Texas Instrument's OMAP 4470 packs two ARM Cortex A9 processors and runs at 1.8-GHz. At that capable configuration, the chip is said to pack enough power to juice up to three screens with a resolution of 2048x1536 pixels--that is, over a wired HDMI connection.
Now TI has disclosed details about the OMAP4470's new wireless HD-streaming capabilities--and the expectations are rosy.
Thanks to built-in compatibility with a forthcoming certification called Miracast, TI says the OMAP4470 will be able to stream HD content wirelessly from a mobile device to a television screen. Users will have the option of mirroring the phone or tablet's display to a television screen, or directly streaming content even as they surf the web or play games on the source gadget.
Streaming an HD movie from your Android device to a television set sound like a dream come true? Thank the Wi-Fi Alliance. The international organization's new Miracast technology uses Wi-Fi Direct to connect devices sans wires and swap video and audio content between the two. You'll find Miracast capability on televisions, set-top boxes, notebooks, smartphones, and tablets some day--which means, when certified products roll out, you could have a veritable sea of hardware to send and receive content.
Another perk to Miracast is the potential to share DRM content between devices as well. TI banks that content providers will open up to the Wi-Fi Alliance-backed technology and allow their televisions shows, movies, and music to be streamed freely on a semi-closed network of Miracast products.
Right now, the Wi-Fi Alliance is only just beginning to offer Mircast certification to hardware makers, so it will be some time before we start streaming movies from smartphones. But, still, it's nice to know TI supports Miracast--not to mention, the HD streaming and mirroring it makes possible.
