Tech giants collaborate on wireless HD

WHDI will be used to eliminate the need for cables in home entertainment units

Hitachi, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp and Sony are to collaborate on a fast wireless standard for the transmission of high-definition signals in the home.

The companies have formed a special interest group to develop the standard this year, using Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) technology from Israeli firm Amimon.

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

WHDI does not use compression to boost data speeds to the required level for viewing, but separates signals into 'important' and 'less important' data, the latter including subtle colour and shading differences.

This means that quality will degrade as the distance between devices increases, but should ensure that data is transmitted fast enough to allow seamless viewing.

The technology will be used to eliminate the need for cables in home entertainment units so that HD broadcasts can be streamed around the home without a physical connection.

While the memorandum does not exclude participants from developing their own standards, it will ensure a level of compatibility between devices.

"The new standard will ensure that, when consumers purchase devices, they will enjoy a fast, easy and hassle-free wireless connection that delivers the highest quality," said Dr Yoav Nissan-Cohen, chairman and chief executive at Amimon.

"The WHDI standard's objective is to enable an enriched customer experience with multi-vendor interoperability."

However, the situation is confused as a similar standard, WirelessHD, is under development by some of the same companies, notably Samsung and Sony.

It has been suggested that Samsung and Sony are using WHDI as a stopgap measure until WirelessHD becomes available.