Netgear Adapter Streams HD Video from Legacy PCs

This adapter allows consumers to wirelessly push 1080p content from a USB 2.0 port on a PC to an HDMI-enabled HDTV.

Looking for a way to pump your HD content to an HDTV without dragging an HDMI cable across the carpet? Netgear may have a solution, as on Monday the company introduced its new Universal Push2TV HD Adapter, which does just that via a Wi-Fi connection. Thanks to technology provided by DisplayLink and Wisair, desktops and laptops merely need a USB 2.0 port or greater on the PC end (no HDMI port is necessary) and an HDTV with an HDMI input jack (sorry, no component support).

"Netgear has leveraged technology from DisplayLink and Wisair to deliver an innovative solution connecting any Windows-based PC wirelessly to any HD display," said Dennis Crespo, DisplayLink executive vice president of marketing and business development. "This new device allows any content from Netflix, CNN, YouTube, Twitter or any other source to stream or display on any HDMI-enabled."

Netgear's new package comprises of two components: a PC adapter that connects to a USB 2.0 port, and a receiver featuring an HDMI port, an optical audio port (S/PDIF) and a jack for stereo audio. Minimum system requirements include a 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor for streaming 720p video, and a 2.4 GHz Intel Core2 Duo processor with 2 GB of RAM for streaming 1080p video.

According to the company, customers will experience "unlimited content" using the Push2TV HD adapter setup, yet it also states on the product page that Blu-ray disc content is not supported thanks to strict copyright requirements. Otherwise, customers can consume the entire "Internet world," videos and pictures in HD resolution up to 1080p, DVD movies and documents -- all on an HDTV via a wireless connection. Latency and video quality will naturally depend on the PC's overall performance.

Netgear's new adapter is now available in the United States for $129.99 USD. It's also available in Europe, but Netgear did not supply a suggested price. For more information and retail locations where the product is sold, head here.