The Channel Wire

July 23, 2008

Sony and Samsung are ready to give high definition television an upgrade. The two electronics giants have come together to form a consortium to provide high definition television to consumers wirelessly. Sony and Samsung, along with Motorola, Sharp and Hitachi announced their plan to develop an industry standard technology around from Amimon Ltd of Israel. The technology is called Wireless Home Digital Interface, or WHDI.

Wireless streaming high definition is difficult for electronics manufacturers to produce because the signal has to be compressed for transmission in order to be broadcast. This compression often results in loss of picture quality on the screen. However, Amimon's foray into the field has shown enough promise that major manufacturers feel confident using it as the basis of their initiative, according to the Associated Press.

Consumers who currently have a tangle of wires running from the television to a blu ray player to a gaming console can look forward to having the jumble reduced. Because WHDI transmits wirelessly, that mess might soon go away.

Amimon's chips for WHDI get around compression problems by separating the important parts of transmitted data from less important parts, AP reports. By focusing on the things that are crucial to the viewing experience -- the components of the video image -- from the less important ones -- color variations -- the signal degrades less over distances than previously.

Televisions with Amimon's chips are expected to hit store sometime next year and will costs customers approximately $100 more than before.

Consumers who think wireless HD television is the next step in the evolution of TVs have something to look forward to. The consortium of major manufacturers means that the technology will come along and likely drop in price as it matures, allowing couch potatoes everywhere to eliminate a nest of wires while still enjoying clear images.