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#1
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
I just bought a new desk to start redesigning my home office, but in
order to make everything look good, it would really help to have a wireless monitor. Well, they exist for about a grand, so I started looking up VGA adapters. Surprisingly enough, I found them! They're usually marketed for projectors, but some have VGA connectors and looks like it would work fine with my monitor. The cheapest that I found, though, was an Addlogix Echoview piece, going for around $250: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=1952917 That's really not in my budget right now, especially since I just blew a ton of money on a desk and chair, but it's nice to know that they exist. So here's my question. Is this piece worth saving up for, or is there something better on the market for about the same price (or preferably, cheaper)? Or, is there no such thing as a GOOD wireless monitor adapter? TIA, Jason |
#2
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
On 10 Jun 2006 01:05:22 -0700, "Jason" wrote:
I just bought a new desk to start redesigning my home office, but in order to make everything look good, it would really help to have a wireless monitor. Well, they exist for about a grand, so I started looking up VGA adapters. Surprisingly enough, I found them! They're usually marketed for projectors, but some have VGA connectors and looks like it would work fine with my monitor. The cheapest that I found, though, was an Addlogix Echoview piece, going for around $250: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=1952917 That's really not in my budget right now, especially since I just blew a ton of money on a desk and chair, but it's nice to know that they exist. So here's my question. Is this piece worth saving up for, or is there something better on the market for about the same price (or preferably, cheaper)? Or, is there no such thing as a GOOD wireless monitor adapter? TIA, Jason No specific experience with wireless monitors but IMHO there is no need for a such a beast connected to a desktop PC in a stationary location on a desk for a single user. You have to plug the monitor in to power right? What's one more cable hidden behind the monitor and desk? Hell, with a cable-tie or zip-tie it's practically like have one cable anyway. IMHO a wireless monitor achieves nothing and is a waste of money for the average SOHO workstation even if the price premium were, say $50 (which it might never be). Furthermore signal quality is very important especially with certain kinds of monitors, resolutions, refresh rates, and/or if you have sensitive eyes or demand a precise/accurate display. A new niche market wireless monitor just sounds like a bad idea from that perspective. If I were you I'd be looking into good quality BNC or DVI cables & professional quality monitors if you really want to go all out. I wouldn't hold my breath for wireless monitors to be competitive with wired ones (either in price or quality) any time soon. Even if/when they are I see little benefit for SOHO. I'd think of wireless monitors like wireless projectors. The point is to bring the display away from the PC, not really to eliminate a single wire on your desk. So for example if you have a business that uses PC monitors in a window display or up on a wall to show a demo or movie run by a PC that you don't necessarily want nearby - a wireless monitor may be for you. Cheers |
#3
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
In article . com, "Jason"
wrote: I just bought a new desk to start redesigning my home office, but in order to make everything look good, it would really help to have a wireless monitor. Well, they exist for about a grand, so I started looking up VGA adapters. Surprisingly enough, I found them! They're usually marketed for projectors, but some have VGA connectors and looks like it would work fine with my monitor. The cheapest that I found, though, was an Addlogix Echoview piece, going for around $250: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=1952917 That's really not in my budget right now, especially since I just blew a ton of money on a desk and chair, but it's nice to know that they exist. So here's my question. Is this piece worth saving up for, or is there something better on the market for about the same price (or preferably, cheaper)? Or, is there no such thing as a GOOD wireless monitor adapter? TIA, Jason Did you notice the maximum resolution was 1024x768 ? That is hardly going to be a good fit for monitors that run at 1600x1200. While it is nice to notice that the technology exists, it is not developed to the extent of being useful for a typical desktop. 1024x768 might be something you use to remote a movie viewing display. Add to that, if the device uses radio frequencies, those frequencies are shared by other devices like networking technologies. If the signal to noise ratio is degraded, or you run out of "channels", then something in your computer room is going to suffer. So maybe every time you turn on your monitor, your wireless LAN drops out. Not to spoil your fun or anything :-) Here is another one, that runs in the 5GHz band. Still the same 1024x768 limit, but also includes PS/2 keyboard and mouse remote. http://grandtec.com/wirelessVGA.htm Paul |
