CES 2008

Apparently, your life is too wired.

(Credit: Kevin Ho)

The open assault on cables and wires was on particular display at CES. Apparently, wires clutter your life and cause you misery, or some vendors would have you think. Whether it's faster and faster Wi-Fi from Intel, streaming video from Slingbox, in-home HD distribution, Bluetooth home theater audio from Samsung at different parts of the radio spectrum, the trend is moving away from physical media and physical connections.

Samsung's Bluetooth home theater

(Credit: Kevin Ho)

Various measures of fidelity, range, and quality were touted by the Monster rep I talked to, who naturally said there is nothing better than a physical connection. In an age that features cleanly designed, minimalist, and clutter-free environments and products, it is kind of difficult to reconcile the need for cables and wires to connect our amazing HDTVs to our computers, DVDs, and other devices with the urge to minimize. It's telling that Monster is, itself, pursuing wireless technology.

The transmitter (top) sends six AV sources to the receiver (bottom), which in turn attaches to a TV or projector.

(Credit: Belkin)

It's a common dilemma: you have the flat-screen TV perfectly placed in the living room or home theater, but the rest of your gear is located halfway across the room. You can snake a long HDMI cable around the perimeter--or you can consider something like the Belkin FlyWire. The transmitter/receiver combo lets you toggle as many as six AV sources and wirelessly transmit the audio and video--up to full 1080p--from one side of the room (your equipment rack) to the other (your big-screen TV or projector). The version Belkin was demoing at its booth had two HDMI inputs, two component inputs, a composite/S-Video AV set, and a SCART input--but the company hinted that that the North American version may drop the SCART jack (useless outside Europe) in favor of a third HDMI input. The generous connectivity means even the biggest home-theater geek will have the capacity for all of his gear--say, a PS3, an HD DVR, an Xbox 360, a DVD recorder, a Nintendo Wii, and a sixth device. Setup is said to be plug and play (the transmitter pairs with the receiver at the touch of a button), and because it's a closed system, it should be universally compatible with any standard video source and an HDMI TV.

Watch the Belkin FlyWire video on CNET TV.