Wi-Fi and UWB to play leapfrog in home entertainment

14 July 2004 News

Technologies for networking home entertainment equipment will compete for dominance over the next five years, but ultimately Wi-Fi will use 802.11n to continue its early lead, according to a new study by ABI Research. The report identifies three candidates for wireless home entertainment networking: powerline networking, Wi-Fi (802.11x) and ultra wide band (UWB). The research group believes that the real contest will be between Wi-Fi and UWB.

Phil Solis, ABI Research senior analyst, points out that although the official data transmission rate of the 802.11a and 802.11g protocols is 54 Mbps, the actual throughput is only about half that, due to the communications overhead required.

The UWB standard will offer theoretical speeds up to 480 Mbps, he says. However, the first generation of UWB chipsets coming off the assembly lines in 2005 and into actual equipment in 2006-2007, will only offer 100-200 Mbps, and that does not take the required overhead into account. Meanwhile the standard for the next member of the 802.11 family - 802.11n - will have been ratified. The result?

"Wi-Fi will continue to work its way into home entertainment networking, and will become entrenched," says Solis. "By the time UWB comes out - or just a little later - 802.11n solutions will start to appear."

That may spell trouble for UWB, because 802.11n will offer actual throughput of 100 Mbps, after wireless overhead is accounted for - enough for multiple high-definition video streams.

"In the end," concludes Solis, "UWB will wind up being faster, and the chipsets will be cheaper. But if it is going to compete with Wi-Fi in home entertainment networking, it will probably be in non-realtime data transfer, such as moving video from a camera or camcorder to a PC, where distance is not an issue."

www.abiresearch.com

Further reading:

Electronic News Digest
News
A brief synopsis of current global news relating to the electronic engineering fields with regards to company finances, general company news, and engineering technologies.

Read more...

---

Jemstech to produce PCB assemblies for Kamstrup
Jemstech News
Jemstech is pleased to announce that they have successfully concluded a supplier agreement with Kamstrup A/S in Denmark, a leading supplier of intelligent metering solutions in the global market.

Read more...

---

New appointments at Hiconnex
Hiconnex News
Hiconnex, a leading provider of electronic components and solutions, has announced key appointments to support its continued growth and commitments to its clients.

Read more...

---

FoundriesFactory service more affordable for smaller OEMs
News
Foundries.io has announced a new, tiered pricing scheme which reduces the cost of its highly regarded FoundriesFactory service for OEMs in the development phase of a new edge AI or Linux OS-based product.

Read more...

---

DMASS 2024 results
News
The semiconductor business faced a severe downturn, with a 31,9% decrease compared to 2023 and a 30,3% drop in Q4 2024 compared to the same period last year.

Read more...

---

Using satellite comms to end copper theft
News
According to Transnet COO Solly Letsoalo, the scourge of copper theft could be a thing of the past by eliminating the use of copper cabling and switching to a satellite communication system.

Read more...

---

Strategic merger: Etion Create and Nanoteq
Etion Create News
Reunert has announced the successful merger of two business units within the Applied Electronics Segment, namely Etion Create and Nanoteq, effective 1 October 2024.

Read more...

---

Securex South Africa 2025
Specialised Exhibitions News
Securex South Africa 2025 is co-located with A-OSH EXPO, Facilities Management Expo, and Firexpo to provide a time-saver for visitors looking for holistic solutions for their facilities.

Read more...

---

Chinese AI causes Silicon Valley stocks to tumble
News
Many stocks took a downward spike, with Nvidia being the hardest hit, losing 16,9% after one day’s trading.

Read more...

---

Silicon Labs 4th quarter results
News
Silicon Labs has reported financial results for the fourth quarter with highlights including a total revenue of $166 million and Home & Life revenue up 11% to $78 million.

Read more...

---