WHDI demos 3D and lays out standard roadmap

SANTA CLARA, USA: WHDI LLC, the organization responsible for managing and licensing the WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) standard, has announced the technical features that will be included in upcoming versions of the WHDI specification.

Significantly, WHDI LLC will release a WHDI 3D specification update that will document WHDI support for all 3D formats required by the HDMI 1.4a specification. This release is targeted for Q4 2010.

To showcase the 3D capabilities, AMIMON Inc., the leading WHDI technology provider, demonstrated 3D HDTV using the current release of the WHDI technology at the Computex show last week in Taipei, Taiwan.

Following the 3D update, the next version of the WHDI standard, 'WHDI 2.0,' will include the following:

* Full 3D support (in addition to all HDMI 1.4a required 3D modes, WHDI will support the next generation 1080p 60Hzx2 3D format).
* Support for the next generation 2Kx4K HD format with four times the resolution of 1080p (4,096 x 2,160 pixels).
* WHDI-Wi-Fi integration and same channel co-existence.
* Mobile device integration through reduced power consumption and footprint.

The WHDI 2.0 specification is targeted for release in Q2 of 2011.

WHDI is the dominant wireless video standard in the market. A recent industry report from West Technology Research Solutions (WTRS), a leading wireless industry analyst, stated that WHDI technology will grow from nearly 70 percent of the 2010 market share for wireless video products to over 75% of the 2015 market. This contrasts sharply with other technologies that could be used for wireless video such as WiDi, WirelessHD and WiGig, where WTRS projects marginal uptake in the wireless video market.

“The requirements for HD video communications differ from those of standard data communications. AMIMON's video-modem technology, the basis for the WHDI standard, is specifically optimized for high quality wireless video communications between source and display,” said George West, president of WTRS.

“WHDI’s expansion into PC and mobile devices builds on its strong wireless HDTV foundation. WHDI maximizes the value of content on mobile and PC devices by enabling not just the delivery of stored video, but also game play and interactive applications. We see a healthy current uptake for the WHDI technology and our forecasts indicate a robust growth in market share.”

“WHDI will continue to evolve to enable products to bring the latest technologies and the highest quality home entertainment experience to the consumer,” said Leslie Chard, president of WHDI LLC. “WHDI is the only standard that combines the low latency required for gaming and other interactive applications with multi-room distribution.”

WHDI is the leading global standard for the wireless distribution of HD (full 1080p/60Hz) video, enabling the ability to connect HD sources (STBs, Blu-ray players, PCs, mobile devices, game players, etc.) to TVs throughout and across the home.

The WHDI standard enables an HD wireless ecosystem for service providers, CE manufacturers and consumers. With WHDI, consumers can wirelessly connect all of their CE devices: WHDI delivers wireless PC and mobile phone to TV connectivity, and wireless whole home/multi-room DVRs and media centers.

The WHDI specification currently supports a high-quality, wireless link which can deliver uncompressed 1080p/60Hz in a 40MHz channel in the 5GHz unlicensed band, conforming to worldwide 5GHz spectrum regulations. Range is beyond 100 feet, through walls, and latency is less than one millisecond. WHDI supports HDCP revision 2.0, providing superior security and digital content protection.