Tech Blog

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Belkin returned to the show floor at CES for the first time in a few years, and showcased some interesting products that might help you watch TV wirelessly. The Screencast line looks to be the company’s foray into wireless projection from one device to another, be it to a TV or from a TV.

At CES four years ago, I saw Belkin introduce a product — a set top box— that had a Blu-ray player and two game consoles connected to it. That in itself wasn’t all that impressive until those components and the TV were in different rooms. The whole concept of wireless TV transmission, particularly in HD, has been done by competitors, but Belkin has finally created a new box that is less than half the size of the original and currently sits an estimated retail price of $249.99 U.S. (Canadian pricing and availability isn’t set yet).  

So, the way the Screencast AV4 works is that you plug in up to four components into the four available HDMI ports and then plug in the receiver module into one of your TV’s HDMI ports. With a range up to 100 ft., you can still watch 1080p from your Blu-ray or game console. The product has been out in the U.S. already, so it’s not brand new, but it’s also not available in Canada yet, either.

The Screencast PC takes the same premise and applies it to a Windows PC or Mac. Plug in the USB dongle and display the computer screen onto your TV wirelessly. Pricing and availability for Canada are still unknown.

The Screencast TV is basically a competitor product to the Slingbox. Connect it to your cable or satellite box and you can watch live TV on another compatible device either within your home network or remotely. Details are still being worked out, but it looks like the iOS app that this will work on will have a free version that allows for place-shifting within a home network, while a paid upgrade will open up remote viewing.

The last product, which may not apply to Canada for a longer time, is the Dyle Mobile TV. It’s basically an iPad accessory that allows you to watch free live over-the-air TV broadcasts. The tuner plugs directly into the tablet, while the antenna is embedded in the headphones that come with it. You can use other headphones to watch content because the iPad’s 3.5mm jack isn’t being used, but to get the signal, the Dyle Mobile TV headphones have to be plugged in.

The product is purely a prototype, and is based entirely on a partnership with Mobile Content Venture (MCV) who runs Dyle. It’s also focused on the U.S., so it may be quite some time before we this hit Canada in any meaningful way.