Belkin's New FlyWire Streams HD Signals Even through Walls

The concept of streaming HD signals (both audio and video) without using any wires is not exactly a very new one, since several of the most important manufacturers of various connectivity solutions have come up with such products over the past couple of years. And the latest such announcement comes from Belkin, which revealed for the high-definition avid customers the FlyWire and FlyWire R1, a couple of devices that allow users to place their HDTV set just about anywhere they want to.

Both the FlyWire and FlyWire R1 come with a transmitter that connects to AV components (digital HD or analog) and a receiver that mounts to the HDTV, allowing users to place their TV set in the living room, kitchen, or even outdoors. The devices operate in the open 5GHz band and offer a robust, intelligently-managed connection, as they're constantly adjusting both frequency and power to avoid interference and overcome impedances. Moreover, because the FlyWire devices do not compress video, the video broadcast has no visible latencies.

You've seen what these two products have in common, now it's time to take a look at the differences. Thus, the FlyWire model offers whole-home range (even penetrates walls and windows), includes IR backchannel, allowing users to control AV devices that might be hidden in AV cabinets, closets, or other rooms and comes with a remote control for switching between inputs. This version uses an automatic frequency hopping broadcast technology, which searches for the best available frequency whenever FlyWire detects interference in the area (a principle similar to Bluetooth).

The FlyWire R1 is the lesser-equipped brother of the FlyWire, as it only represents an in-room solution (not going through walls, unfortunately). However, it also uses frequency hopping technology and is accompanied by a remote control for changing the input source (from the available HDMI, Component, Composite and S-video interfaces).

Even if there are certain important differences between the FlyWire and FlyWire R1, one particular issue is common: the huge price point. The R1 sells for around 700 US dollars, while the FlyWire R1 goes as high as $1,000, which is an absolutely huge sum, but understandable, given the fact that we're dealing with cutting-edge tech here. Just hope that prices will go down in the future, because I'm pretty sure that there aren't so many HD fans out there ready to cough up so much money (especially when an HDMI cable is a LOT less expensive).

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