How Long Until Wireless Display is Open and Ubiquitous Like WiFi?

Thu, 03 Apr 2014 08:02:11 -0700

Intel has branded wireless display as WiDi, Apple has AirPlay, Google has Chromecast, and now Amazon has entered the market. The value of platform lock-in is tremendous for these companies, so the incentive to move to a more open standard isn’t very high. But how much longer can that be the case?

This isn’t comparing apples to apples, with wireless displays the control has to be tighter since only one person can have control of the screen at a time (or perhaps a small subset of people) unlike WiFi which can handle huge numbers. Yet the principle is similar. A protocol to dictate who is in control as an admin, who controls the screen, how the bit rate and quality are negotiated, and more. This protocol isn’t unlike the 802.11 protocols that dictate the security, handshaking, and data transfer for WiFi.

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How Long Until Wireless Display is Open and Ubiquitous Like WiFi?