Design Article
netHD Wirlessly Tramsits 1080p/60 HD Signals
Gregory Quirk
5/13/2009 11:32 AM EDT
This year there will be multiple different solution to wirelessly
stream video and audio content from components, such as DVRs, gaming
systems, DVD and Blu-Ray players, to televisions sets, often in
different rooms. The concept for the solutions is the same, but the
methodology is quite different.
Cavium, for example, uses existing standards to transmit the information, which they call Networked High Definition (netHD). The basic way it works is to take a compressed H.264 signal and send it over a WLAN 802.11n, MoCA (coax), HPNA, Ethernet or Powerline connection to deliver 1080p/60 HD video around the home to multiple displays with less than 2ms latency.
An image representation can be found here.
This solution relies on existing infrastructure, or creating a dedicated infrastructure, for the signal. If it uses an existing infrastructure the technology is able to determine the highest level signal quality that it can transmit at and matches that. Given that the access points should not be moving there should be a fairly stable bandwidth, but if there is a slow down the signal can be slowed creating a glitch for a few frames, but nothing that should be too noticeable.
Other solutions seem to be designed to either drop bits to be able to fit within the given bandwidth, or use a proprietary solution to increase the amount of bandwidth available. This difference can, potentially, create either signal quality issues or an increase in price for consumers. The fact that Cavium is using existing standards could offer it more flexibility as technology improves without requiring a completely new system to take advantage of the improvements, such as 1080p/120 or 10 bit color.
The current chip that is being designed, and is expected to be implemented in solution in the Q3 or Q4 2009 timeframe is capable of transmitting up to four simultaneous encodes.
There is little doubt that wireless transmission of HD signals is going to be a growth area in the near future. However, with multiple solutions it is going to cause a fair amount of confusion with consumers, particularly when the solutions are integrated into the products, like television sets. When solutions become available that will provide the ultimate test by being able to compare the video and audio quality, as well as the final price.
Cavium, for example, uses existing standards to transmit the information, which they call Networked High Definition (netHD). The basic way it works is to take a compressed H.264 signal and send it over a WLAN 802.11n, MoCA (coax), HPNA, Ethernet or Powerline connection to deliver 1080p/60 HD video around the home to multiple displays with less than 2ms latency.
An image representation can be found here.
This solution relies on existing infrastructure, or creating a dedicated infrastructure, for the signal. If it uses an existing infrastructure the technology is able to determine the highest level signal quality that it can transmit at and matches that. Given that the access points should not be moving there should be a fairly stable bandwidth, but if there is a slow down the signal can be slowed creating a glitch for a few frames, but nothing that should be too noticeable.
Other solutions seem to be designed to either drop bits to be able to fit within the given bandwidth, or use a proprietary solution to increase the amount of bandwidth available. This difference can, potentially, create either signal quality issues or an increase in price for consumers. The fact that Cavium is using existing standards could offer it more flexibility as technology improves without requiring a completely new system to take advantage of the improvements, such as 1080p/120 or 10 bit color.
The current chip that is being designed, and is expected to be implemented in solution in the Q3 or Q4 2009 timeframe is capable of transmitting up to four simultaneous encodes.
There is little doubt that wireless transmission of HD signals is going to be a growth area in the near future. However, with multiple solutions it is going to cause a fair amount of confusion with consumers, particularly when the solutions are integrated into the products, like television sets. When solutions become available that will provide the ultimate test by being able to compare the video and audio quality, as well as the final price.
Navigate to related information
