When Belkin
killed its FlyWire, it also put a serious hurtin' on the hopes of
wireless HDTV ever truly taking off in the near term. Granted, the device was horrifically overpriced, but it was easily the most well-known product in the fledgling sector. Now, however, it seems that a few other players are sneaking into the limelight, with Philips recently introducing its sub-$1,000
Wireless HDTV Link and Sony pricing its
DMX-WL1 for the everyman. Today, Best Buy's own Rocketfish has introduced its
WirelessHD Adapter, a two-piece set that enables a single HDMI device to be connected to an HDMI-enabled HDTV sans cabling. You simply plug your source into one box and your HDTV into another; so long as the two are within 33 feet of one another, 1080p content can be slung without wires. It's up for order right now at $599.99, which -- amazingly enough -- is actually
more expensive than that 30-foot
Monster HDMI cable you were secretly eying.
posted November 30th 2009 10:32AM
Isn't it cheaper to just buy more blu-tay players?
No deal unless a HDTV comes w/ these....
and these boxes are huge and fugly to be honest
Rocketfish - fail
$600 - fail
I think for that I could cut a hole in the wall, run the HDMI cable, and hire a drywall guy to patch the hole.
WITH AUDIO OR WITHOUT ? WHY IT ONLY HAS ONE HDMI INPUT ?
the idea is solid but by the time this drop in price a reasonable level ($100.00) it will be integrated into the tv (already starting to hit the market) the next big step is to get cable box makers to include this tech...
also what if you have two deivces close to each other, will they bork each other up?
Monster Cable Sucks!
@Aguiluz Actually I like monster. Best Buy just overprices everything.
@Co0ki3mon2t3r
in the /. vernacular
You must be new here,
http://www.engadget.com/search/?q=monster+cables&invocationType=wl-gadget
@ArhcAngel I'm not new here. It's my opinion. Your entitled to your own.
@Co0ki3mon2t3r
Heresy!
Off with is ead!
BTW
A coat hanger works as good as a Monster cable and is much cheaper...Just SaYiN ;)
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/03/audiophiles-cant-tell-the-difference-between-monster-cable-and/
@Co0ki3mon2t3r: Actually I like monster. Best Buy just overprices everything.
Huh? Aren't most monster cables more expensive from Monstercable.com than they are on Bestbuy.com?
Unless it allows me to hook up multiple HDMI devices to a single TV, no thanks.
But like the above commenter said, for $600 you can hire someone to run conduit inside the wall and just feed an HDMI cable through.
If you work at best buy. This will cost you about 100 bucks...
@Co0ki3mon2t3r Umm, NO. BB employees only get a 10% discount, so it would still cost them $540. I'm sure the price would drop to sub-$500 after a week on amazon, so not such a bargain.
@MJGAMER 1991 XBL
BB Employees do not get a flat 10% discount. It's Cost + 5%. So whatever BB pays for a unit plus an extra five percent of that is what an employee would end up paying. The discount really depends on what BB pays to stock one of these, which is likely nowhere near $600.
@MJGAMER 1991 XBL Your an idiot. I worked there for two years.
@drjewish Yes, that's correct. And not to mention Rocketfish is a best buy brand. So it is extremely above cost. For example when I did work there, I purchased a geek squad hdmi cable that was $99. For $8 bucks.
Also with Dynex brand and any other best buy brands. You would be surprised at the kind of sick discounts I used to get there.
I might try it to see how well it works then return it cause it still overpriced.
i could understand the point if you could hide the unit behind the screen, avoiding all those hanging cables. But in this form factor, it seems they skipped a beat.
is it just that i am unfamiliar with monster's pricing, or is it not really surprising that a wireless solution is more expensive than a cable?
The problem is you still have a giant box you have to store by the tv, if you can find a place to hide the wireless adapter why not just hide the Blu-ray player in that spot instead?
Once this technology starts getting built into TVs and equipment then I am jumping on board.
id rather get a tv for the bathroom, upgrade my ht, or about 598 other things before i consider getting yet another thing thats ratio of function to price is so lopsided.
It comes with 2 4' HDMI cables. I bet that Best Buy will still try to sell you 2 $100+ HDMI cables to go with this. I waiting for Monster Cable to try to start selling a car of air cleaner for superior wireless signal transmission and sharper picture.
"Yeah it comes with 2 cables, but if you want a really, really good and clear picture you need these $99.99 THX 1000 Monster Cable HDMI cables. Oh and this can of Monster Cable air cleaner for wireless signal clarity, its $59.99"
Why hasn't anyone murdered the Monster CEO yet?
It is funny to see how out of touch some companies are. 600 dollars for a new wireless solution that is more or less a nuisance, because you can just run a cable if you have to and 99% of houses have no more than 2 hdmi devices (tv and ps3 or dvd player) and they are always next to each other.
A clumsy, expensive seperate unit to serve a purpose that a simple longer cable can accomplish?
Fail.
@trishaking78
Way to pick out target audiences for your spam, moron.
@Poop Chef
Not Spam - If you looked at my site, you would see that it is high class and not spam
Every minute, a new child enters Best Buy unaware of the harms of Monster Cables. It is each and everyone's parental duties to warn the children of these cables and the financial impact it has on their future.
@trishaking78
Oh ok. I do love handbags, but I'm still skeptical. I'd be more willing to peruse your site if clicking your link made me the proud winner of a new ipod nano.
@trishaking78
Who gives a shit if your site or the product is 'high class', its still link spam. The link has absolutely nothing to do with this site or the content of the this article.
It goes a little something like this:
1.
2.
3. ???
4. You're a jackass.
Until we get wireless power I don't see the point.
If I'm gonna make a hole for the power cord, I might as well run the HDMI cable through there also.
@TrueEddie
If you cut a hole for a power cable to go through the wall, you're going against fire code. It's illegal to run a power cable through the wall. If your kitchen burns down but leaves the home theater room intact, your insurance company will consider your claim, null and void. You need to get an electrician to put a power outlet behind your tv. Or if you do it yourself, a code friendly way of doing it. Just don't run the power cable through the wall. Also make sure you use in-wall rated cabling for hdmi and such.
I may be totally stupid, but if you can run your Internet connection through the power cabling, would it also be possible to run an encrypted video signal? I would love to see a video version of the Netgear Powerline range: http://kb.netgear.com/app/products/list/p3/128
I'm sure it would be cheaper than this.
Are they really hoping people will fork over $600 for this?
Is it waterproof?
1. the cost on this for employees is a hell of a lot more than $100 dollars. I wish I could get it for that.
2. If you could get a contractor to cut down your drywall, drill through the studs, run 30ft of good quality IN WALL rated HDMI cable, and put an electrical outlet behind the TV, and then put up the drywall/ tape/ mud/ and paint for less than $600 dollars then ya, go for it. But you may want to watch the guy, or girl's, every move cause I have a good feeling that you will have the worst install ever.
3. This device is designed more for people who don't own their homes and can't do an in-wall installation. Trust me, I'm an HT installer and there is a market for this stuff and people will pay, if you don't want it, then don't buy it. No body is forcing you. Especially Best Buy. Everyone knows that they don't really care if you buy it. It doesn't affect their paycheck.