Video: Asus Eee WiCast Kit Does Wireless 1080p from Laptop to TV

Right now there are a few competing technologies when it comes to allowing notebook users to beam whatever is on their screens to their big-screen TVs at high-def quality. WHDI is the best we’ve seen yet. Intel’s Wireless Display (or WiDi) tech is getting the most buzz at CES, and for good reason. It’s getting built right into higher-end laptops, transmitting 720p video over 802.11n. However, WHDI (which stands for Wireless Home Digital Interface) is a technology that was built from the ground up for video, so there’s virtually zero latency.

One of the first affordable products coming to market leveraging WHDI is Asus’ Eee WiCast Kit, which will sell for $200 when it becomes available in the second quarter. This little black box connects to your laptop’s HDMI port as well as two USB ports (for power). It then transmits the video over a 5-GHz signal to a nearby receiver that’s connected to your TV. As you’ll see in the video, the 1080p clip is smooth and detailed even at full screen, although we saw just a hint of graininess. Asus says the range is about 5 meters or 16 feet.

WHDI chipmaker Amimon is working on a Mini PCI version of its technology that could be built directly into laptops at a cost of about $100 for consumers. Eventually, we may see WHDI tech and 802.11n coexist on a single chip. Feast your eyes on the video for a preview of Asus’ box and tell us how much you’d pay for this kind of wireless goodness.