alisonlohhman: Lenovo IdeaPad S2 7 with integrated WHDI mirroring hands-on (video)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Lenovo IdeaPad S2 7 with integrated WHDI mirroring hands-on (video)

With inconvenient HDMI cables and half-baked wireless solutions, HD streaming from a tablet or laptop to an HDTV has been clunky, at best. And while WHDI has improved the experience drastically by minimizing lag and providing a standard platform, dongles went out of style long before the first slim tablet made its debut several years ago. A near-perfect solution may be on the horizon, however. Amimon has teamed up with Lenovo to integrate WHDI technology in the new IdeaPad S2 7, enabling wireless streaming without the need for an external transmitter -- you'll still need to attach a receiver to your TV for now. We had a chance to go hands-on with the tablet and TV at the company's suite at CES, and were quite impressed with how it performed.

Because all of the necessary hardware is integrated, there's not much to speak of on that front, though it's worth noting that adding WHDI functionality doesn't translate into a larger footprint. It's also very efficient, using "a few hundred milliwatts" of power to mirror the tablet's display to an HDTV, according to the company. There was no noticeable lag, and the picture appeared very sharp and consistent, both when playing back video and while mirroring apps and the interface to the connected Sony TV. Unfortunately, Amimon reps were unable to confirm that the technology will be included with upcoming Lenovo tablets -- or those from other manufacturers -- but judging by what we saw today, we wouldn't be surprised to see WHDI making its way to a variety of devices in the not-so-distant future. Jump past the break to see it in action.

Gallery: Lenovo IdeaPad S2 7 with integrated WHDI mirroring hands-on