UWB is dead! Long live... UWB!
by Darren Murph 
posted Mar 16th 2009 at 2:12PM
WiMedia posts
CoAir: world's first UWB chipset with wireless, coax and gigabit Ethernet
by Darren Murph posted Jun 24th 2008 at 8:47AM
Sigma Designs has been dabbling in wireless HD technologies for eons, so we aren't going to get too excited until we see this here system-on-chip (SoC) actually hit some products that we care about. Still, the CoAir is a fairly sweet concept, wrapping integrated wireless, coax and gigabit Ethernet capabilities into one single chip aimed at whole home networking. Put simply (or as simply as possible), this chip is the world's first to "simultaneously deliver multiple independent streams of video and data over coax cable, Ethernet cable and wirelessly without compromising quality of service and throughput." Based on the WiMedia standard, it can reach speeds of up to 480Mbps with UWB (ultra-wideband) wireless streaming, and room-to-room linkage via UWB-over-coax can peg those same rates. What we have here is a great basis for building a whole home server on, but until said device emerges and performs flawlessly, we'll just smile and carry on.Hitachi's Ultra Thin LCD lineup to boast Tzero's UWB technology
by Darren Murph posted Feb 19th 2008 at 3:06PM
Fujitsu, Sigma Designs collaborate on Wireless HDAV
by Darren Murph posted Jan 2nd 2008 at 11:39PM
Yeah, we've certainly seen Sigma Designs pick up partners for WiMedia-based UWB HD streaming before, but this go 'round it's managed to solicit the help of Fujitsu. Apparently, the duo is planning to showcase its wireless HDAV technology at CES, which was designed to transport HD content over ultra-wideband and rely on Fujitsu's H.264-compliant codec. The setup can purportedly transmit signals at distances of up to ten meters, and will combine Fujitsu's MB86H51 codec with Sigma Designs' SMP8634 Secure Media Processor decoder and UWB Windeo chipset. Granted, we've witnessed similar songs / dances before, but here's to hoping one of these wireless concoctions actually takes off in 2008.Tzero's WiMedia-based ZeroWire uses UWB for HD streaming
by Darren Murph posted Jun 12th 2007 at 5:52AM
While Tzero has been at the forefront of ultra wideband technology for some time, the firm is upping the stakes even higher with its WiMedia-based TZC7200 ZeroWire chipset. The UWB semiconductor solution was designed to deliver "real-time high-definition video" either wirelessly or over cabling, and can even open new doors for "distributing entertainment content throughout the entire home using existing coax." Reportedly, this device can pipe multiple streams of HD video through your average cable network at the tune of 480Mbps, and it boasts application integration including IP, UDP, TCP/IP, multicast, and unicast. Notably, ZeroWire is "comprised of both a Radio Frequency IC (RFIC) as well as a baseband and media access control system-on-chip," and while the chipset is listed is being available immediately, you'll need to contact Tzero yourself to fetch the pricing details.Taiyo Yuden and Sigma Designs showcase WiMedia-based UWB HD streaming
by Darren Murph posted Jan 9th 2007 at 4:47AM
If you're looking to pick up any UWB device to stream high definition video / audio around your crib anytime soon, chances are it might have a little Taiyo Yuden and Sigma Designs beneath the shell. The two firms are showcasing a WiMedia Alliance-based UWB wireless HD streaming solution here at CES, which highlights "Taiyo Yuden's antenna array on its mini-PCI reference design module with Sigma Designs' Windeo chipset." The unique three-antenna array offered on Yuden's solution supposedly offers up extended range possibilities, and fully supports Sigma's "Intelligent Array Radio" technology. Unfortunately there's no word on any end product uses just yet, nor any expected dates for this newfangled system to hit the mainstream, but with the ginormous pressures being felt around here to get wireless HD streaming out to consumer, we're sure it's pretty high up there on each company's priority list.WiMedia and Mercedes to demo in-vehicle, HD streaming over UWB
by Thomas Ricker posted Jan 4th 2007 at 8:31AM
In what the WiMedia Alliance calls a "first of its kind demonstration," DaimlerChrysler Research will roll-out a Mercedes-Benz R500 SUV at CES next week all dolled up in Intel's and Alereon's Ultrawideband (UWB) USB technology. The demonstration will pump high-definition video from a handheld mobile device to an array of factory installed headrest monitors for the middle and third row passengers. Great, let's hope they do better that we did with the Belkin's CableFree USB Hub which wasn't quite up to the task of streaming HD with a paltry 6.35Mbps measured. But Belkin's box packs Freescale's flavor of UWB -- this is WiMedia kids, the favored child of the Bluetooth SIG. So let's hope they can demonstrate something a bit closer to the "480Mbps and beyond" transfer speeds they like to boast about. You know, so your kids can someday sit zombied in the backseat watching their videos on a 7.1-inch, 1080p display just as the Good Lorf intended.
