Question on quality of wireless AV, or alternatives (1 Viewer)

[John_Lee]

I have a PC with an AIW 8500DV. My main room, and main source of television signals, is a DishNetwork receiver. When I had a standard receiver, I used a splitter and send the signal back to the computer room through existing coax. I now have a HD receiver and the only outputs are DVI, Component, S-Video and Composite. As the rooms are 25+ feet apart, the only feasible physical connection is Composite, and that still would call for three very long RCA runs.
So I started thinking about a wireless connection. I've seen some with S-video inputs/outputs and even some with USB support. Has anyone connected an HTPC to a main system wirelessly, in either direction? What is the quality of transmission? Any issues to consider? Any other alterative methods of connection?

 

[Tony Kwong]

I've used something similar to this and it works okay, like with WIFI and phones there is a bit of interference, but maybe that's just in my area?

http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...t%5Fid=15-2572

 

[SethH]

I haven't tried it, but if I were going to I'd be tempted to use 802.11a. This has the same transmission speed as "g" but works on a different bandwidth. The 5GHz bandwidth is much less crowded than the 2.4GHz. Using "a" you don't have to worry about phones and microwaves interfering with your signal. The one downside to "a" is short transmission distance, but you should be able to cover 25ft with no problem at all.

 

[Tony Kwong]

I was not familar with any product that does what you mention SethH. More info please!

 

[SethH]

Tony: Here's a link to a Linksys product which complies with the "a" WiFi standard. It's a good standard, but has been avoided by many businesses due to a shorter range.

 

[Tony Kwong]

Sorry, I cannot get your link to work properly. I'm familar with 802.11a other wireless, been using them since 2000. I'm just not familar with one that can work for sending/recieve video. What is this product called?

 

[Tony Loewen]

Hey John how's it going? One thing to keep in mind is that if you want to take advantage of the HD signal, composite or svideo won't cut it. You will need a minimum of component. Not sure if the AIW8500DV is actually HD compatible, but something to keep in mind if you ever want to upgrade to an HD capture device like myHD card lineup. I have my laptop setup to run as a HTPC client using xlobby wirelessly over 802.11g without any problems, not sure if this would be the same thing as what you are trying to do, but yeah, the wireless g works well enough for that.

 

[Tony Kwong]

I dont think that there is anything for wireless HD. Currently for HD I'm just running FireWire through a repeter to extend the length. Works great.

 

[John_Lee]

Oh I'm well aware of that. The only thing I could think of on that front would be some DVI or Component to Firewire converter, and it's really not worth the trouble.
As I said earlier, my previous SD satellite setup was coaxial. Right now, I have a cheapo pair of rabbit ears tacked on the back of the PC.
My question was centered more on the degree of degradation of a wireless signal, compared to an s-video or composite signal in a traditional short run with quality interconnects. Basically, will I be getting reception and signal strength as good as I'd get with a SDTV?