Product category:
Communications ICs (Wireless)
News Release from: Freescale Semiconductor | Subject: UWB chipset
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 23 June 2005
HDTV cuts the wires with ultrawideband
radio
Haier Corp has demonstrated a novel LCD high definition TV and digital media server that use Freescale's ultrawideband technology to broadcast HD video and audio streams.
Haier Corp and Freescale Semiconductor have achieved a critical milestone for wireless home entertainment systems and showcased the first ultrawideband (UWB)-enabled LCD high definition television (HDTV) and digital media server at the Freescale Technology Forum Leveraging UWB, Freescale Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michel Mayer and Haier Executive Vice President Shariff Kan broadcasted HD video and audio streams wirelessly from a digital media server to Haier's 37in HDTV located across the stage
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 9 Jun 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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"Freescale's ultrawideband solution provides the wireless experience our customers desire", said Yu Zi Da, Vice President of Haier.
"UWB gives consumers the freedom to place the television anywhere they would like in the room, without requiring a physical connection to a set-top box, digital video recorder or media server".
"We have worked closely with Freescale over the past two years on integrating UWB and look forward to continuing this collaboration with a variety of consumer products".
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Haier, one of the largest Chinese consumer electronics manufacturers, will package the digital media server and HDTV in a complete wireless solution and make it available to Chinese consumers later this year and to US consumers by 2006.
"This first UWB-enabled consumer product marks the beginning of great wireless experiences for consumers", said Franz Fink, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Freescale's Wireless and Mobile Systems Group.
"UWB is now a proven technology designed to enhance user experiences by providing a wireless connection with the speed and quality they demand".
Freescale's UWB technology is capable of transferring multiple high definition (HD) or MPEG2 movie streams - up to 110Mbit/s - at distances up to 20m, enabling significant freedom in the placement of home theatre equipment.
Current wireless video solutions do not have the bandwidth to accommodate HD or MPEG2 streams, which require a minimum of 20Mbit/s each.
Indeed, current Wi-Fi solutions are only capable of broadcasting standard definition (SD) video streams at 5-7Mbit/s.
The television and digital media server are expected to be available in retail outlets in Q4 2005 throughout China.
Although approved for use in the USA, Haier is initially targeting this product for the Chinese market, leveraging a regulatory licence granted by the Chinese Government.
Haier is currently developing UWB-enabled products for distribution in other regions, including the USA, in 2006.
The Haier television is a 37in, liquid crystal display (LCD) HDTV with 1080i resolution.
It supports both standard definition and high definition video and uses a component/DVI interface.
The Freescale UWB antenna is embedded inside the television and is not visible to the user.
No additional equipment is required and consumers need only a power source for the actual television.
The digital media server is the size of a standard digital video device (DVD) player but includes personal video player (PVR) functionality, a DVD playback capability and a tuner, as well as the Freescale UWB solution to wirelessly stream media to the HDTV.
The digital media server can be placed as far away as 20m from the actual HDTV, providing considerable freedom in home theatre configuration.
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