4.4 Wireless solutions - Wireless HD

Wireless HD is the first specification aiming to define an interface for the transmission of high definition uncompressed video within the home environment. Its main characteristics are:

• Uncompressed HD video, audio and control data transmission.
• Operation in the unlicensed 60 GHz band.
• Beam forming and smart antenna technologies to overcome the intrinsic limitations of 60 GHz.
• Maximum range around 10 meters.
• Rates up to 4 Gbps, though the limitation of the selected technology would be set around 25 Gbps.
• Error protection, framing and timing control techniques.
• Secure communications with DTCP (Digital Transmission Content Protection).
• Intelligent device control system, for easy device discovery and control within the wireless video area network (WVAN).

This technology is backed by the most important consumer electronics device manufacturers: Intel, LG, Panasonic, NEC, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Broadcom, Sibeam… Nevertheless, Sony and Samsung have recently joined the group of interest for the WHDI standardization.

Wireless HD shows higher data rates, implements content protection techniques and has the support of major CE manufacturers. However, it has the important drawback of operating in the 60 GHz unlicensed band, what significantly limits its maximum range.

Wireless HD consists of one Coordinator and zero or more Stations. The Coordinator is

normally, but not always, a device that is a sink for audio or video data, e.g., a display,

but also potentially a media storage device like a PVR. A Station, on the other hand, is a

device that either has media that it can source and/or sink, potentially at the same time.

The device that is the Coordinator also acts as a Station in the wireless network. An example is illustrated in the following figure.

Wireless HD Inhome Scenary.

In the following table, WHDI and Wireless HD characteristics are compared:

In short, WHDI and Wireless HD are competing for CE manufacturers sector. Although WHDI is newer technology, it has a slight advantage over Wireless HD.