Wireless, Powerline Technologies Debut For Cable Replacement, A/V Distribution
By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 1/7/2008 6:10:00 PM
Multiple technologies here are promoted as delivering HDTV with resolutions up to lossless 1080p.
Here’s what dealers and engineers will find at the show:
Belkin: FlyWire is a wireless HDMI cable-replacement system that streams standard- and high-definition video from multiple video sources up to 50 feet to a flat-screen TV. Using proprietary enhancements to the IEEE 802.11a wireless standard, FlyWire is the company’s first device to stream high-definition video via wireless RF and its first to incorporate switching among multiple video sources.
The system, expected to retail for about $500 and ship in the summer, includes a transmitter that connects to the composite, S-Video, component- and HDMI outputs of connected sources for wireless transmission to a receiver connected to a TV’s HDMI input. The system works with HDMI versions 1 to 1.3 to deliver video up to 1080p to the TV display. The receiver comes with an included HDMI cable and bracket for mounting to the back of the TV chassis or to the wall. Only a power wire needs to run to the receiver.
Besides eliminating multiple A/V wire runs to a TV, the system also gives consumers the flexibility to place video components away from the TV, enabling TV placement that can now “blend perfectly into their environment,” a spokeswoman said.
Corinex: At its Sands booth, Corinex plans to launch its GameNet powerline-network adapters for game consoles to facilitate online gaming. A pair of 200Mbps plug-in adapters, available using either the HomePlug A/V or Universal Powerline Association (UPA) powerline technologies, is available at a suggested $169/pair. They’re said to outperform wireless solutions because of their low latency and higher speeds.
Availability follows the December shipment of the AV200 Wall Mount F adapters for video, voice and broadband Internet access via powerlines. It sells for a suggested $124/pair.
Said Brian Donnelly, Corinex marketing VP, "The Internet connectivity supplied through GameNet is four times faster than wireless, available in every room of the house and eliminates gamers’ biggest enemy — lag.” The result is an online gaming experience that is “flawless and real time,” he contended.
Out of the box, GameNet’s configuration settings are set to prioritize gaming traffic over a HomePlug or UPA network, making it unnecessary for consumers to use a Wizard to do so, Donnelly explained.
DS2: The Spain-based maker of powerline-network chipsets and reference designs plans to demonstrate a 400Mbps version of its technology, which currently operates at 200Mbps and is embodied in the UPA standard. UPA is incorporated in devices sold by companies such as
Gefen: The company plans to show multiple HDMI sender/receiver systems, including HDMI-over-coax, HDMI-over-RGB, HDMI-over-Ethernet, and an ultrawideband wireless HDMI sender/receiver system, all supporting 1080p resolution. Ranges of the wired solutions are 150 feet and 300 feet, while the wireless solution is for in-room cable-replacement applications with a range up to 30 feet.
HD-PLC
More than 30 companies will conduct demonstrations of their products, many incorporating compact PLC modules. Some of the products to be exhibited include: PLC-Wi-Fi bridges, PLC-networked AV equipment, a USB/PLC bridge to extend the use of USB devices throughout the home, and routers and adapters for sharing home broadband access.
A variety of home information appliances featuring PLC are expected to enter the market in 2008, the alliance said. HD-PLC is now also being used in a growing number of commercial applications.
PulseLink: The company is demonstrating ready-to-manufacturer reference designs of its Wireless HDMI and HDMI-Over-Coax technologies, both based on ultrawideband technology. The former eliminates HDMI cable runs from a high-def cable box, DVR, or disc player to an HDTV in the same room. The latter is intended for whole-house distribution of HDCP-protected content from sources such as DVRs and disc players in one room to an HDTV set in another room. “This [multiroom HDMI] capability has never existed before,” the company claimed.
Both implementations are said to deliver visually lossless HD video with low latency for “real-time HD video streaming between multiple entertainment source devices and HDTV displays both wirelessly within a room and from room to room over the existing coax cable network,” a spokeswoman said.
The company first demonstrated wireless HDMI in 2005 as a prototype, but the technology is now commercially ready, the company said. PulseLink also offers designs for 1394-over-coax and Ethernet-over-coax.
Silicon Storage Technologies: At its Venetian suite, SST is hosting invite-only demos of MelodyWing SP wireless technology, said to deliver uncompressed wire-equivalent sound for home theaters and for multiroom-audio applications. The technology automatically selects uncongested channels within both the 2.5GHz and 5GHz bands to avoid interference with other devices. Board-level solutions are available for designing into products or for add-on products. S/PDIF and I2S digital audio interfaces are provided.
STS Wireless: STS’s fourth-generation wireless chip deliver audio up to 150 feet throughout a house or up to 500 feet outdoors. Longer range is available with a repeater. It supports up to eight simultaneous channels of uncompressed 96kHz/24-bit CD-quality audio, and its bidirectional feature allows for use in VoIP devices.
Previous generations of STS technology are used by Panasonic, Altec Lansing, Philips and Creative, the company said.
