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New group promotes "WirelessHD" video at 60GHz

From "Leading Companies Converge to Advance A/V Connectivity through New WirelessHD Interest Group," WirelessHD press release, 31 October:

"LG Electronics Inc., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), NEC Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., SiBEAM, Inc., Sony Corporation and Toshiba Corporation today announced that they are working as a special interest group called WirelessHD to develop a specification for a wireless high-definition digital interface (WirelessHD® or WiHD®), that is intended to enable high-definition audio video (A/V) streaming and high-speed content transmission for consumer electronics (CE) devices.

"In addition to actively promoting the new format throughout the industry, WirelessHD will present the format available for adoption as soon as the specifications are completed in Spring 2007...

" 'Emerging as the first consumer electronics industry initiative for wireless uncompressed digital video transmission, WirelessHD will provide consumers wireless flexibility and ease of use while preserving the benefits traditionally associated with popular wired alternatives for point-to-point display, such as HDMI and DVI,' said Brian O'Rourke, a Senior Analyst with In-Stat/MDR...

"WirelessHD, which intends to specify the unlicensed, globally available 60 GHz frequency band, will enable wireless uncompressed high-definition, high-quality video and data transmission... to eliminate the morass of cables, switches and other complexities traditionally needed to support the wide variety of devices consumers have and will continue to buy, such as HDTVs, HD disc players, digital video cameras and game consoles. With high-definition wireless links, media streaming and transmission from any source to any display or recorder is dramatically simplified by removing the need for a hard-wired connection.

" 'WirelessHD will provide a high-speed wireless digital interface that will enable customers to simply connect, play, transmit and port their HD content in a secure manner,' stated John Marshall, Chairman of WirelessHD...

" 'After its launch, WirelessHD has great potential to be adopted rapidly in the consumer electronics segment. WirelessHD should first appear in adapter products, followed by digital televisions and projectors, DVD players, and set-top boxes. Other potential markets include game consoles and portable devices,' said O'Rourke of In-Stat/MDR..."
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"Wireless HD specification due in 2007" by Erica Ogg, CNET News.com, 31 October, provides some additional facts:

"...WirelessHD will use the unlicensed 60GHz radio frequency band to send uncompressed HD video and audio at 5 gigabits per second at distances of up to 30 feet, or within one room of a house. While most other wireless audio and video transmissions occur in the 2.4GHz to 5GHz range, WirelessHD says neither will allow the fast transmission speeds required for high-definition content.

"Traditionally used by the military for ship-to-ship communications, the 60GHz band hasn't been popular for consumer wireless use historically because it's costly and often hard to work with, but breakthroughs in low-cost manufacturing have changed that, according to WirelessHD.

"Tzero announced in September it is working on ultra wideband (UWB) technology using Analog Devices' JPEG2000 video-compression technology to send HD content between televisions and other computer electronics devices..."
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NOTE: The relationship between WirelessHD and the IEEE 802.15.3c working group on high data-rate networks operating between 25 and 100 GHz is not yet clear.

[60GHz: 31 October 2006]