Wireless HDMI Extender Released, Slow Death of the Cable Continues

Slowly but surely, it’s becoming clear that wires are so last decade. The HDMI cable is one of the last bastions of its reign, but a new product provides a wireless (though pricey) alternative.

New from Gefen Inc. is the Wireless Extender for HDMI 60 GHz, which lets you wirelessly extend HDMI 1.3 audio/video (as opposed to the upcoming HDMI 1.4 standard) to a remote location within 10 meters (30 feet).

What makes these units better than previously released HDMI wireless extenders is the uncompressed data transmission, allowing for a higher quality video.

The Sender and the Receiver boxes need a line-of-sight for the units to have maximum performance, so as shown by the product’s wired diagram (on the Gefen site), they are probably best used with ceiling projectors or wall-mounted televisions in order to keep things like furniture out of the way of the signal.

Our old friend, the venerable HDMI cable.

The Wireless Extender system works by using a matching pair of Sender and Receiver units. By plugging an HDMI source into the Sender unit and a HDMI display unit to the Receiver, the HDMI source can be extended across a room without the need for unsightly cables.

Gefen claims that the units have low latency while operating at 3Ghz bandwidth, two features that gamers should appreciate. The units are compliant with HDCP, support HD resolutions up to 1080p and can be used with a computer with a DVI connection.

In regards to sound specifications, the units can transmit 60hz full HD audio and supports up to 8-channel 24-bit 192kHz LPCM audio. The units themselves are smaller than their pictures suggest, and each has matching dimensions of 7.2-by-1.4-by-3.2 inches.

At $999, the GefenTV is a bit steep for the average user, but it's comparable to other wireless HDMI extenders with lower specs.

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