Wireless Monitors?

antiopus writes "I didn't think it was possible anytime soon due to bandwidth considerations, but ViewSonic has announced a wireless monitor. At only 10 inches and 800x600, I don't know if it'll be replacing my CRT anytime soon, but I can certainly foresee some interesting applications for wearable/portable computing."

Comments

This isn't a wireless monitor

[Hulver]

It's a MS tablet PC, running WinCE. Looking at the site will show you that.

Sheesh.

Wireless Monitor? Not happening...

[jgore26785]

I work in the RF industry as a software engineer... I'm by no means an RF engineer, but I have to comment.

First of all, this is not a wireless monitor. It is a portable PC that communicates with other PCs via a network card. The video signal is NOT sent over the air.

The bandwidth requirements for a wireless monitor are impractical. It's certainly possible, but the amount of RF bandwidth and/or power required to do it would either kill you, cook your intestines or give you a nice bout of cancer, depending on how you implement it.

Just a quick estimation (please don't criticize this, I have other work to do):

800 x 600 = 480,000 pixels
480 pixels x 16-bit = 7.68 Mb = 960 kB
960 kB x 60 Hz = 57.6 MB / s!

Given that 802.11b provides 11 Mb as a MAXIMUM (yes, that's bits, which translates to 1.4 MB / s), we'd only have about 1/50th the bandwidth necessary. And that doesn't account for automatic rate switching, interference, and other nodes on the network.

Someday, I'll have...

[mblase]

• my monitor hung up on my wall
• my mouse in my hand
• my keyboard in my lap
• my Internet connection in the kitchen
• my DivX movies on my television
• my MP3 receiver in my entertainment center
• all controlled by my PC in the bedroom

...of course, in a house where we can't even keep the cordless phone on its recharger for more than five minutes and stash the remote control in a new location every day, this will probably be less of a boon than some people think.

Odd, I've seen this before someplace.

[Pyrosz]

Why is having a wireless monitor so hard to fathom? I'm watching a wireless "monitor" now in fact. Its called my television. Seems to get channels fine from "thin" air. These images are transmitted by a remote "base station".... they even have a high resolution model available in some places. I think that we have the tech but its not being looked at correctly. Just my thoughts.