London – Onkyo has teamed up with Imagination Technologies to collaborate on wireless multiroom-audio systems for the home, but no launch timetable has been announced.
“At this time we do not have any details regarding how these technologies could be implemented,” an Onkyo USA spokesperson said. “Onkyo does not currently have any wireless multiroom audio products in the market.”
Under the deal, Onkyo licensed Imagination’s Caskeid and FlowCloud technologies. Caskeid delivers “exceptionally accurate synchronized wireless multiroom connected audio streaming,” the London-based company said. The patented technology “delivers outstanding audiophile-quality stereo playback with less than 25uS synchronisation accuracy” at a quality level said to be good enough to replace wires and satisfy “even the most demanding audiophile,” the company continued.
The technology will deliver mobile-device app content to multiple speakers using a combination of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Users would select a music or radio-service app and send the content via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to a Caskeid speaker. Caskeid ensures the music is then “seamlessly and synchronously” sent to all the speakers in a group.
FlowCloud technology enables access to FlowCloud-enabled services including FlowAudio, a cloud-based music and radio service that offers hundreds of thousands of radio stations and on-demand programs.
Presumably, Onkyo will enable its e-onkyo music download service, launched in August 2005 in Japan. “By working with Imagination and its partners,” said Onkyo Corp. president/CEO Munenori Otsuki, “…we will aggressively expand wireless audio music streaming and high-quality audio out of Japan to the rest of the world.”
Pure’s Jongo wireless-speaker family incorporates Caskeid technology.
Onkyo has previously promised to bring the service to the U.S. to provide U.S. consumers with audio in resolutions up to 192kHz/24 bits and in such formats as DSD and double DSD.
Onkyo devices based on Caskeid and FlowCloud will be compatible with other devices based on the same technologies, Imagination said.