#4
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
Did you notice the maximum resolution was 1024x768 ? That is
hardly going to be a good fit for monitors that run at 1600x1200. While it is nice to notice that the technology exists, it is not developed to the extent of being useful for a typical desktop. 1024x768 might be something you use to remote a movie viewing display. Yeah, I did notice that, and it was a shortcoming for me. I usually run at 1280x1024, and it would be a bit inconvenient to step down. Here is another one, that runs in the 5GHz band. Still the same 1024x768 limit, but also includes PS/2 keyboard and mouse remote. http://grandtec.com/wirelessVGA.htm Definitely nice, but OUCH on that list price! $800 is way out of my price range. I know it might sound like a stupid path to follow, but it's just this one cable that's keeping me from decorating my office the way I want. I have a nice desk and a matching computer stand, and because I have a wireless keyboard, mouse, network, and printer, I could realistically have everything set up in the computer stand on one side of the office, and the desk on the other side. But because of this one cable, I'm stranded. The only alternative, I guess, is to use several VGA extensions (the distance is easily 25'), and run the monitor cable under the floor. But with such a big plug, I hate to drill a 2-3" hole in my floor, and I know that there has to be a quality loss on using that many extensions. Any other suggestions before I start drilling? J |
#5
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
On 11 Jun 2006 13:52:49 -0700, "Jason" wrote:
Did you notice the maximum resolution was 1024x768 ? That is hardly going to be a good fit for monitors that run at 1600x1200. While it is nice to notice that the technology exists, it is not developed to the extent of being useful for a typical desktop. 1024x768 might be something you use to remote a movie viewing display. Yeah, I did notice that, and it was a shortcoming for me. I usually run at 1280x1024, and it would be a bit inconvenient to step down. Here is another one, that runs in the 5GHz band. Still the same 1024x768 limit, but also includes PS/2 keyboard and mouse remote. http://grandtec.com/wirelessVGA.htm Definitely nice, but OUCH on that list price! $800 is way out of my price range. I know it might sound like a stupid path to follow, but it's just this one cable that's keeping me from decorating my office the way I want. I have a nice desk and a matching computer stand, and because I have a wireless keyboard, mouse, network, and printer, I could realistically have everything set up in the computer stand on one side of the office, and the desk on the other side. But because of this one cable, I'm stranded. The only alternative, I guess, is to use several VGA extensions (the distance is easily 25'), and run the monitor cable under the floor. But with such a big plug, I hate to drill a 2-3" hole in my floor, and I know that there has to be a quality loss on using that many extensions. Any other suggestions before I start drilling? J Yes. Make room for the computer near the monitor. If there is a problem like computer noise, or computer chassis size, address that rather than the two options you're considering. Clearly I'm not telling you what you want to hear. If you tell us why you need the computer so far away we can provide other or more specific suggestions. With a $1,000+ budget (as appears necessary for wireless monitor) you have a bunch of other options that will yield a better user experience for far less. |
#6
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
Yes. Make room for the computer near the monitor. If there is a
problem like computer noise, or computer chassis size, address that rather than the two options you're considering. Clearly I'm not telling you what you want to hear. If you tell us why you need the computer so far away we can provide other or more specific suggestions. With a $1,000+ budget (as appears necessary for wireless monitor) you have a bunch of other options that will yield a better user experience for far less. You're definitely NOT telling me what I want to hear! LOL I'm sure you're right, I just don't want you to be. In my little dream world, there would be a good option in the $100 price range to do exactly what I want! My reason is entirely cosmetic, really. My home office is decorated with a 19th century charm, and the new desk and computer stand is the final touch to making the appearance complete. Here is the desk: http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/st...&cmArea=SEARCH As you can see, there's nowhere in the desk to actually store the PC, unless you sit it beside of the desk. Physically, that's an easy option, but cosmetically, it's pretty crappy. But now, for the printer and such, I also bought this piece (without the hutch): http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/st...