DisplayLink, Alereon intro wireless USB video card reference design
By Donald Melanson 
posted Dec 11th 2007 1:43PM
posted Dec 11th 2007 1:43PM
DisplayLink's certainly no stranger to wireless monitors, but it now looks set to push the technology even further along, with it and Alereon trotting out a new reference design for a wireless USB video card (and corresponding monitor adapter). That'll apparently let you use a monitor at a distance of up to three meters, with a throughput of 120-150mbps and lossless compression ensuring that "the image users see is the same that they'd get with a wired monitor," according to Wi-Fi Planet. What's more, you should also be able to use up to six displays at the same time, "theoretically," although DisplayLink admits that gamers likely won't be satisfied. While this is just a reference design, DisplayLink says the final adapter set should run between $150 and $250 when its released in the spring, while monitors with the technology built-in will apparently demand $150 "or more" than a comparable non-wireless model (those are expected in mid-2008).
[Via DailyWireless]
[Via DailyWireless]
This technology is a good idea, but needs to go further.
Imagine a wireless monitor that acts essentially as a laptop. In the way that a cordless phone does with it's base. A monitor/keyboard combo that runs off of your presumably more beefy desktop processing power. Thats what I'm waiting for.
i was interested until i saw $250. im not spending that much when my monitor only cost $170
As well as "a distance of up to three meters", this device is seriously limited to niches.
Srsly. Who would use a monitor that is less than 3 meters away from their computer? Losers. Thats who.
As long as it has a Analog VGA connector on the monitor end it will never be as crisp as a monitor connected via DVI.
I know DisplayLink's technology is good (since we use it in another product that just got featured here). I think a better solution would just be an active USB extension cable with the USB DVI External Video Card.
****shameless plug alert*****shameless plug alert******
You can get those here:
http://sewelldirect.com/usb2extensioncable.asp
And here:
http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-DVI-External-Video-Card-High-Resolution.asp
Wake me up when Nvidia gets on board and they release a version that gamers ARE satisfied with...
This is kind of neat because Vista killed off so many USB Video Cards with WDDM only allowing a single graphics adapter driver, so being able to output to multiple devices with it is neat.
With my computer, for instance, the only possible way I can support more than 2 displays with Vista is if I find a PCI-E gfx card and a PCI card that use the exact same video driver. Somehow, I don't see that as progress.
Agree w/ Macona, a non DVI version is a joke. And I feel bad for the guy running Vista, that is so limited by it that he actually got excited by this ;)
=(
Sorry Andrew, If it helps at all, I'm running Vista too. :) Its a beast, but I'm not willing to step backwards yet :)
This would be fantastic for conference room projectors. More than 3 meters would be nice, though.
Three whole meters, you say? And only $200 for it?
Wow. And to think you could blow $10 on a five-meter cable and then save the $190 for something useful, like a monitor.
When wireless USB comes out, this company will probably be the first on the block with fully wireless/dongleless monitors. With the wireless USB built into laptops, you'd be able to connect up to a projector like you would to a wireless connection