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Silicon Image VastLane Mobile 5-pin HDMI standard
A few companies have demoed cellphone chips capable of HD output, but the fact is HDTV inputs weren't designed with mobile power requirements and form factors in mind. Apparently unsatisfied by the mini HDMI connector created as part of HDMI 1.3, Silicon Image went ahead with its own design, reducing HDMI's 19 pins to 5 while still retaining compatibility for full HD and digital audio in a package it calls Mobile High Definition Link (MHL). Cutting out any serial connector or further compression, the first MHL equipped products are the VastLane SiI9220, SiI9222 and SiI9290, which could reach cellphones near you as soon as the third quarter of this year.
Silicon Image readies two new PC-ready HDMI transmitters
Ok, so it's certainly not as flashy as Radiospire's wireless HDMI chipset, but Silicon Image has unveiled its latest pair of VastLane HDMI transmitters that reportedly provide "a single-chip solution for enabling PC manufacturers to drive digital output to PC monitors and HDTVs." Doubling up on the performance realized in the first generation of the product, the SiI1392-3 and SiI1932-3 can supposedly drive "any of the biggest, highest-resolution PC monitors" on the market, specifically mentioning Apple's own 30-inch behemoth. In a presumed attempt to get these sets onto motherboards of the future, the firm is releasing them at the same price point as their predecessors, which would hopefully lead to more "standard PCs" offering HD DVD / Blu-ray playback through HDMI. While specific pricing info wasn't available, Silicon Image has its new duo "available for testing," so it shouldn't be too long before these hit retail boards.
