Wireless Video: Does it work?

Does wireless video really work?

Well, sort of.

"Wireless Connectivity" is a big buzz word in the AV industry these days. Imagine if you didn’t have to buy cable (good cable can often cost around $3 per foot) or run cable (so many times it's exposed and ugly) to get the signal from your computer to a projector. Sound tempting?  Here are the options:

1. Many manufacturers offer a Wireless LAN receiver (or a slot for an external) on their projectors. It's often a free or low-cost feature and usually has a range of about 100 ft.  The technology works just fine for a simple corporate or education presentation, but won't work well in a church or worship environment because of the lag delay (imagine trying to advance to the tempo of a song). Additionally, it isn't as high quality (doesn’t look as good as a wired signal), and there are more limitations (okay for static images but won't work well at all with full motion video or motion backgrounds).

1. Hitachi makes an external  wireless transmitter/receiver (MS1-WL). The picture quality is excellent. It has a perfect range of 75 ft. There is absolutely no delay whatsoever with static images or mull motion 1080 video. Sounds great doesn’t it? There is a catch: it's pretty expensive (MSRP = $2095).