The only "reality" to this conversation is that because one single person has no fucking clue what they're doing when deploying a wireless network they assume everyone is equally as unskilled. Quite frankly, this is starting to get stupid.
This is what wireless is capable of in so-so conditions but with decent hardware - this is far from my most optimal performance. 5GHz band, 40MHz channels, 2x2 antenna config, router configured for Greenfield located at the other end of the house. The above image is really nothing fancy, as I pull 15-17 when there's less traffic on the network.
12MB/s is identical to the performance of a 100Mbit/s Ethernet port like what is included on the WDTV Live or any other off-the-shelf media player, and the same speed that these devices will be using to pull that high bitrate 1080p video you are droning on about.
Therefore, I can just as easily stream those 10GB 1080p files over wireless, and anyone who claims otherwise is full of shit. Furthermore, anyone who
can't do so simply isn't deploying their wireless networks correctly, either by lack of skill or understanding. Stop spreading unsubstantiated FUD.
And no, the processor in those media boxes doesn't matter any more for wireless as it does for wired as far as being capable of "pushing" things or anything of the sort. The processors that handle network connectivity are, you know, network processors like the Atheros, Broadcom or RALink processor inside the dongle you connect to the player.
Simply put, wireless is fine. Intel even allows real-time 1080p to be streamed over wireless as part of their new Wireless Display specification. If it's good enough to do that, streaming a high-def movie at any bitrate is going to be a walk in the park.