Hasta La Gadget!

Intel has joined the parade of companies trying to beam video to your TV. The chipmaker is betting on “WiDi,” its technology for streaming media wirelessly from the PC to the TV.

Intel’s WiDi, which is short for “wireless display,” will remove the pain of stringing HDMI cables between the TV and the laptop.

“This display technology extends the laptop screen to the TV,” says Randy Stude, who handles gaming strategy for Intel. “You don’t need cables or to buy a single-purpose gadget to make the connection.”

Intel showed the WiDi technology at the company’s developer conference in San Francisco earlier this week.

The technology will come pre-loaded in new laptops. Already 44 models sold at Best Buy have the WiDi technology. But consumers will need to buy an additional $100 adapter from Netgear to complete the connection to the TV. Add a wireless remote such as Loop or Glide TV, and consumers can watch web content on a big screen 25 feet to 30 feet away.

Intel is just the latest in a long list of companies that are trying to make it easier for consumers to watch web video in their living room. Companies such as Apple, Boxee and Roku have offered streaming media players for web video enthusiasts.

In May, Google launched Google TV, a new set-top-box platform based on Google’s Android operating system that will combine cable programming with access to online photo sites, gaming and music.

Earlier this week, start-up Veebeam introduced a streaming media box that uses wireless USB to connect the laptop to the TV. Veebeam estimates 420 Mbps speeds for wireless USB and offers both 720p and 1080p high-definition video options.

Intel has chosen Wi-Fi to stream content wirelessly. Wi-Fi doesn’t require line of sight and it can reach about 9 Mbps speeds, says Stude. It is much slower than wireless HDMI that can offer speeds of upto 500 Mbps.

Intel’s software will work on all laptops using Arrendale based core i3, i5 and core i7 technologies.  But they will have to have Intel’s 802.11-n chips.

“It’s more flexible than a Boxee box or Apple TV,” says Stude. “You are not limited to just a few types of content and put in a walled garden.”

The wireless streaming is currently to limited to 720p resolution and it can’t handle Blu-ray content. Stude says Intel plans to support higher resolution video in the future.

But first, Intel will have to survive the extremely competitive and crowded market. It will have to steal consumers’ attention away from the soon to launch Google TV and the newly introduced $100 Apple TV.

Intel hopes its clout in the PC market will put it ahead of competitors. In bundling the software and chips into the laptop, Intel may have a distribution channel that few of its competitors can match.

But to get there, it will have to find a way to cut price and integrate the $100 Netgear adapter into the laptop.

See Also:

• Veebeam Uses Wireless USB to Stream Media From PC to TV
• Streaming Wars Heat Up: Now Amazon Reportedly Is in the Hunt
• Cable Company Makes a Move on Internet Video
• 7 Ways to Watch Web Video Without Google TV
• Hands-On With New $100 Apple TV

Photos: Priya Ganapati/Wired.com

Apple has revealed its streaming-only new Apple TV, successor to the oft-maligned original. And it’s just 1/4 the size of the old one. The new version will pack built-in power supply, HDMI, ethernet, and 802.11n wireless, priced down to $99. More »

At this point we’re fairly certain we’ll see updated iPods at Apple’s event on Wednesday, but we’re still in the dark when it comes to that updated iOS-based Apple TV — we know it’s in the works, but we don’t know if it’s coming this week. But if you’re feeling optimistic, a new Apple iTunes customer survey seems to offer a tiny little hint — it lists “Titles are available to watch instantly” as a reason you might totally love watching video on the iPad. Of course, you can’t watch iTunes videos “instantly” right now — the iPad requires the entire video file to download before playback begins, and the current Apple TV requires a fair bit of buffering — so this could be a big hint that instant streaming is coming quite soon. On the flipside, this could just be a mistake or oversight and actually mean nothing at all, but honestly, where’s the fun in that?

[Thanks, PeteO]

Apple survey hints at iTunes streaming video service coming soon? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My Netflix Instant queue is long. Very, very long. And because I’m not a quitter, I’m determined to watch every last bit of it. Attacking it from my iPhone actually gives me a fighting chance. More »

If you don’t have an iPad yet and you want one, and you live in New York City, you could get your wish thanks to Beneath The Earth Films’ scavenger hunt. The contest pits movie junkies in New York City against one another. Each team gets seven clues to help identify the movie, the location, and the scene in question. They then have to rush to the location the movie was filmed to re-enact the scene in front of their own camera, and get a snapshot. Teams then upload the photos to Beneath The Earth Films, show them off on Facebook, and the best series of photos will earn one lucky winner an iPad.

The scavenger hunt is designed to drum up interest in Beneath The Earth Films and its new all-online film festival, which is the result of a year-long quest for indie movies and film projects that deserve wide distribution. Registration for the contest is open to September 4, 2010. On September 4, all the participating teams will get the clues and will have until midnight, September 6, to upload their photos and complete the hunt. There’s even a prize for the fastest to finish — even if they may not be the best. If you’re a huge movie buff and you’re a native of the Big Apple, this is the contest for you.