Taipei, Taiwan — Royal Philips Electronics announced at the Computex 2006 Taipei show that it has signed an agreement with Metalink for use of its high-speed 802.11n 5GHz Wi-Fi solution in Philips Connected Home semiconductor solutions.
The agreement allows Philips to offer wireless high-definition content distribution at speeds five to 10 times faster than currently available wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g technologies, using Metalink’s WLANPlus chipset.
Philips semiconductors incorporating WLANPlus will be available in the fourth quarter, the company said.
Based on the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard, Metalink’s wireless technology will provide connections for Philips advanced TV, set-top box (STB) and digital media adapter system reference designs to transport HD video through home networks.
Metalinks WLANPlus 802.11n chipset features MIMO technology that can deliver multiple HDTV streams to any location within a radius of 100 feet in the 5GHz frequency band.
Philips said it envisions the imminent arrival of “Connected Homes” that link to information and entertainment services from IP, terrestrial, cable and satellite providers anytime and anywhere.
According to market research firm ABI Research, 802.11n Wi-Fi chipsets will be widely used by consumer electronics manufactures for such products as HDTV sets and DVRs next year. The firm said Wi-Fi ICs sold into consumer electronics will grow 6.6 million units in 2004 to over 70 million units in 2007.
Philips STB810, advanced system solutions targeting IP and dual functionality (IP and broadcast) set-top boxes, and the WLANPlus 802.11n are on demonstration at the Philips Semiconductors booth (2F, 201A) at Computex 2006.
