How Does Wireless TV Work
If you buy a light, flat-screen TV, you may want to hang it on the wall and watch television programs, images from your digital camera, videos from your computer and high-definition movies from your DVD or Blu-ray player. While this is possible, you have to connect all these devices to the TV, resulting in a tangle of cables that is unattractive and difficult to manage. Several wireless TV technologies address this problem and let you connect some or all of these devices wirelessly.
Wi-Fi Systems
One way signals can reach the TV without wires is by using existing wireless computer networks or Wi-Fi. Your computer sends the signal for downloaded movies or videos via high-frequency radio waves to the receiver attached to your TV. The standard governing such networks is called 802.11, and the latest version, 802.11n, has enough speed and capacity to handle wireless TV signals. This system is ideal for people who want to integrate their computer, downloading, Internet and TV functions, watching movies and television available online.
Wireless USB
Another way you can connect your computer to your TV without wires is to use a wireless USB system. You plug a special USB stick into the computer and another one into the TV receiver. The wireless link transmits the signal via high-frequency radio waves from the computer to the TV. This system is designed to let you see movies, videos or photographs that are on your computer on the larger TV screen. It has a maximum range of about 30 feet.
Wireless HD
If you like wireless TV but don’t need a connection from your computer, wireless HDTV connects your movie players to your TV without wires. Small transmitters plug into DVD and Blu-ray players and send a radio signal to the TV receiver. The signal for this system is at a higher frequency, which means it can transmit more data, giving a better quality TV picture than the Wi-Fi or USB-based systems.
Wireless HDMI
The wireless High-Definition Multimedia Interface system covers all devices that have an HDMI port and lets them transmit wireless signals to the TV. Many new computers, game consoles, movie players, tablets and flat-screen TVs transfer signals via the HDMI and have a corresponding port for the HDMI cable. The wireless HDMI system supplies a receiver that plugs into the TV HDMI port and transmitters for the ports of the other devices. The wireless HDMI system can interconnect all of them, letting you view movies, images and videos from all the sources on your TV.