After some demo time with WirelessHD and Chairman / President John Marshall, it appears 2009 will finally be the year cable-free TV connections roll out in a big way. Expect products to launch towards the end of Q2, according to the Gefen rep on hand, their adapter will go into production towards the end of Q1 and hit shelves for about $700, while WirelessHD tech could add as much/little as 10% to the cost of a new TV like the demo units from LG and Panasonic. How well does it work for the money? Pretty well, with no untoward effects on the picture, and easily switching from source to source automatically. Walking between the display and source didn't cause a problem but even millisecond-switching 60Ghz hardware was no match for being picked up and fumbled around by a photo snapping Engadget editor. Check out pics featuring Gefen (fear not, the final models will have RS-232), LG & Panasonic prototypes plus OEM hardware we're likely to see soon in one form or another.

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment.

The past few years have seen a wide range of wireless technologies proposed to substitute for the now nearly ubiquitous (at least in terms of new HDTVs) HDMI connectors, but the dust is just starting to settle. Some proposals involve squeezing more juice out of 802.11n. Others rely on ultrawideband technology. Yet another that has many in the industry excited is from SiBeam, which intends to use the 60GHz band to deliver uncompressed 1080p video at 4Gbps. That technology, embraced by a group called WirelessHD, had received the most public support among major consumer electronics companies, with Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba and LG listed on its site as promoters (and others listed as adopters).

But WirelessHD is still a ways from consumer availability and recently another wireless high-definition technology has attracted some heavy hitters of its own, including Sony, Samsung, Sharp and the cable set-top division of Motorola. Amimon's WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) is different from many of its emerging competitors because it is designed, like WiFi, to be a technology that blankets the home, whereas most competitors focus on an in-room solution. WHDI even operates in the 5GHz band (like 802.11a and 802.11n), but sheds the costly bandwidth overhead WiFi utilizes to correct transmission errors. In contrast, WHDI is a "video modem" technology that attaches to a device's video output to send uncompressed 1080p video. After that, it's survival of the fittest for the bits.

We already knew Panasonic was linked in with WirelessHD, but the outfit is choosing CES to come out in the open and trumpet its development of a transmission system. Apparently, it partnered up with SiBEAM to dish out a system that will enable "HD video transmission in uncompressed format," and while Panny gloats quite heavily about the use of a 60GHz band, it's really not all that surprising. 'Course, it seems we've got awhile before this stuff hits en masse (in actual products), but at least we've got yet another corporation on board, right?

WirelessHD (WiHD) is back, originally announced in late 2006, the 1.0 spec has been pronounced fit for consumption and will be released later this year. What's changed in the last 14 months? HD dream team Intel, LG, Matsushita (Panasonic), NEC, Samsung, SiBEAM, Sony and Toshiba have added 40 other companies as well as approval from DRM watchdogs MPAA and DTLA for their 60Ghz-based standard. Move over cable vs. satellite, downloads vs. disc and HD DVD vs. Blu-ray, with UWB-equipped HDTVs already on the way, a battle to replace the still-tricky HDMI connection is the new HD battleground for 2008.

We'll bet you aren't alone if you were starting to wonder if you'd ever hear from SiBEAM again, but after an extended pause, the company is back to fully unveil its WirelessHD streaming solution. Reportedly, the company has developed 60GHz chipsets for non-line-of-sight applications, and has also stated that its OmniLink60 wireless semiconductor technology would be WirelessHD-compliant and "deliver AV connectivity for wireless applications at the 60GHz band." Built using standard CMOS manufacturing techniques, this system will purportedly allow users to enjoy Wireless Video Area Networking (WVAN), which could consist of an HDTV, HD DVD / Blu-ray player, HD DVR, etc,. and while specific integration details were solely absent, the firm seems quite adamant that its newfangled technology will have no issues fitting in (whenever it actually ships, that is) with your current setup.

[Via ExtremeTech]

Six of the world's largest consumer electronics companies have joined with startup SiBEAM to form the WirelessHD interest group. They expect to complete the WiHD spec by spring of next year, using the unlicensed 60GHz frequency to stream digital information at multi-gigabit rates. The advantages of using SiBEAM's solution is that such chips can use higher power levels without overlapping other frequencies, yet are limited to a short range and won't penetrate walls. With the backing of LG, Matsushita (Panasonic), NEC, Sony and Toshiba, this standard could easily overtake WiFi- and UWB-based solutions others are working on. Its backers expect HDTVs, DVD players, receivers and other devices based on the technology to start rolling out in 2008, leaving us wondering: why can Sony and Toshiba cooperate on this high definition standard, but couldn't make Blu-ray and HD DVD work together?

[Via Yahoo News]