Is Wireless HD finally 'Coming of Age?"

wireless HD. In the past companies like JVC and others have tried to offer wireless displays. Well, it now seems that with advances like 802.11n and other transmission schemes that wireless HD will finally find its way to consumer homes in 2008 and beyond. Late last year, Samsung finally shipped wireless HD plasma models, and LG will now offer similar models for 2008, in which all processing is housed in a stand-alone media center or set-top box (possibly hidden). Pioneer's new Project Kuro thin plasma displays may also employ similar technology.

At CES, Sony announced its Bravia Wireless Link, which serves as a wireless HDMI connector. The Bravia Link allows for the connection of several HD source components, and will send signals from different parts of your home up to 200 feet from the display. The Bravia DVD Link provides an upgrade to DVD, CD and MP3 functionality. And the Bravia Input Link extends a home theater with three additional HDMI inputs.

At the same time, Panasonic revealed at CES their own wireless 1080p full HD transmission system that Panasonic developed with SiBEAM. Panasonic's transmission system is based on the "WirelessHD" standard. lets consumers watch HD on the TV with more a flexible layout and no wire installation.

At CES 2008, SiBEAM announced that its WirelessHD-based transmitter and receiver chipsets, built in affordable CMOS, and its WirelessHD Development Kit will be made available to select customers (including Panasonic) in the first quarter of 2008. SiBEAM's first WirelessHD solution includes the company's proprietary OmniLink60 technology.

The OmniLink60 offers 7 GHz of continuous bandwidth around the 60 GHz spectrum provides the spectral availability to achieve multi-gigabit per second data rates in a very cost effective, compact manner. However, due to the physical characteristics of the 60 GHz frequency, additional technology is required to ensure smooth operation for most applications. SiBEAM developed its Omnilink60 technology which optimizes for non-line of sight, low-cost and small form factor: - Non-line of sight: SiBEAM's Omnilink60 systems find the best direction to focus the energy. If there is no good direct line from the transmitter to the receiver, OmniLink60 will automatically find the best bounce off walls, ceilings, floors, or any other object in the room, to allow non-line-of-sight communication. The Omnilink60 advanced adaptive beam-forming systems that dynamically steer content to the specific receiving station, maintaining stable connectivity regardless of any obstacles that may obstruct its path, without compromising quality. Additionally, Omnilink60's high speed micro array antennas enable efficient use of power for better reception and longer distance at a higher bandwidth.

SiBEAM is also the first to develop working 60 GHz chipsets in CMOS. SiBEAM invented techniques to design 60 GHz circuits in standard CMOS processes conventionally used for other types of chips such as microprocessors and consumer electronics components. This technique allows mass market production of high-performance, low-cost wireless solutions. As well, SiBEAM has developed state-of-the-art methods to integrate many antennas into a very small area using standard cost-effective packaging processes. SiBEAM's integrated multi-element micro array antenna technology resolves challenges with bulky packaging previously required by most 60 GHz systems.

SiBEAM claims that is offering the world's first WirelessHD Chipset Solutions, the SB9120 Network Processor and the SB9110 RF Transceiver chipset act, which act as the transmitter for devices such as DVD players, set-top-boxes and media center PCs. The SB9121 Networks Processor and the SB9111 Transceiver chipset act as the receiver or devices such as digital televisions and front projectors. These chipsets are the first to deliver true, lossless uncompressed A/V at 1080p. The 60 GHz band offers the spectral availability for true uncompressed HD video, audio and data transmission, scalable to future HD A/V formats.

Further, each embedded processor handles the WirelessHD protocol that is capable of joining, leaving and creating an intelligent Wireless Video Area Network (WVAN) which can consist of a variety of WirelessHD-enabled devices, including a high-definition television, high-definition disc player, digital video recorder, digital video camera, digital A/V player and more. With OmniLink60 technology, each SiBEAM-enabled device will not only maintain awareness of other devices in the network, but also that device's capabilities, such as whether it is a digital video camera, game console or set-top box.

With the availability of the SK9110TXRX WirelessHD Development Kit, SiBEAM technology can be easily and affordably integrated by consumer electronics manufacturers to provide consumers with a simple, secure way to connect, play and transmit their high definition (HD) content. The SK9110TXRX WirelessHD Development Kit includes the WirelessHD reference design with transmit and receive capability, as well as full documentation including the user guide, schematics, bill of materials, gerber files, host side reference firmware and application notes to implement the design. These tools, combined with the devices' industry standard interface, allow manufacturers to seamlessly integrate SiBEAM's WirelessHD solutions into their existing HD platforms.

The WirelessHD Consortium was formed in 2006, Intel Corporation, LG Electronics Inc., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd (Panasonic), NEC Corporation, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD, SiBEAM, Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, have joined together to create the next generation wireless interface specification for HD media streaming and transmission. WirelessHD will facilitate technical advancement by creating a specification focused on fixed and portable devices. WirelessHD is the first consumer electronics and technology industry-supported, high definition digital wireless interface for simplified media streaming and HD content portability.