In the era of wireless mouse, wireless keyboard and wireless networking, Our monitor seems to be one thing that still needs a long clunky cable running across the desk, So what gives.
well for stater the observation is not completely true. There are wireless display standard that have been around for quite some time. I am not talking about features like casting where your phone and device just sends an instruction over Wi-fi for your tv to access Youtube video or whatever. I am talking about real ways to connect a display and have it show anything you do like just as you would with wired monitor that might be sitting on your desk right now.
One currently popular option is Miracast this is essentially connection over Wi-fi that work if you are using a computer or other device that has Wi-fi built in. The nice thing about MIRACAST is that it does not need to go through a router rather it formes a direct connection from your connecter to your display so you can use it even if your wireless network is slow or if it is not available at all.
In Windows 10 simple click connect in action centre and that will cause your system to scan for available Miracast displays click the one you like to connect and you are all set. There are displays with Miracast baked in as well as HDMI adapter that enables it.
Miracast is not compatible with everything Android devices dropped support for it some time ago Mac and IOS user instate have to use airplay which by the way does require a proper Wi-fi network and for the devices at all like a desktop PC well no luck there either. So if you want some more flexibility you might want to look in a standalone wireless display kit that’s let you plug an HDMI connected transmitter into your PC or source device ( like a camera ) and an HDMI receiver to your display. These Devices often use a standard that transmits data quickly enough to avoid the huge loss in video quality through compression that can be a big problem with WI-fi based solution.
So then with all those benefits and both Miracast and standalone kits even supporting 5.1 surrounding audio just like a physical HDMI cable why are not we all using them right now. Well, it turns out you are gonna run into issues no matter which wireless display implementation you choose. Even if you go for a low compression none Wi-fi solution because wireless connections are nearly always slower then their wired counterparts and wireless display technology no exception. It’s more difficult for these signals to carry the higher amount of data needed for high-resolution pictures. So want 4k well get ready to spent a lot of money on standalone high power kit If you can find something at all.
We have not even gotten into the elephant in the room the slow elephant in the room lag because these compressed wireless signals require extra processing at both ends. you will probably experience more latency with a wireless display. These means that you have small delays when you do anything like move your mouse or type a sentence, which might be fine for writing an email or giving a power point presentation but it can be so bad as to cause desync issue with video playback and it almost guaranteed to be killer for gaming.
Making matters worst many wireless HDMI kits perform best over very short distances and with a direct line of sight between your source device and your display making them once you factor in that you have to run a power cord to them anyway, So you are not going for wireless. Actually, a lot more work to setup than you might have initially imagined
Unless you really needed a display in a sport where you just can’t run a cord to it you should not be bothering investing money in extra equipment to make your setup wireless for now. Anyway, this gives you an opportunity to practice a good cable management.