The WirelessHD specification for the nascent 60GHz wireless video standard has gained a high measure of vendor support and the band has been approved for products geared to home networks in most of the world’s major markets. None of that guarantees that the start-up on whose technology many of the specs are based, SiBeam, will reap the commercial rewards, so the firm is trying to keep a step ahead in silicon terms too, before larger rivals enter the fray.
At last week’s CEATEC show in Japan, SiBeam showed off its second generation chipsets, claiming these are currently the ‘only option for high quality lossless 1080p Full HD video in the world’. In making such statements, SiBeam will be well aware that recently formed WiGig Alliance members number several potentially lethal competitors – Atheros, Broadcom, Intel, Marvell and Mediatek.
SiBeam says its new device improves on first generation designs in terms of low cost and power. Its transmitter and receiver chipsets each incorporate an RF chip and network processor. For the transmitter, the combination of the SB9220 network processor and the SB9210 RF are targeted at products such as home theater-in-a-box systems, Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and media center PCs. At the receiver end, the SB9221 network processor and the SB9211 RF are geared to digital TVs, monitors and front projectors, said EETimes.
As well as reduced power consumption, the new device has a smaller form factor, so it could be incorporated in notebooks or ultraslim panels. It also boasts 3D video support; integrated HDMI and LVDS; support for the latest versions of HDMI, HDCP and DTCP standards and enhanced surround sound.
The California firm has also started offering the SK9200TXRX
WirelessHD Development Kit, which includes the WirelessHD reference design with transmit and receive capability, as well as full documentation, bill of materials, host side reference firmware and application notes.