Wireless technologies inside and outside the office are now well and truly established, but cables still remain prevalent nonetheless.
Take the computer monitor or a presentation display for example – they are still tethered most of the time and while you cannot really pull away from the mains just yet, there are plenty of options around for streaming content from a device to an HDMI-enabled display.
Google's Chromecast and Apple's AirPlay are both variants of Miracast, which is itself a take on Wi-Fi Direct, allowing two devices to easily set up an ad-hoc, temporary network to exchange data.
Miracast dongles are relatively cheap – you can get one for as little as a tenner but they do come with their own issues including compatibility and overall performance
For those, particularly business users, who require a no-compromise approach, proprietary products like this StarTech HDMI Wireless Extender (ST121WHD2) can provide a solution.
Be prepared to part with a small fortune, though. This is not a cheap product –StarTech sells it for a whopping £479 (around $640, AU$845) but you can get it for a lot less; Amazon stocks it for as little as £282 (around $375, AU$500).
What this offering promises to do is transmit audio and video signal from an HDMI source to a remote display located up to 50m away; that includes the audio, the video and also the IR signal to control the source device remotely.
So unlike Miracast that only works with a device that has a traditional operating system, this one is hardware agnostic, without any software configuration needed.
You can use a Blu-ray player and some have reported success with even set-top boxes from the likes of Sky or Virgin Media, which implies support for HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection).
Sadly, I tried it on Sky's popular Now TV box but it failed to work which means that it won't work for any protected content using the extender as a second screen (e.g. Now TV via a browser or Now TV via a suitable microUSB adaptor).
The package – which comes with a two-year warranty – consists of a receiver and a transmitter (both about the size of a pack of cigarettes), an HDMI cable, two power plugs, two IR units, two mounting brackets and a quick start guide.
The boxes are identical except for a label which denotes 'transmitter' and 'receiver' on the bottom. They have a reset/power button and lights for video and network status, an HDMI port, plus a mini USB one (to be used for firmware updates only), an IR out and power supply connector.
Both devices will need to be connected to the mains – they are mobile but not transportable – and they are small enough to be moved around. Just remember to press the removable plugs hard enough to get them into place.
