At home we have a large number of video cables that different devices use to output signals to televisions and monitors. But what if the next evolution were for them to disappear? What if, just like digital signals replaced analog ones, wireless ones are going to do the same? Will video cables like HDMI end up disappearing or will they, like USB, become the perpetual and definitive standard? The
Although many of our readers do not believe it, one of the purchase values for many users is the fact of having the least amount of cables in the middle. What’s more, there is no lack of home in which they try, as far as possible, to hide the cables. That is why with the passage of time, the fact that it does not depend on them will become an element to take into account, especially when they already reach the necessary bandwidth.
HDMI can no longer evolve
If we start from the fact that HDMI 2.0 already provides enough bandwidth to be able to transmit at 4K resolution and at 120 Hz, then it is clear that it covers 99% of the needs of the public in this regard without problems. Although there are 8K televisions, if we take into account that the higher the resolution, the larger the screen size for the difference to be noticeable, then it is clear that going beyond 4K is not something viable for a monitor that we have to mounted on a desk and, therefore, we have within a short distance.
But it is that HDMI 2.1 does not make sense on televisions when playing with a console or watching series, its enormous 48 Gbps bandwidth is totally wasted and it has reached the point where they are getting HDMI 2.1 certification. monitors with less bandwidth on their video output. The reason? They don’t need that much for the resolutions they show and with the speed at 18 Gbps it’s enough.
In other words, the standard has completely exceeded the needs and when this occurs, technological evolution must be sought in a different sense. How about we talk about wireless transmission? The sad thing is that with Wireless HDMI existing, no device bets on it.
Why video cables will disappear
One of the biggest existing problems behind the televisions and monitors that we have in our house is the mess of HDMI cables that we have connected, not to mention those that accumulate in the drawers. In the middle of the era, where the accumulation of waste is increasing, one of the future priorities should be to have the ability to transmit the video signal from our console or graphics card to our PC wirelessly.
All with the aim of reducing to the minimum necessary the large number of video cables that are used today to connect different devices to a screen. And all this thanks to the 802.11 AY standard and its bandwidth between 20 and 40 Gbps. However, a wireless transmission standard with a frequency of 60 GHz already existed, but it did not have enough bandwidth to be able to transmit data at the same speed as HDMI 2.0. Which, let’s remember that it is good enough for the vast majority of screens and televisions.
The bad thing about this standard? Well, it has a range of a few meters and does not have the ability to go through walls, so they are designed for devices that are next to each other. However, its massive standardization makes sense if we talk about reducing the environmental impact and especially for people who are very fond of seeing a cable dangling behind the television. Which, although it seems silly to us, is an important point for lovers of order, who are not few. Whatever the future holds, the technology to say goodbye to video cables already exists.
The big marketing mistake, associating it with VR
Well, for two reasons, although the main one is that the standard was not yet good enough to replace the HDMI cable. The other reason is that a transmitter device is required in the case of the device that sends the video signal and a receiver device in the case of the monitor or television. Its operation is similar to that of Wi-Fi Direct, but transmitting videos and with a higher bandwidth. That is, both devices are required to have much more expensive and complex hardware than a simple HDMI output. So it is a cost issue above anything else.
The biggest handicap, however, is that both devices require the necessary hardware and for the moment, this has not been standardized yet. In any case, for applications such as Virtual Reality it has a lot of potential. Too bad VR isn’t taking off, but having the same freedom of movement as an Oculus Quest, but without being limited to mobile hardware. So the WiGig application will not only be to get rid of the cables from the television to the PC, the video player or the console.
What’s more, many high-end VR units on the market for the PC already use this technology to receive the video signal from the PC, although they have not been very successful, but this is more due to price barriers. that virtual reality has and the lack of an application that provokes the desire of the average buyer to acquire the technology. In other words, they have promoted it as a niche technology, which, in itself, is a huge mistake.