IFA 2006: Daewoo plan for wireless high-def TV
A whole host of manufacturers have recently been teaming up with MetaLink, a company that specialise in wireless media streaming technology based on the draft 802.11n specification – the next generation, higher-bandwidth wi-fi that should have sufficient capacity to stream multiple HDTV around the home.
The latest to partner is Daewoo, as announced at IFA 2006 today. It’s next-generation set-top box (STB) will allow for just that – multi-streaming video around the home.
There’s not a huge amount of detail on Daewoo’s next-gen equipment yet, but other manufacturers to do the same thing include Philips and LG, so it’s something that is sure to gain ground as both HD and wireless comms move forward over the next few years.
I’ve written about the concern over standards compliance – but if things continue like this we may just end up with a de facto standard with everyone using MetaLink WLAN technology to power their connected homes and worlds (oops sorry that’s a Philips-ism). What I’m wary of is seeing a standard turn into a manufacturer tie-in (Microsoft anyone?) – hopefully that won’t happen despite 802.11n not due to be officially ratified until at least mid-2007.
MetaLink do seem to be the real winners here so far, but in an consumer electronics world currently dominated by cables, a decent wireless solution that’s as good as wired is a very welcome prospect.
Daewoo UK website
802.11 specifications explained at Wikipedia
