ASUS Wavi

Post by **mAchiNE** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 12:10 am

Hey guys, check out this wireless HDMI device:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ASUS-WAVI-Delivers- ... 4541wt_944" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

supports 1080p @ 60hz at up to 25m (line of sight less if through walls etc) and also has 2 wireless USB ports
Could be useful for a wireless monoscopic HMD, although the reciever would probably still need to strap to your back because its likely to big to put in the HMD but this means that you can run your rig from a PC which is far more up-gradable (and cheaper) than a laptop. And the 2 USB ports could be used to add a head tracker and one other device (a controller or 3rd space vest etc)

I saw somewhere about a wireless graphics card but this is better because you can upgrade your graphics card and still use it, as well as you could use it on a console as well.

Post by **PalmerTech** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:23 pm

I have not seen that, good find! I already own an Asus Wicast, which is basically the same thing, but without the USB ports. Much smaller, lighter, and less power hungry. Not to mention cheap!

I plan on doing a full review at some point, the WHDI technology used is amazing.

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 2:40 pm

It says:

TV:1080P, 1080i , 720p, 576p, 480p
3D Videos: 1080p@24HZ

Does that mean it supports HDMI 1.4a? This could be very interesting indeed.

Post by **PalmerTech** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:10 pm

If it does, it seems like it would be an amazing companion to the Cinemizer OLED. My WiCast has a longer range with 720p signals, I can get to around 60 or 70 feet (All over my house).

Post by **Synexious** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:13 pm

This supports 1080p60, right? Doesn't 1080p60 require roughly the same bandwidth as 720p120 (720p 3D)? Now that I'm getting an HMZ-T1, I really need a WHDI device that can handle 720p 3D gaming. I really, really hope something is available soon. I don't want to buy and wear an expensive, heavy, hot, loud, low battery life gaming laptop for VR.

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:31 pm

The HMZ-T1 wont be too good for a full-freedom VR setup since it is tethered to the, rather large, control-box.

Post by **mAchiNE** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:41 pm

So maybe the Cinemizer OLED might be better for full freedom VR (if it comes out)

Post by **Synexious** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:42 pm

cybereality wrote:The HMZ-T1 wont be too good for a full-freedom VR setup since it is tethered to the, rather large, control-box.

The control box is acrually small, a bit smaller than the headset, and much smaller and lighter than a heavy gaming laptop. With WHDI and a battery pack, it will be very easy to wear in a backpack. Less cumbersome than that Novint XIO simulator prototype, which necessitates wearing an entire gaming laptop.

EDIT: Would it still be tethered to the box with WHDI?

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:44 pm

Yes, but that unit provides power to the headset. It needs to be plugged in to an outlet, though I guess you could use a really long extension cable.

Post by **Synexious** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:52 pm

Even a long cable would quickly tangle, but a battery pack would work. The combined weight of the battery pack and the box would be manageable, especially since an enthusiast gaming laptop can weigh in at as much as 15lbs. I think a full-freedom VR setup will be perfectly possible.

Post by **mAchiNE** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:09 pm

I think at 720p you may not need an enthusiast LVL gaming laptop, there are a lot of mid level Laptops now with i5/i7 processors and GTX540M graphics chips, running at 720p these laptops should be able to handle most games and should not be all that heavy, I also think that your battery for the HMD and whatever other accessories you are going to use (3rd Space Vest?) will run out before most laptop batteries will (especially if the Laptop screen is off)

If the ASUS Wavi wireless USB ports can work with anything other than the supported keyboards and Mice then it will be very useful for freedom VR but I still think a HMD with built in battery is going to be a lot easier and lighter to use, but that is just my opinion.

Post by **Synexious** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:13 pm

Hmm, well I'd like to be able to max out games like Rage, Crysis 2, and Skyrim in 720p 3D (slightly less than 1080p 3D). Buying a gaming laptop is also alot more expensive than building a gaming desktop. Do you have any laptop recommendations, though?

