GTV-WHDMI - Gefen Wireless HDMI

I've been waiting for a wireless HDMI solution for a long time - and I mean a long time. In about 2005 it seemed like every manufacturer was talking about their wireless HDMI units which would always be released "next quarter." Of course, as is common with new technologies, there were problems with manufacturing and R&D and "next quarter" never quite came.

Until now - well, technically wireless HDMI became available in the US in Q4 2008. The first incarnation, though, had some problems. Let me back up for a second, though and start from the beginning... what is wireless HDMI anyway?

What is wireless HDMI?

The new standard for connecting high definition televisions (and monitors and projectors) to an HDTV source (such as a DVR, Blu-ray player, etc.) is HDMI. HDMI is advantageous to pretty much every connection available for A/V because it is extremely high bandwidth and carries both audio and video. At the same time it is also a small, compact design.

Wireless HDMI is a way of connecting your HDTV sources to your television without wires. So if your TV is across the room, you can, in theory, hook it up to your Tivo without having to run any cables between them. This is the dream.

So after some false starts with marginal wireless HDMI units (which were, in general, more expensive), Gefen finally got it right with the GTV-WHDMI. GTV, or GefenTV, is Gefen's consumer-friendly line. What this means is that the prices are a little more reasonable, but don't be fooled. The GTV-WHDMI is a great device capable of operating in a living room or in a high-end display advertising setup.

The GTV-WHDMI is easy to use - you just connect the sender to your source and the receiver to your output (monitor, TV or projector). You don't have to worry about anything - the unit even handles HDCP, so you won't have any problems broadcasting HDCP-encrypted content.

Broadcast Mode

One of the coolest features of the GTV-WHDMI is "broadcast mode" - this allows you to blast the HDMI signal to up to five displays. Again, this would be great in a display advertising environment, but it's also useful if you have a few TV's at home that you want to be able to share content. Go ahead, get creative - you want to watch movies in your shower? No problem. Bathroom? Closet? The sky is the limit.