During a conference call on Tuesday, Intel revealed new features being introduced with v3.5 of the company's Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. Intel also noted that WiDi 3.5 will support the new Wi-Fi Certified Miracast certification created by the Wi-Fi Alliance which reportedly goes live on today.
According to Intel, WiDi 3.5 will be pre-installed on new systems this holiday season and be available for existing users with Intel WiDi on a 2nd or 3rd Gen Intel Core processor based system. WiDi 3.5 will deliver 10 times reduced latency when compared to previous versions. It will also support Windows 8 and touch-based displays, USB devices, and streaming 3D content.
Currently Intel's WiDi supports Full HD, HDCP2, DVD, Blu-ray and 5.1 Surround Sound. So far, over 30 million laptops with Intel WiDi have already been shipped, the company said.
The big news with WiDi 3.5 is that it now supports Miracast. The WFA claims that Wi-Fi devices using this certification can deliver audio and video content from one device to another without cables or a connection to an existing Wi-Fi network. These devices instead connect directly over the air, allowing smartphone owners to stream a movie straight to their compatible HDTV without the need for cables, as an example.
"Wires are giving way to Wi-Fi in the digital home," the WFA said. "There were over one billion Wi-Fi devices shipped in 2011, and ABI Research forecasts a more than 30 percent annual growth rate for consumer devices over the coming four years. In 2011, the Wi-Fi Alliance certified almost 1,500 digital home and mobile devices."
For consumers who own a compatible WiDi device, they'll be able to directly share a laptop screen with the conference room projector to collaborate in real-time, or something similar. Current Intel WiDi-equipped devices include ultrabooks, notebooks AIO computers, and HDTVs provided by LG, Samsung and Toshiba. There are also set-top boxes and adapters that feature Intel's WiDi technology.
