xvid, AVI (MPEG-4 Layer Only).

The D-Link Wireless HD Media Player Starts from $99 (used) on Amazon, which is a really great price for the amount of features it packs in. Over all, I’d say it is a really good bargain.

The Cables To Go 29670 TruLink 1-Port 60 GHz WirelessHD Video Transmitter and Receiver Kit is a WirelessHD based wireless transceiver kit for your home. It works primarily through HDMI connections. It works on the 60GHz bandwidth and supports a distance of up to 10 meters or 33 feet. However, your mileage will vary depending on the set up of your room. Under ideal circumstances, it can actually go further than the given limit.

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