Post by **cybereality** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:43 pm

RAGE is OpenGL so 3D is a no-go.

Post by **mAchiNE** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:55 pm

http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235 ... tails.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
something like that, its only about 6lbs and if you look around you should be able to find something similar with i7.

And yes for high end, Laptops are always far more expensive (about double) than Desktop of similar spec but at mid level the price difference is not so big, maybe only a few hundred dollars, the thing is desktops are easier to up grade.

I think the WHDI is good if used with a portable HMD and a wireless controller but it all depends on what else you are going to use with your VR setup, if you have lots of USB devices (headtracker? sony does not have built in one) it may just be easier to put a laptop in a backpack, remember the ASUS Wavi only has 2 USB ports and someone will need to try it to see if it works with all usb devices but I suspect the bandwidth on those USB ports will limit what they can be used with.

Post by **Chiefwinston** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:14 pm

anyone know if this will introduce lag.

cheers

Post by **Chiefwinston** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:14 pm

anyone know if this will introduce lag.

cheers

Post by **Synexious** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 6:02 am

Supposedly WHDI is lag-free at 1080p60, with only very slight quality loss. I assume 720p120 would also work, since it is a bit less than 1080p60, but I have yet to find a review of 3D gaming over WHDI, so I'm not sure. I don't understand about the USB ports - could a USB hub be plugged into the WAVI (or would that take too much bandwidth?) and couldn't another device (a wireless USB hub) be used to transmit wireless USB signals?

Post by **mAchiNE** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 1:33 pm

From what I understand the 2 USB ports on the Wavi are designed for a keyboard and mouse specifically so you can watch video and control your PC from you living room on your TV while the PC is in another room, I believe there is a list of supported keyboards and Mice on the Wavi website. Yes the bandwidth on the Wavi USB ports is limited, I guess to give the WHDI as much bandwidth as it needs so no I don't think you can plug a USB hub into it.

Yes you could use a separate USB transmitter but then you have extra weight, size, and battery to deal with which starts to defeat the purpose, if you can get away with using the Wavi USB ports then that would be ideal, if you plan to use a wireless controller of some sort and only are going to use the Wavi for head tracking then this might be possible, maybe even one other device as well but untill someone tries it we will not know

Post by **cybereality** » Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:38 pm

WHDI includes support for all 3D formats required by the HDMI™ 1.4a specification

http://www.amimon.com/pr20110104_3.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is actually very intriguing for me, since it means I could potentially buy a 3D projector for my living room, without having to buy an HTPC.

Post by **ancjob** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:55 am

this 'd be great with sony HMD....

plugging the transmitter via usb to laptop/pc and wirelessly streaming so it does away with tying the HMD to hdmi port of laptop/PC...if i understand correctly...

now questions :

1)will the setup allow me to access my external drives connected to my laptop/PC ?

2)with the use of wireless keyboard/mouse connected to receiver - can i go about exploring my laptop/PC the same way as i do when i connect the mouse / keyboard directly to usb of laptop/PC like accessing folder tree via windows explorer , searching for files ? i wonder... as i hate wifi/setting up sharing etc...lot of work for me [kinda lazy type]...

3)can this transmit signal through very thick walls [6-8 inch] as well ?

has anybody tried this ?

Post by **brantlew** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:51 pm

mAchiNE wrote:From what I understand the 2 USB ports on the Wavi are designed for a keyboard and mouse specifically

Hopefully that means they're just generic USB 1.1 ports. If so then that would be plenty of bandwidth for trackers and vests and whatever VR peripherals you guys are thinking of.

When considering a "backtop" you also have to worry about heat and ventilation. That's probably not an issue for this device. I think it sounds like a great option!

Post by **cybereality** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:30 pm

brantlew wrote: When considering a "backtop" you also have to worry about heat and ventilation. That's probably not an issue for this device. I think it sounds like a great option!

I'm using this mesh backpack, and it wasn't a problem (at least for 30 minute sessions).

