Sigma Designs has been dabbling in wireless HD technologies for eons, so we aren't going to get too excited until we see this here system-on-chip (SoC) actually hit some products that we care about. Still, the CoAir is a fairly sweet concept, wrapping integrated wireless, coax and gigabit Ethernet capabilities into one single chip aimed at whole home networking. Put simply (or as simply as possible), this chip is the world's first to "simultaneously deliver multiple independent streams of video and data over coax cable, Ethernet cable and wirelessly without compromising quality of service and throughput." Based on the WiMedia standard, it can reach speeds of up to 480Mbps with UWB (ultra-wideband) wireless streaming, and room-to-room linkage via UWB-over-coax can peg those same rates. What we have here is a great basis for building a whole home server on, but until said device emerges and performs flawlessly, we'll just smile and carry on.

During his sit-down at D6, TiVo's head honcho Tom Rogers was grilled with a flurry of questions. Aside from a lengthy back-and-forth over the DVR's ability to skip through ads, we finally got to some real meat. First off, Mr. Rogers noted that he was "hopeful" that TiVo would be launched in the UK "soon." Secondly -- and probably most interestingly -- was the notion that TiVo was working up a "whole home model" in order to solve the problem of needing multiple boxes to service an entire house. Sadly, that snippet is all Tom uttered, so we're left to ponder what's really going on behind the tightly sealed doors at TiVo. Here's to hoping we know more by the time CEDIA rolls around -- you listening, Mr. Rogers?

[Via Electronista]

Being that music lovers everywhere are scrambling to find bona fide replacements to their suddenly antiquated compact disc players, it follows logic for Olive Media to give us one more option besides the OPUS Nº5. The OPUS Nº4 is a high-end digital music server which features between 320GB and 1TB of internal storage space, an integrated CD burner, 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touchscreen, gigabit Ethernet / 802.11g WiFi, a USB 2.0 port, a slew of audio outputs and native support for WAV, FLAC and MP3 files. As for the iPod-friendly MELODY Nº2 companion, it enables various rooms of the home to access tunes stored on the OPUS Nº4 as well as songs on any networked Mac, PC or NAS drive. If you couldn't guess, both units are aimed squarely at the affluent sect, which probably explains the $1,499 to $1,799 (OPUS Nº4) / $599 (MELODY Nº2) price tags. Check the gallery on Engadget HD.

[Via Macworld]

If you thought HTIBs were convenient, the FUZE Media System should have you grinning from ear to ear. Similar to the uber-pricey ConnectedLife.Home in a box, this all-in-one solution brings together a FuzeBox HTPC with "multiple CableCARD tuners," FuzeMini HD Media Clients, the Fuze Whole-Home remote, a four-inch wall-mountable touchscreen interface, and a number of on-wall control switches to deliver complete multimedia integration throughout your domicile. According to FUZE, you'll find "all the necessary components for media storage and distribution: a primary media server, video clients, audio clients, and multiple interface options." Interestingly, it even notes that "DRM-friendly whole-home HD video" won't be a problem with this here equipment, and while the firm has yet to talk dollars and dates, we'll hopefully be getting a much closer look at what's involved when it sets up shop at CEDIA.

Bad news for those sticking it out with AT&T's U-Verse. According to a slide presented at the company's investor relations webcast, it looks like a number of key features will be delayed -- some well into next year. Among the niceties that subscribers won't see until Q4 of this year are photo integration, consumer VoIP, U-Bar, Yellow Pages, etc. More importantly, however, is the note that the highly anticipated Whole Home DVR won't be ready until Q3 of next year, Caller ID will remain absent until Q4 of 2008, and two HD streams, pair bonding, and an "intelligent network interface device" won't be released until about 12 months from now. Hey, we're all for getting a product right before tossing it out to the masses, but we can imagine the patience of U-Verse customers wearing a tad thin by this point.