&cmArea=SEARCH My office would really look a lot better with the short side of the main desk against one wall (jutting outwards to separate the front of the room from the back), and the stand in an corner. Literally everything with my PC is wireless except for the monitor, so if it weren't for the VGA cord, I could arrange everything the way I want. So you see, there's not really a technical reason for doing it, just cosmetic. I definitely don't have $1000 to spend on it. I'll have a hard time convincing my girlfriend that $250 is reasonable, so I was really hoping to find something much cheaper than that. It's funny, you can get a decent wireless keyboard and mouse for $30, but a wireless monitor is practically unheard of! FWIW, the computer is used almost exclusively for web design. I have an ATI Radeon 9500 Pro video card (128MB) and a 17" KDS LCD monitor. J |
#7
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
In article .com,
"Jason" wrote: Did you notice the maximum resolution was 1024x768 ? That is hardly going to be a good fit for monitors that run at 1600x1200. While it is nice to notice that the technology exists, it is not developed to the extent of being useful for a typical desktop. 1024x768 might be something you use to remote a movie viewing display. Yeah, I did notice that, and it was a shortcoming for me. I usually run at 1280x1024, and it would be a bit inconvenient to step down. Here is another one, that runs in the 5GHz band. Still the same 1024x768 limit, but also includes PS/2 keyboard and mouse remote. http://grandtec.com/wirelessVGA.htm Definitely nice, but OUCH on that list price! $800 is way out of my price range. I know it might sound like a stupid path to follow, but it's just this one cable that's keeping me from decorating my office the way I want. I have a nice desk and a matching computer stand, and because I have a wireless keyboard, mouse, network, and printer, I could realistically have everything set up in the computer stand on one side of the office, and the desk on the other side. But because of this one cable, I'm stranded. The only alternative, I guess, is to use several VGA extensions (the distance is easily 25'), and run the monitor cable under the floor. But with such a big plug, I hate to drill a 2-3" hole in my floor, and I know that there has to be a quality loss on using that many extensions. Any other suggestions before I start drilling? J Well, I'm not the "cable guy" :-) I've heard of a couple of wireless VGA devices. Those have a resolution limit, and a price. There are boxes that will send a VGA signal over CAT5 (ethernet cable). The hole in your floor would be smaller, with a pair of boxes like that. I have no idea how well such boxes work. There are boxes that use fiber optics. The hole in the floor would be about the same size as the one for CAT5, unless you can find somebody who knows how to splice fiber or install connectors on the ends of raw fiber. Fiber optics are, generally speaking, a PITA, but can allow your monitor to be located 10KM from the computer. The fiber itself, is tiny in terms of diameter, and the raw fiber could be run through a needle sized hole. But for safety, fiber optic cable is jacketed, and fiber has a bend radius limit, so it cannot be abused. Raw fiber is dangerous, as if you get a sliver jammed into a fingertip, it can float through your bloodstream, and end up lodged in places it should not be. Thus, pre-connectorized jacketed fiber is the safest form of finished material. I have some experience with the stuff, and it requires care and attention to cleanliness. If buying equipment using fiber, I would recommend gear with replaceable TX/RX modules, in case you ruin the connectors :-( (Yes, I've ruined my share of fiber connectors.) I'd hoped to find a "free space optical" solution for you, but I suppose that is technically beyond reach. The chances of finding a light source capable of flooding a room with signal, and being modulated at 2.8Gbps, is pretty unlikely. I was trying to find a reference to the bandwidth of gas lasers, but didn't find any info. The next great thing will be UWB (ultra wide band). That is planned for launch soon, and will allow USB to be operated wireless. That will operate at 480Mbps, which is a start. Once UWB devices degrade the performance of other RF devices, and of each other, then we'll pretty well have reached a practical limit for wireless. The preface section of this document, describes UWB a bit. I'm waiting for the first review sites to test the stuff, in the presence of wireless LANs, BLuetooth, portable phones and the like, to see which devices "win" and which devices "Lose". http://www.eng.usf.edu/wsng/WSNs/Ding.pdf In terms of the VGA cable itself, there are "important bits" and "not so important bits". There are five signals in the VGA cable, that carry info used by the display. They are RGBHV, being Red, Green, Blue, Horizontal_Sync, and Vertical_Sync. I get the impression that in your typical VGA cable, RGB are carried with