Post by **pierreye** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:01 am

I just ordered the ASUS WAVI and we'll know soon if it work with 720p 60hz 3D and if the wireless USB support is a virtual USB hub. If it works, I would prefer this setup than "backtop" cause it's cheaper to upgrade the PC in the long run.

Post by **Synexious** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 5:17 pm

pierreye wrote:I just ordered the ASUS WAVI and we'll know soon if it work with 720p 60hz 3D and if the wireless USB support is a virtual USB hub. If it works, I would prefer this setup than "backtop" cause it's cheaper to upgrade the PC in the long run.

Excellent! I'm waiting to know. Yes, laptops are far more expensive and also more cumbersome. I really hope there is no lag with the HMZ.

Post by **pierreye** » Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:11 pm

Still waiting for transit from UK to Malaysia. I'll use Rock Band 2 guitar to check out the video delay.

Post by **pierreye** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:05 am

Got the ASUS WAVI yesterday and below is my impression.

1. 720p 60hz 3D frame pack is working fine. So this will work with HMZ-T1 in 3DTV Play mode.
2. Energizer XP18000 9-12v (10.5v 2A) output work with ASUS WAVI. I had another willy cable that will convert another 19v output from XP18000 to 12v so hopefully I can use that to power HMZ-T1.
3. Distance within 10 feet, I don't see any video quality drop.
4. At 20 feet distance, the video quality drop in desktop is detectable but during movie in 3D, I feel it is acceptable.

Additional test:
1. USB passthrough from receiver to PC. I'll try to install the driver and use a generic wired USB gamepad.
2. Lag - So far I didn't test out any game but the mouse cursor on the desktop doesn't feel any lag.

Post by **brantlew** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 1:35 am

Awesome, I've been curious about this hardware.

Can you see any difference in the range when using lower PC resolutions?

Post by **fireslayer26** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:42 am

pierreye wrote:Got the ASUS WAVI yesterday and below is my impression.

1. 720p 60hz 3D frame pack is working fine. So this will work with HMZ-T1 in 3DTV Play mode.
2. Energizer XP18000 9-12v (10.5v 2A) output work with ASUS WAVI. I had another willy cable that will convert another 19v output from XP18000 to 12v so hopefully I can use that to power HMZ-T1.
3. Distance within 10 feet, I don't see any video quality drop.
4. At 20 feet distance, the video quality drop in desktop is detectable but during movie in 3D, I feel it is acceptable.

Additional test:
1. USB passthrough from receiver to PC. I'll try to install the driver and use a generic wired USB gamepad.
2. Lag - So far I didn't test out any game but the mouse cursor on the desktop doesn't feel any lag.

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to your review of using it with the HMZ-T1.

Post by **cybereality** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 7:39 pm

Awesome! This is great news! Getting wireless 720P 3D video is absolutely essential for using the HMZ-T1 in a mobile environment.

I'd definitely be interested to know how the USB ports work. Although they might not even be necessary, seeing as most peripherals we'd want to use can work on bluetooth anyhow. But it would be nice to have a fallback, if even just to set stuff up with.

Post by **fireslayer26** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:16 pm

How do you plan on powering the HMZ-T1 with the XP18000 if the HMZ-T1 requires 120V?

Post by **pierreye** » Tue Nov 08, 2011 10:53 pm

Most likely I will get a Belkin 50w 120v inverter to convert 12v into 120v.

Post by **pierreye** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 4:32 am

USB devices plug into the receiver cannot be detected by the PC. I had installed all necessary driver but no go. Found out there is a network adapter under ASUS WAVI wireless USB device that had been disabled but I can't manually enable it.

As for the distance, I test out 720p and 1080p. 720p 60hz (without 3D) work perfectly up to 14 ft before I start to notice some compression artifact in the display. 1080p 60hz is around 10ft. Note that the device still work after the above mention distance but you start to notice degradation to the video.

