Wireless Graphics card - KFA2 GTX 460 WDHI review - The WHDI functionality explained

The WHDI functionality explained

So then, WHDI is short for Wireless Home Digital Interface. The KFA2 GTX 460 WHDI Edition started to ship a couple of weeks ago. You'll prolly have a hard time finding it as we expect maybe just hundreds to be available worldwide in this first trial.

But let me start by saying, this thing just oozes innovation, for that alone I already like it very much.

The coolest thing about this video card is that it is designed to connect wirelessly to a TV using an uncompressed connection, that's right ... uncompressed e.g. lossless. To do so the solution is making use of Intel's WHDI developed by AMIMON, though their solution's latency is higher and less suited for interactive tasks. It is the technology that will be featured in the newest device developed by KFA2/Galaxy.

KFA2/Galaxy's solution manages this with a latency of less than one millisecond making their solution appropriate even for gaming. Obviously the card allows you to stream content to your TV like media video's, movies, digital photos and well whatever you need to be shown really.

The GTX 460 has a transmitter module that works in the 5 GHz RF band. To elaborate on that, common wireless routers these days use the 2.4 GHz RF band, and the latest 300 MBit N models have a dual-band options to use the 5 GHz band. It's still a slightly unused frequency and has a lot less data-pollution. Also when you fire up the microwave your signal won't drop hehe .. that's right, a microwave functions roughly at the 2400 MHz range as well, hence you prolly have noticed your internet fail when you heated up dinner :)

So at the backside of the GTX 460 WHDI you'll spot five antennas sticking out the back of the video card beaming your content towards a small black receiver box that you connect to an HDMI input on your HDTV set. You are not forced to use the wireless connection though, the video card comes with DVI and HDMI outputs as well.

So at the television side of things, you place a small receiver box, give it power, connect it to the HDMI input of your television and once you power on your PC the rest will be done automatically. There's no need for configuration, the two devices will make a handshake and boom, you have PC signal at your 1280x720P or 1920x1080P television. Rather impressive.

What about audio ?

That's covered, this solution is transmitting audio as well, but that does come with minor limitations. Dolby Digital / DTS 2.0 and 5.1 are properly supported, but DD Plus and True HD will be outputted as core AC3 as Dolby Digital 5.1 channels. Now that might be a limitation or hinder for some, but really it's still fantastic DD 5.1 audio traveling through nothing but the air. So yeah, you can hook up the device to a AV receiver over HDMI and then pass it onwards to the telly as well. So to recap, Traditional Dolby Digital / DTS 5.1 is supported and come think of it, uncompressed LPCM 7.1 channel audio is also supported.

We'll show you later on, that the receiver box also comes with a small USB connector, allowing it to be firmware upgraded if at all needed in the future.

Now this is the bold part, the rough simplicity of how it works, and it's that simplicity that impresses me the most.

So let me clearly state that you are not limited... the black receiver box connects via a wire to an HDTV (High Definition TV) and relays that information that the PC is transmitting, you are not restricted to just movies or other video files, this is the monitor signal being transmitted.