coaxial cable, while HV may be carried with twisted pairs or something similar. I've never taken a VGA cable apart, to see how it is designed, so that is just a guess. The coax cables are 75 ohm as far as I know. The "not so important bits" are sense signals and the serial clock/data used for EDID display information. EDID is the way that the display tells the video card, what resolutions it supports. If EDID is disconnected, or is not available, Windows would see a "generic" monitor. By default, this may limit the resolution choices you are offered in Windows. One solution I've heard of, is a device that fakes EDID information, and basically tells a lie to the computer. My old CRT based monitor, in fact did not have a VGA interface. All it had on the back, was five BNC coaxial connectors, labelled RGBHV. An adapter cable was provided with the monitor, with a VGA connector on the end. The monitor did not have any EDID or sense functions, and still worked with my computers just fine. The reason I've described the guts of the thing a bit, is to suggest that buying a long length of VGA cable is not the only solution for extending the reach of VGA (without active buffer boxes etc). You can break the VGA interface down into the individual signals, and run coax cables for each one. Pulling a coax through the hole in the floor, might be a bit easier than pulling a VGA connector. Unless, of course, you were to pull VGA cable and fit a VGA connector onto the end of it afterwards. (Example of VGA to RGBHV adapter. Two of these, plus five coax cables, equals a cabling solution.) http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=3343 The benefit of using separate coax cables, is you can find a better quality coax cable, instead of buying VGA cables of unknown characteristics. Personally, I expect I'd have a hard time finding the good coax, even if someone paid me to find it :-) Here is another concept. This is a VGA cable, with a break in the middle of it. The connector used to join the two halves of the cable, is round and that would make it easier to pass through a hole in the floor. This might be a compromise solution, if you don't want to mess around with a large hole in the floor. Just a smaller hole in the floor... http://www.datapro.net/products/1151.html Paul |
#8
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
On 11 Jun 2006 20:18:56 -0700, "Jason"
wrote: I definitely don't have $1000 to spend on it. I'll have a hard time convincing my girlfriend that $250 is reasonable, so I was really hoping to find something much cheaper than that. It's funny, you can get a decent wireless keyboard and mouse for $30, but a wireless monitor is practically unheard of! It's not funny at all, you simply don't understand the technical requirements, the huge increase in bandwidth necessary. Nobody is in love with wires. If it were so simple as to write "I want xxxxxxxx", and it worked well at low cost, everyone would have it already. |
#9
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
You say you do "web design" but in my mind it's not that clear how
tied down you are to that particular machine or mid-sized or bigger towers. One obvious option, depending on you needs, is to sell your current machine and upgrade to a slimmer one that won't be obtrusive on or under the desk. I'm thinking SFF or slim desktops but some ppl in your shoes decide to just have a laptop as their main computer. Sometimes you can mount a PC under the desk. Of course the most obvious solution is to simply deal with a computer on or under the desk. A lot of ppl do it and don't mind it terribly much despite the aesthetics and space. There's one more idea that isn't so obvious. Using a remote control or terminal software to access you computer in the computer stand over Ethernet using ether a cheap terminal/thin client or older SFF PC. This would be a compelling idea for most SOHO work. There may be some benefits for you and your girlfriend i.e. both of you sharing & maintaining only 1 good machine instead of 2. Unfortunately it's probably not the best solution for web designing. Often video clips, shockwave, and the like can be choppy. Nevertheless the idea is you still have the full power, speed, storage, expandability, and upgradeability of you main machine without video signal loss. All that is on your desk is a small, quiet, and hopefully inexpensive machine that accesses those attributes by leveraging the ease of Ethernet to span distances. This idea is something to imagine & moll over. It would take some planning & time on your part. If it's actually for you it'll be worth the effort. But the whole web design thing stops me from endorsing it too strongly. The main problem is you bought furniture with a particular office look in mind without considering your computer needs too seriously. The other problem is that most office furniture designers don't take computer related needs or aesthetics too seriously. |
#10
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Any experience with a wireless VGA adapter?
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