Yes, it looks like a priest's hat, but the Veebeam - from the company of the same name - is a £99 Wireless USB gadget developed to stream video from your laptop to your TV.

Veebeam has two modes. One replicates the laptop's screen on the telly, the other beams specific video files over. The first is good for viewing web-based content, such as BBC iPlayer, while the latter ensures the best possible video quality, Veebeam said, and let's you use the laptop display for other apps.

Veebeam also has two components: the USB adaptor for the laptop end of the connection, and the main box, which plugs into a spare HDMI or composite-video port, and doubles as a dock for the adaptor.

Software, which runs on both Mac OS X and Windows, ties the two parts together, sending content over the Wireless USB link - the latter chosen for its security, bandwidth and robust signalling, relative to 802.11n Wi-Fi.

HDMI is only supported by the HD version of Veebeam, and it's £40 more than the composite-only SD model. That forty quid also gets you two USB ports for hooking up local storage, and digital audio output.

Veebeam is out now. ®