While TVs continue to get thinner and more beautiful and soundbars are making surround sound more discreet, the components we connect to them — our Blu-ray players, cable boxes, game consoles—have largely remained dull black or silver boxes. And there are still all those ugly wires to manage.
If you want to get your gear out of sight, a wireless HDMI kit that transmits audio and video from your components to your TV will do the trick. These kits have two boxes: one that you plug your components into and one that you attach to the back of your TV. And you can send a Full HD 1080p signal and even 3D.
Since most remote controls are infrared, there must be a direct line of sight between your remote and your components. So the solutions all have IR blasters, too, which relay the signals.
While you'll see ranges of up to 150 feet on packaging, that's under ideal circumstances. Expect a maximum range of about 30 feet between transmitter and receiver if you’re sending the signal through walls or cabinetry.
IR blaster only
Just looking for a way to operate your components while they’re behind closed doors? You can get an external remote sensor like the Sewell InjectIR. It plugs into the HDMI cable on your TV and sends commands from your remote back to your components.
Price: $44.95 on Amazon.com
Multiple HDMI components
If you use HDMI cables to connect all of your components, the Belkin ScreenCast AV4 is for you. It has four HDMI inputs, wireless 1080p streaming and an IR blaster. It's small and attractive, and can even be mounted behind your TV.
Price: $249 on Amazon.com
Legacy components
The Peerless HDS100HD has four inputs—one each of HDMI, component (red, green, blue and stereo audio), composite (video and stereo audio) and PC-—making it the best option for streaming content from old DVD players and other standard definition components you may own. You can also add additional receivers to share your components with multiple TVs.
Price: $389 for a pair, $224.37 for each additional receiver on Amazon.com
One source, multiple TVs
If you have one component you connect with an HDMI cable and want to stream it to more than one TV (so you can use one cable box for both the living room and bedroom), the ActionTec My Wireless TV is the most economical choice.
Price: $199.99 for a pair, $109.88 per additional receiver on Amazon.com
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