Prepare for Wireless HD transmission

ACCORDING TO executives from SiBeam, a video chip design company, the Wireless HD spec is close to release and should see the harsh light of day in a month or so.

Wireless HD, which could amusingly be shortened to WiHD, or wired, if you were feeling creative, is designed to, well, transmit an HD video and audio signal over the air.

Operating in the 60GHz bandwidth spectrum, SiBeam claims to have a demonstration up and running of a 1080p video signal being transmitted over 10 metres with the software.

A secondary signal is part of the WiHD standard and allows for 'discoverability' of compatible hardware, much like the Bluetooth functionality.

The spec was originally due out a couple of months ago but, like so many wireless implementations such as Wireless USB and WiMax, the project has been delayed.

Consumer electronics manufacturers are looking for a way to avoid having to pay the four cents per port tax on HDMI, and WiHD could be one of them. Stay tuned to see if turns out to be a Wi-nner or a Whi-ner. µ