The WiGig Alliance, notes Engadget, plans to use unlicensed 60-gigahertz to transfer HD video at 6 Gbps It’s similar to existing technology promoted by chipmaker SiBEAM, called WirelessHD. All products based on the WGA specification will be capable of at least 1 Gbps at a typical range of 10 meters, and some implementations will be capable of speeds more than 6 Gbps at greater distances.
WiGig may enhance the spec by combining it with traditional Wi-Fi networking for extending the range at slower speeds, say industry observers. With WiFi, it may go through walls and cover the entire home, explains Venture Beat.
“A lot of people anticipate 60 GHz products that will include 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi as well,” said Bill McFarland, chief technology officer of Atheros, a WiGig member. “I definitely think we can support tri-band at 65nm,” he told EE Times. A Blu-ray player could connect to a TV set without using compression or connect to the Internet in another part of the house using the WiGig spec, which is about 80% done.
The WiGig Alliance, whose website will be live on Thursday morning, includes Atheros, MediaTek, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Wilocity, Microsoft, LG, Dell, Samsung, Marvell, Nokia, NEC, Intel and Broadcom. The specification will be ready in the fourth quarter of the year, meaning it’s likely that the technology will ship in real products sometime next year.
Let’s review:
Three other technologies are competing for wireless HDTV networking in the home:
- WirelessHD: Uses 60GHz and allows for uncompressed, digital transmission of full HD video and audio and data signals. WirelessHD promoters include chipmaker SiBEAM, Broadcom, Intel, LG, Panasonic, Toshiba, NEC, SAMSUNG and Sony.
- Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI): Uses the 5 GHz unlicensed band for uncompressed 1080p in a 40 MHz channel. WHDI promoters include chipmaker AMIMON, Hitachi, LG, Motorola, SAMSUNG, Sharp and Sony.
- Ultrawideband: Uses a large bandwidth (3.1 to 10.6 GHz) at very low power, limiting speeds in excess of 675 Mbit/s. UWB/Wireless USB promoters include chipmakers Alereon and Staccato, the WiMedia Alliance and Bluetooth 3.0.
Ultrawideband technology is effectively dead in consumer and computer markets, according to a new report that says Wi-Fi will take a majority of the market for handling high-definition video over wireless links while Wi-Fi variants and 60-GHz options grab a slice of the pie. The Bluetooth standard has absorbed the UWB specification and will eventually incorporate UWB into its personal area networking standard.
While 802.11n (at 5 GHz) has the advantage of being a Wi-Fi technology, with a large installed base, it has limited bandwidth (about 600 Mbps), necessitating the use of expensive codec technologies to transmit HD. The IEEE is also planning to use the 60 GHz spectrum for its next-generation high-throughput Wi-Fi called 802.11ad, but that effort will have all the range limitations of 60 GHz. IEEE 802.11ac is a Very High Throughput version of the protocol that runs below 6 GHz.
Both 802.11ad (60GHz) and 802.11ac (5GHz) are years away from a working standard. WiGig may be available for consumers next year.
Related Dailywireless articles include; In-Stat: UWB Effectively Dead, Wireless HDTV Gets Amimon Chips, Bluetooth 3.0 Announced, and UWB WiMedia Alliance Dissolved, Absorbed In Bluetooth
