We know wires are a pain—especially when you’re stretching them across a room or across a house. We’ve seen a number of new wireless transmitter/receiver products for HDMI over the past year, and the Nyrius Aries Pro is one of the latest.

The Aries Pro consists of a small HDMI dongle that looks like a USB flash drive which connects to your source gear (computer, game console, blu-ray players, DVR…) and a larger (about the size of a Passport portable hard drive) receiver that connects to an HDMI port on your TV or display. One receiver can support up to eight transmitters, so theoretically you can connect all your home theater sources wirelessly and use the Aries Pro remote to switch between them. Since this system won’t give you any wireless control over your gear, it might not be suited for a complex home theater, but the addition of a wireless keyboard makes it good for connecting a laptop.

The transmitter can draw power from the source device’s USB port (via a separate cable), but if your source doesn’t have a USB port or the port is occupied, an AC adapter will work too.

The company says the system will transmit up to 160 feet (that’s clear line-of-sight feet, so distance in your house may vary), support video up to 1080p, uncompressed 3D, and audio in Dolby Digital, DTS and PCM.

You can get the Nyrius ARIES Pro for $219

Grant Clauser - Technology and Web Editor, Electronic House

Grant Clauser has been covering home electronics for more than 10 years with editorial roles in several consumer and trade magazines. He's done ISF-level damage to hundreds of reviewed products and has had audio training from Home Acoustics Alliance and Sencore. He's also the author of the book The Trouble with Rivers. Follow him on Twitter @geclauser.