In what may be a competing technology to the 802.11n wi-fi standard that several manufacturers are looking to for wireless HD communication, Tzero Technologies and Analog Devices yesterday announced that they have created a wireless HDMI interface that uses UltraWideBand technology.
Though they see benefit in traditional wi-fi, they say that in a video environment it can be problematic. The standards called for in UWB - which is also the basis for a future wireless USB - state that reliability must be at least 95% with packet error rate of less than 1 in one hundred million, and resistance from interference caused by microwaves and cordless phones.
The system is made up of HDMI transmitters and receivers. Currently the transmitter is quite large - about the size of a standard laptop computer - but that's because it's new technology that's expected to shrink. The system uses JPEG2000 compression technology which can operate at higher compression ratios without blockiness and blurriness common to the original JPEG format.
They're appealing to the 'disinterested [female] spouse' who has more say over where the large TV goes, and doesn't want to see wires all over the place. Quite why that's restricted to women - well I won't go there. A wireless solution sounds good to me.
The system is due to be available in November. Whether it will be a direct competitor or be used in conjunction with other wireless technologies remains to be seen, though as it continues to use the standard HDMI ports on equipment it should be usable with any setup.
(Via Channel Insider)
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