MWC 2013: LG beams Shadowgun from its Optimus G to a 84-inch smart TV without (much) lag

I've been attempting to popularise the term 'unconsole' for the new wave of livingroom gaming that may - or may not - involve a dedicated piece of hardware.

(And, no, micro-console is not the same thing, but that's another article.)

At Mobile World Congress, LG underlined the way the industry is fast-moving.

Sadly it's hasn't yet come up with a sexy name for it, so it's known as the "World's first Wireless Ultra HD Transmission Technology", but the proprietary tech was shown with Madfinger's Shadowgun game running on a LG Optimus G Android smartphone and beamed over wifi to a 84-inch LG smart TV, which acted as the display.

The smartphone acted as the controller for the third-person shooter.

Of course, there is an industry standard called Miracast, which enables the same sort of thing - screencasting from one device to another.

It's supported in Android 4.2 by devices like the Nexus 4 and Sony Xperia Z phones, and is a broader reaction by phone, tablet and TV manufacturers to Apple's similar AirPlay, which may or may not result in Apple's own attempt at an unconsole.

Where LG's technology differs is it has a much higher data transmission rate, and the phone - which runs a Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon 4 Pro chip rated at 1.5GHz - also upscales the video stream to run on such a large TV.

LG is still working on the approach, but it will be added to its high-end smartphone and smart TVs, as well as likely being offered to other companies to use. After all, very few people have a LG phone and a LG TV.

As for playing the game, there was some lag, but LG argued this was because of interference from the large number of wifi devices at the show, which is a creditable argument.

And, nevertheless, it was an impressive display of where the industry is going. Unconsoles ahoy!

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