Belkin ScreenCast

More and more laptops equipped with Intel's second-generation Core processors offer a nifty perk for presentation givers and multimedia buffs: Wireless Display or WiDi, which beams the laptop's display and audio to a living-room HDTV or conference-room monitor with no cords or cables required. What is required, however, is a WiDi adapter or receiver connected to the TV, and Belkin has a fine example in the ScreenCast TV Adapter for Intel Wireless Display ($129.99 list). It's one of the most effective and easiest-to-use accessories we've seen, and as such, it's our Editors' Choice for WiDi adapters.

An alternative to the arguably better-known (or at least more promoted by Best Buy and, mea culpa, more often mentioned by PCMag) Netgear Push2TV HD (4 stars, $99.99 list), the ScreenCast is a similar black plastic box about the size of a trade paperback. It plugs into a TV or monitor using an HDMI cable (supplied) or three-pronged RCA cable (not supplied), and also into an AC outlet using a provided adapter.

Setup takes under a minute if you dawdle; the Belkin device even shaves a few seconds off the Netgear Push2TV setup time by shipping with its HDMI and power cables already connected. Once you've plugged the ScreenCast in, tune your TV to the proper video input (such as HDMI 2 or HDMI 3); after a few seconds, a "Ready for connection" screen will tell you to launch the WiDi software on your laptop. The latter will scan for adapters and find the ScreenCast. Double-click on it, and you'll be prompted for one-time entry of a four-digit security code that appears on the TV screen. Then you can rename the adapter to something descriptive such as "Living Room" or "Conference Room C."

Pressing the Windows key and P, as with a projector or other external monitor, lets you choose whether to duplicate the notebook's display on the TV or extend the desktop across both so you can, say, drag a Windows Media Player or WinDVD movie to the big screen while checking e-mail on the laptop.

The only thing that might be a little daunting for nontechnical users is keeping up with Intel's updates. Our test unit automatically noticed and installed a firmware update, and Belkin suggests making sure you've got the latest WiFi and graphics drivers and WiDi software to enjoy the latest capabilities.

Those capabilities include HDCP support for copy-protected as well as unprotected video content, meaning you can stream a DVD or Blu-ray title across the room at full 1080p resolution with 5.1 surround sound. PC Labs' Blu-ray of Ghostbusters, popped into a Toshiba Satellite P745-S4320 notebook, looked and sounded great on a 75-inch Sharp HDTV, as did 1080p video clips from YouTube and the Labs' collection. There were no latency problems or stutters at distances ranging from 5 to 15 feet, apart from a couple of buffering moments with the YouTube clips that were almost certainly ordinary cases of WiFi rather than WiDi latency.

Indeed, whereas our reviewer noticed some slight mouse and keyboard lag with the Push2TV, I couldn't make that complaint about the ScreenCast: Rather than "typing on the laptop's keyboard and watching the letters appear a millisecond (or two) later," text on the TV kept up with my utmost typing speed. Credit probably goes to driver updates since that June 2011 review (or your being a slower typist?Ed.), but it's another way the Belkin proved trouble-free. Actually, the only improvement the ScreenCast could use is a small price cut: At $129.99, its list price is $30 higher than its Netgear rival's, though we easily found online resellers offering it for around $100.

Just as the number of laptops with WiDi 2.1 is growing, it seems likely that more and more HDTVs will soon have WiDi receivers built in; Intel and LG announced last month that the latter's Cinema 3D Smart TVs will be so equipped in 2012. Even then, the Belkin ScreenCast earns an Editors' Choice nod as a sensational way to stream content to or just enjoy working on a big screen from the comfort of your couch.

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