Report: Building OnLive direct into hardware "bypasses latency"

Joystiq's got a hands-on with the newly-announced OnLive-embedded Vizio VIA Plus devices at CES yesterday, reporting that "building the OnLive functionality right into the hardware, they're managing to bypass the input latency associated with an attached device."

Despite this, though, heavy action games played on the cloud service still showed lag, even in show conditions.

"Our hands-on time with the service – which we were told is still very early – felt as smooth as it does on a Mac or PC, with a small amount of input lag perceptible on demanding titles, like first-person shooters," said the site.

"Unlike the Mac or PC, the Vizio implementation uses the Microconsole's wireless controller, which will sync with the set."

It was confirmed on Tuesday that OnLive is to be integrated “directly into VIZIO HDTVs, the new VIA Tablet and VIA Phone and Blu-ray players in the VIA Plus ecosystem.”

OnLive will launch fully in the US later this month, and can be bought for a flat, monthly rate of $10.

The OnLive Game System, a $99 controller and MicroConsole bundle, provides instant access on HDTVs to all OnLive games.

It was announced in May last year that BT would be the exclusive partner for OnLive's UK launch, which has yet to be dated.