Netgear Shows Off Universal Push2TV Interface and Blu-ray Wireless Adapter

This week at IFA, the European equivalent to CES, NetGear showed off new equipment that helps bring your PC and your HDTV closer together. Through a USB dongle, combined with a small receiver, similar to an AppleTV, NetGear allows you to jump all those restrictions on Hulu or The Daily Show that don’t have a more solid-state solution for streaming to your TV, or that actively block devices such as Google TV.

Many of today’s connected TVs, Blu-ray players and video game consoles can only access a limited list of online sites. The NETGEAR Universal Push2TV HD Adapter breaks down this barrier – all Internet content you can display on your Windows PC or laptop can now be displayed on your HDTV. This includes high-definition video from web sites such as Netflix, Vudu and YouTube; news from online sources including the BBC, CNN and The New York Times; and social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+; along with personal content including photos, music and home videos; DVD movies from the PC’s drive; and even business presentations.

Video resolution up to full HD 1080p provides a high-quality picture with crisp color and sharp detail on your big-screen HDTV — no more crowding around a small laptop display when watching movies or playing photo slide shows.

The NETGEAR Universal Push2TV HD Wireless PC to TV Adapter (PTVU1000) will be available for $129.99 in late September.

A common complaint with Blu-ray players is the lack of wifi, and the decks that do have it tend to attach a huge premium to that feature. So for people who are happy with their existing player, but want to add wifi anyway, Netgear has developed the Universal Dual Band Wireless Adapter designed to be as transparent as possible. Powered by the USB port found on most Blu-ray players, the device plugs into the Ethernet port and sends the wired to the wireless world. If you don’t have an appropriate USB port on board, a separate AC adapter is included in the box. With the prices of Blu-ray players falling, and name-brand wifi equipped models easily obtainable for only about $30 more, Netgear has their work cut out for them to convince consumers to drop $89.99 on their new solution. Hopefully online discounters will be able to make up the difference.

Via: [Netgear]