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ASUS Wavi waltzes through FCC, ready to stream from your PC to your TV
Remember when we first encountered the ASUS Wavi just before CES? Well now the wireless streaming device that looks to get your TV and your PC in sync has moseyed on through the FCC, and in the process, confirmed a few of our suspicions. The duo will allow you to stream content in full 1080p via a 5GHz band and at distances of up to 25 meters (about 80 feet) -- of course, with a clear line of sight between the two. Not to be forgotten is the Xtion 3D depth camera, which provides a more expensive Kinect-esque experience, that will round out the trifecta for what we hope will be even more embarrassing dance-offs. At any rate, keep your eyes peeled for this tandem, as they should be on shelves in no time.
ASUS Wavi Xtion motion sensing control system demoed at CES (video)
ASUS may not be anywhere close to ready for its Wavi Xtion to hit retail shelves (we're hearing Q2 of 2012), but that didn't stop our brethren over at Engadget Spanish from stopping by for a hands-on demonstration at CES. We'll spare you the details on how it works, but in practice, we learned that it's quite similar to Kinect. Not shocking considering that PrimeSense is behind both boxes, but the primarily difference seemed to be the reaction time. ASUS' solution wasn't quite as snappy as the Kinect, being slower to recognize and translate motions in testing. Of course, we wouldn't expect a product that's 18 months out from mass production to be completely on top of its game, but feel free to head on past the break to see exactly what we mean.
PrimeSense and ASUS team, bring Kinect-like Wavi Xtion to your living room TV (update)
PrimeSense provides some of the brains behind Microsoft's Kinect, and wants a bigger piece of the pie; ASUS has a reputation for announcing wonderfully wacky peripherals every year. At CES 2011, the Wavi Xtion will check off both boxes nicely. In a nutshell, the Xtion is a PrimeSense 3D depth camera built exclusively for PC, but with an important twist -- it connects to a pair of ASUS Wavi boxes, which wirelessly streams its data to your living room PC between your TV and a Windows PC over the 5GHz band. Oh, and should ASUS attract enough developers, it will even pull down applications from an Xtion online store. ASUS says we'll see the package commercially available around the world in Q2 of next year -- with a UI and selection of apps and games on board -- but they'll release an Xtion PRO developer kit in February to tempt all you Kinect hackers into coding magical things for the platform. No more details for now, but there's an event in Vegas this week where ASUS is all but guaranteed to show it off. PR after the break. Update: Did we say HTPC? Turns out it doesn't quite work that way -- the Wavi are actually a pair of boxes that wirelessly sling data between them. You put the Xtion sensor on top of your TV, connect it to Wavi #1, then plug Wavi #2 into a PC up to 25 meters away. Mind you, it looks like the Xtion may not be quite as capable as Microsoft's unit, as there's only infrared hardware inside -- it might be fine for gesture control, but don't expect any augmented reality lightsaber fights. See some mockups below! %Gallery-112375%