I try out few games and no perceptible lag at all. So far, I'm satisfied with ASUS WAVI performance and I would recommend it for 360 degree FPS gaming. I also try to power both transmitter and receiver with a single XP18000 battery pack without problem (one connected to 9v-12v output and another using willy cable to stepdown 19v to 12v). Based on my estimate, the battery pack should be able to provide enough juice for at least 2.5 hours gaming with a single charge.

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:24 am

Thanks pierreye for the info. Sounds great for a single room wireless solution without resorting to a backtop! I had hoped that it might have a longer range (10 meters or more) but it's still useful at 10ft. Too bad about the USB, but there are plenty of wireless USB extenders.

Post by **fireslayer26** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:31 am

pierreye wrote:USB devices plug into the receiver cannot be detected by the PC. I had installed all necessary driver but no go. Found out there is a network adapter under ASUS WAVI wireless USB device that had been disabled but I can't manually enable it.

As for the distance, I test out 720p and 1080p. 720p 60hz (without 3D) work perfectly up to 14 ft before I start to notice some compression artifact in the display. 1080p 60hz is around 10ft. Note that the device still work after the above mention distance but you start to notice degradation to the video.

I try out few games and no perceptible lag at all. So far, I'm satisfied with ASUS WAVI performance and I would recommend it for 360 degree FPS gaming. I also try to power both transmitter and receiver with a single XP18000 battery pack without problem (one connected to 9v-12v output and another using willy cable to stepdown 19v to 12v). Based on my estimate, the battery pack should be able to provide enough juice for at least 2.5 hours gaming with a single charge.

This is good news! I want to use your wiimote/navigator/sharpshooter gun combo along with the HMZ-T1. Now you can put the control box for the HMZ-T1, asus wavi receiver, and battery pack in a small backpack and have total 360 HD 3D VR gaming!! AWESOME!

pierreye wrote:Most likely I will get a Belkin 50w 120v inverter to convert 12v into 120v.

Can you post a link to the one you get?

Post by **pierreye** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 5:18 pm

Here's the inverter:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-50-Watt-DC ... 505&sr=8-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The receiver box actually is quite big but light around the size of wii but thinner. Still manageable with a backpack but make sure you have good ventilation as I can feel the heat from the bottom of the box. To extend the range for FPS, you can mount the transmitter on the ceiling just above where you stand. This should double your distance.

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 5:54 pm

@pierreye: Hey I'm curious what the battery life is like using the Wavi. I would hope that you would get a much extended battery life versus using a power hungry gaming backtop. That and the fact that you get the graphical performance of a high powered gaming rig (without wearing one) really makes this a compelling component for a single room wireless VR setup.

Post by **PalmerTech** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:22 pm

I will try my Asus WiCast as soon as I can to see if it supports 720p 3D 60hz. I also have two other WHDI units on the way (Made by BriteView and HP), I will test with those as well.

My WiCast does a lot better than the Wavi, it sounds like. I can get 60 or 70 feet, even with a wall in the way!

Post by **pierreye** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:05 pm

I'll do a battery test after work. Will run both transmitter and receiver through the fully charged battery estimated using 24w x 2 = 48w (HMZ-T1 rated at 15w).

Post by **brantlew** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 8:41 pm

PalmerTech wrote:I will try my Asus WiCast as soon as I can to see if it supports 720p 3D 60hz. I also have two other WHDI units on the way (Made by BriteView and HP), I will test with those as well.

My WiCast does a lot better than the Wavi, it sounds like. I can get 60 or 70 feet, even with a wall in the way!

I'm curious what the range of those other systems is. I had hoped the range might be similar to Bluetooth but maybe that's not possible with WHDI technology at this point.

Post by **PalmerTech** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 9:19 pm

It is certainly possible! Like I said, my WiCast gets 60-70 feet, and it uses WHDI. In fact, the specification has support for ranges of over a kilometer! No consumer products are available with that kind of broadcasting power, though.