If the standard hasn't been heard of before, it will definitely be now

Jul 27, 2012 06:50 GMT  ·  By

Technologies for wirelessly streaming music and video from a device to an HDTV, or other sort of display, aren't many, but at least one more will appear in the coming months.

We admit that we haven't actually been keeping up with the Miracast technology, which the Wi-Fi Alliance should launch this quarter or the next.

One reason is the relative lack of information on it, while the other is that we've been somewhat distracted by AirPlay and WiDi (Intel wireless display).

Miracast will be an open standard, which means that any mobile device or display manufacturer will be allowed to implement it, without any licensing fees or permissions required.

Maybe Qualcomm and ARM will eventually offer their assistance, but we'll get to them if that time comes.

Here we have something else to note: NVIDIA has decided to add its backing to the initiative, eager to see Miracast support on its Tegra tablets.

The hardware is already more than strong enough to play games and 1080p video, so there shouldn't be a need for too many adjustments.

That said, the Santa Clara, California-based company has every intention of extending wireless display capabilities to games as well, not just music and films.

"We’re working hard to enable features like sharing photos and streaming HD movies onto HDTVs. But, we won’t stop there,” NVIDIA's Mike Han wrote on the company blog.

“At the heart of every Tegra chip is a high-performance CPU and GPU, which means you can use Tegra to play amazing games on the big screen. We’re not just talking about flinging Angry Birds but racing a super-charged jet ski in the game Riptide THD and playing heart-pounding first-person shooter games like Shadowgun THD. You can even take mobile gaming to the next level by pairing a Tegra device with a console controller for the ultimate wireless display experience.”

NVIDIA will offer more details once the Wi-Fi Alliance ratifies the Miracast specification.