6 CE Giants Back ‘WirelessHD’ For Unlicensed 60 GHz Band

WirelessHD technology will be compatible with HDTV resolution as high as 1080p but is upward scalable to future formats that could provide even higher resolution, WirelessHD Chmn. John Marshall told our affiliate Consumer Electronics Daily. 1080p has been described as the Holy Grail of the current ATSC HDTV system. But Marshall, also SiBeam’s sales & mktg. vp and a former 3Com executive, said: “We can presume that there will be another technology beyond 1080p that will require even higher data rates, [and the] WirelessHD specification will be able to scale to these.”

The group will be “actively promoting the new format throughout the industry” and plans to present the format for adoption “as soon as the specifications are completed, in spring,” it said. When the first products incorporating the technology will emerge was unclear Tues.

Global sales of devices with a high-speed digital A/V interface are expected to grow from 60 million units this year to 495 million in 2009, the group said, citing In-Stat data. Calling WirelessHD the first CE industry effort toward wireless uncompressed digital video transmission, In-Stat/MDR analyst Brian O'Rourke said the specification “will provide consumers wireless flexibility and ease of use while preserving the benefits traditionally associated with popular wired alternatives for point-to-point display.” After its launch, WirelessHD “has great potential to be adopted rapidly” by the CE industry, he said.

WirelessHD plans to specify the unlicensed, globally available 60 GHz band, it said. There will be no regulatory issues facing the specification because “this band is globally unlicensed and available,” Marshall told us, adding that the FCC “has already played a critical role in opening up this band for consumer use back in 2000.” The FCC approved the 57-64 GHz band in the U.S. at up to 8 w of power, he said. The global availability of the band will also accelerate worldwide adoption, meaning faster economies of scale for the quick creation of inexpensive products, Marshall said. As frequency is pushed higher, you get closer to infrared (300 GHz) and laser light links, which have increased security. JVC already has developed a safe IR laser connection for HDTVs in the home. Asked if IR would be a cheaper or more secure option than 60 GHz millimeter-wave radio, Marshall said WirelessHD solutions will be secure and “is expected to achieve mass market price points; furthermore, WirelessHD has the benefit of broad support by CE industry leadership.”

HD wireless links will allow media streaming and transmission from any source to any display or recorder to be “dramatically simplified by removing the need for a hard- wired connection,” Marshall said. 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,” he said.

Details of the specification’s copy protection scheme were sketchy Tues. Marshall said only that WirelessHD “will employ existing, standard, approved content protection schemes, endorsed by content companies,” and “the details will be announced at a later date.”

The creation of the wireless HD technology was made possible by the recent availability of several new technologies allowing multigigabit data rates required for uncompressed video streaming. WirelessHD said “such breakthroughs enable low cost, better image quality, and higher performance wireless A/V systems.”