WiDi on the XPS

Has anyone successfully used the XPS' WiDi technology?

Is netgear's push2tv the only way to utilize the technology?

It has pretty mixed reviews, and the 2nd edition, HD version was supposed to come out months ago and is still not released yet.

I would love some more information on the technology and how to utilize it as well as hear anyones personal experiences with it.

Also, I ordered the Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM and according to Intel, WiDi is only supported by the Core 17 2630UM. Is that the same thing or do I have a problem? What is the difference between UM and QM?

The first push2tv has generally pretty bad reviews. Is there reason to be optimistic about the new version combined with 2nd gen SB chips?

Thanks!

http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/technology/wirelessdisplay.htm#fragment-a-2

 

Has anybody tried it out yet? Any success? Is push2tv worth getting?

 

I'm waiting on PTV2000. They are supposed to start shipping this week.

 

I'm also waiting for PTV2000. ETA on Canada in a week (it's already available in US). This is going to be the first 1080p (WiDi 2.0) box out. There is no release time from the other 2 manufacturers.

Intel updated it's CPU list and it looks like 2630QM is on the list now. You need to have "Optimus" also, to get WiDi so it will not work for XPS with 3D screens.

One of the first reviews here:

http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=65772

and here:

http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=63904

 

You don't need Nvidia Optimus to work.

The requirement is an intel wireless card (1000 series or 6000 series)and an intel cpu with Intel HD igpu enabled (Arrandale series or later).

The XPS 17 3D can't use WiDi cause it doesn't have Intel HD igpu enabled.

 

I've heard it's laggy compared to WiHD?

 

Got WIDI working on my XPS after a factory restore (spent an hour on the phone with DELL). I picked up Push2TV HD at Best Buy 05/01. Orginally had an Intel 1030 wireless card - worked fine. Upgraded my wireless card to 6230 - works fine.
I have been watching internet TV, my videos, pictues for about an hour - works great. Yes there is a slight lag so it is probabaly not good for gaming.

 

Sorry, I wanted to say ,if you have a discrete nVidia card, you need to be able to disable it (in nVidia terms it's called "Optimus"). Same for AMD cards. For WiDi you need to be able to use Intel internal video. Some laptops (like XPS 3D) need the discrete card allways on to drive the display so you can not use Intel's graphic.

 

That's why I said it has to be "enabled" as in running and usable.

Not all laptops offers only AMD and Nvidia cards.

------
The XPS 3D only uses the discrete cause the intel igpu does not support the 120 hz refresh rate screen.

Also, the switchable technology decided by the OEM to support it or not.

 

I have an XPS 15 with the 1080p screen and I just got WiDi. Picked up a PTV2000 HD at Best Buy a couple days ago. I've only had the chance to set it up and see it work but not play around with it much. It did transmit the HD laptop display to the TV just fine. Quality looked great. Just moving the mouse around a bit I didn't really notice much lag. I'm sure there is some that might be a problem for gaming but I don't know. From what I saw, normal use should not be a problem. I did use it to play Winamp music via the TV to the sound system and it worked fine (i.e. audio only). I haven't tried any movies yet. Hope to do more playing around with it over the next couple days. The first thing I did was update the WiDi software from the Intel site. After firing it up, the Widi adapter detected new firmware and I allowed it to update as well. So far I'm happy and it's pretty cool seeing the display from your laptop on the 55" LCD with no wires!

 

Great to hear that all works for you. WiDi is not intended to be used as a monitor replacement as you will allways have some lag as everything goes via WiFi radio. But to "stream" your videos and photos without a cable to your big screen is a good feature (lag does not matter so much in this case). We may see the receiver integrated as a feature in some next years TVs...so no need for an adapter.

 

With Widi, is it limited to the resolution that the laptop is currently displaying?

 

From what I remember reading, no.There are a few modes, one is screen mirroring which will display exactly same resolution as your screen (and what is on it).Another mode is to set it as the second monitor with different resolution. I think you should go and check netgear PTV2000 manuals.

 

I can say I now have this and was almost shocked it worked out of the box. Quite nice to watch movies/shows this way. While the lag seemed minimal, I did not do anything where I would notice so gaming could be a problem.

If anyone has any ideas to help me with some wireless issues, let me know here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/559333-intel-6230-wireless-n-bluetooth-3.html


Overall I would say the push2tv ptv 2000 is a good purchase.

 

Received yesterday my PTV2000.Connected to my XPS 17 (L702x) without problems.Did automatically a firmware update. I already had installed latest drivers, from Intel site. As expected there is a little lag, but this is not intended as your primary monitor.You can disable showing the mouse cursor on the TV.Sound switches automatically to TV and is muted on laptop when you connect.I was even able to connect from another room, but there still was a direct line of sight and the signal strength shown was about 50%.If you are in the same room signal strength is 100%.

There is no remote with this box, only a power switch on the back, which I keep allways on, and only switch the TV input when I need to see the laptop. I did not check but I think the box power consumtion is small enough to be allways on. The front led of the box changes colors when you are connected via WiDi but the box still sends an info image to TV even if not connected via WiDi.

The only thing which I was not able to do yet (but anyway is not something I'm really concerned as I have a stand alone Blu-ray player) is to play protected content (a blu-ray) using Power DVD. It should be possible with the latest drivers, but Power DVD complains and blocks it.I suspect is a Power DVD problem. When I have some time will need to double check all drivers, but again is not something I really need, it's more a curiosity to see if it works. Unprotected content plays great no problem streaming 1080p videos. Will need to fiddle a little bit with my TV color profile as the one I'm using for watching TV and movies looks a little bit to saturated when watching the laptop screen.I'm using screen mirroring as both the laptop and TV are 1920x1080 so a perfect match here.

In conclusion a nice feature to have gives you more flexibility and you don't need to plug cables around. It is a "same room" feature, but from what I see the room can be quite big.However it's not a monitor replacement, so if you want to use your TV as your primary monitor you need to use a cable as the lag, even if small , makes working with a mouse unpleasant.
The receiver box at $90 is still a little bit expensive I think, but I expect the price to drop closer to $50 in the future once competition arrives and WiDi becomes more popular.

 

Well the ptv2000 never supported HDCP anyways, that why your blu ray playback didn't work.

Unfortunately I don't have the newer ptv, wont be planning on it for awhile.

 

PTV2000 is the newest player , just released. It supports 1080p (this I checked and works fine) and is supposed to support protected content with the newest firmware and drivers.You can check Intel's site for this. I will try another Blu-ray player software when will have time.