Top Manufacturers Unite to Create Standard for Multi-Room Wireless Connectivity- WHDI

[AVRevForum.com]

AMIMON Inc., Hitachi Ltd., Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corporation and Sony Corporation today announced the formation of a special interest group to develop a comprehensive new industry standard for multi-room audio, video and control connectivity utilizing Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI™) technology. The group's intention is to complete the new standard in 2008

A key ingredient of WHDI technology is a revolutionary video-modem that operates in the 5GHz unlicensed band to enable robust wireless delivery of uncompressed HD video (including 1080p). WHDI allows secure, encrypted HD video delivery through multiple rooms and other potential signal obstructions, such as people and furniture, while maintaining superb quality and robustness with less than one-millisecond latency.

The objective of this special interest group is to enhance the current WHDI technology to enable wireless streaming of uncompressed HD video and audio between CE devices such as LCD and plasma HDTVs, multimedia projectors, A/V receivers, DVD and BD players, set-top boxes (STBs), game consoles, and PCs. The new interoperable standard aims to ensure that CE devices manufactured by different vendors will simply and directly connect to one another.

"WHDI technology complements other wireless and wired standards with a new class of connectivity within the home," said Dr. David Lee, the founder of the HDMI™ standard and a member of AMIMON's board of directors. "WHDI's connectivity matrix introduces to consumers new possibilities to enjoy their high-definition entertainment network."

"WHDI delivers the robust performance that wireless connections must have to meet and exceed consumer demands," offered Dr. Paul Moroney of Motorola. "This new standard will help ensure optimal video delivery in the home."

"The development of the new standard will ensure that when consumers purchase CE devices and take them home, they will enjoy a fast, easy and hassle-free wireless connection that delivers the highest quality," said Dr. Yoav Nissan-Cohen, chairman and CEO of AMIMON. "The WHDI standard's objective is to enable an enriched customer experience with multi-vendor interoperability."

WHDI is a trademark of AMIMON, Ltd. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are those of their respective holders.

[kennyt]

Well it is about flipping time!!!!

I have been saying this for YEARS and so have most in the home install business, without a standard, it's every man for themselves, leaving you only proprietary systems or super high dollar controls to allow consistent functionality.

If this pans out, it could (eventually) mean the average Joe could do his own home for a reasonable cost, rather than jobbing it out for huge dollars!

I won't hold my breath, but I am glad ity is in the works!

[kloneman]

I hope they do better with wireless than they did with that horrible HDMI crap. Maybe they should boot "Dr. David Lee" off the board and replace him with someone that doesn't field a design on the userbase before it has sufficiently matured, especially one as technically flawed as HDMI.