Ways to Beam Your Computer to Your TV

These wireless adapters give you new ways to compute from the couch.

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Ever wish you could edit a spreadsheet on your big-screen TV? Now you can, thanks to wireless adapters that let you beam your computer screen to a TV or projector. Here are two we like.

Netgear Push2TV

Using this Wi-Fi device and a compatible laptop -- right now, a specially equipped Sony VAIO, Dell Studio, or Toshiba Satellite -- you can beam your computer screen to a high-definition TV or projector with the press of a button and surf the Web, watch videos, or work in programs. The laptops, available only at Best Buy, come with an Intel Wireless Display chip, so there's no software to install, but you must use a cable to connect the Netgear device to a TV or projector.
COST: $100

IOGear Wireless Audio/Video Kit

This cordless kit comes with a USB adapter that plugs into a laptop and a VGA adapter that connects to a projector or HDTV. The transmitter, which sends data over a wireless USB connection instead of a Wi-Fi signal, has a range of 30 feet, about 10 feet farther than the Netgear device. The kit comes with easy-to-use software that you must download to your laptop. The system is not compatible with Macs or Windows 7.
COST: $300

John Brandon is a contributing editor at Inc. magazine and writes the Tech Trends column in every issue. He also writes the Tech Report column for Inc.com. @jmbrandonbb