Watching downloaded and streamed HD content on your 40" HD plasma TV will soon become, if not simpler, then at least tidier thanks to Intel's new technology, WiDi, showcased at the CES 2010.
WiDi, short for Wireless Display, enables video to be transmitted wirelessly, using a wireless network, from PCs running the new Intel Core processors to HD TVs. A special adaptor made by Netgear called Push2TV will be needed that allows TVs to pick up the wireless signals. According to Intel, the "connection is a snap" and makes having "great image clarity and amazing sound "¦ as easy as pushing a button".
However, there are a number of restrictions on the use of this new technology. It is only a snap for users of Core processor PCs. You'll also need Intel's HD graphics, Intel's chipsets, Intel's wireless solutions and software and the only OS which supports WiDi is Windows.
But for those of you who want the luxury of HD video on your HD TV at the touch of a button, WiDi technology will soon start to be bundled with Core i5 and Core i3 notebooks. The first company to jump on the WiDi wagon is Toshiba, whose Satellite E205 will be sold exclusively by US company Best Buy for the tidy sum of $1,000.
Hot on Toshiba's heels is Sony with their WiDi-enabled Vaio S laptop. In the States, the Push2TV adaptor is going on sale for about $100, but some of the new WiDi laptops will be sold packaged with the adaptor. WiDi is expected to come to the UK in summer 2010, although pricing and dates are not definite yet.
WiDi technology promises an exciting way to watch HD content on a big screen, but with all the restrictions, it may not become very popular. We’ll have keep our fingers crossed for more accessible solutions…
Sources: Softpedia.com and Intel.com