Cutting the HDMI Cord
Wireless HDMI is something everyone wants. But how close are manufacturers to delivering uncompressed full-resolution at an affordable price?
A year ago, a few upstarts at CES were showing prototype systems for “Wireless HDMI.” These companies intended to remove that bulky and expensive wire between your cable box and your big-screen TV by providing a full-rate wireless connection. A year later, there is one shipping product, and a lot more promise that full rate technology will reach the shelves in 2008.
The problem hasn’t become any easier. Uncompressed full-resolution (1080p) signals require a throughput of 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s). Compare that to the puny 54 megabits per second (Mb/s) for 802.11g, or even the 200Mb/s promised for 802.11n. Pushing gigabits of data through the air is quite a challenge, and I saw few implementations that even claimed to be up to it.
At the top of the pyramid are technologies from three small companies you’ve never heard of: Amimon, Radiospire, and SiBeam. All three had technology on display in suites, and some in booths on the floor. All claim to be sending full-resolution data, but in different ways.
Amimon claimed to send pictures up to 50 feet using multiple 802.11n channels and antennas. Five channels provides them with a maximum throughput of 1Gb/s, or 1/3 of what’s required for 1080p. They promote their method as uncompressed, but admit to doing perceptual coding, sending over only the “important” data, and discarding the “data that you won’t see.” Amimon WHDI-based products were on display at the Belkin and Sony booths. The Sony product was a simple two-dongle wireless connection shipping late this year (no price info), while the Belkin product had a variety of inputs on the transmitter, and a small receiver module located behind the TV. It’s promised to ship in the second half of 2008, with a retail price of $599. Bottom line: Quality may be an issue (no one was showing it on a particularly large monitor), but there may indeed be product on the shelf late this year.
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[Link: electronichouse.com]
