The Ultra Wideband Blog

UWB and the Telcos

Last week at the TelcoTV show in Dallas, it was clear that virtually every service provider in North America is looking for new solutions for delivering the last mile of connectivity in the home -- for voice, for data and for, in particular, high-definition video. It was also clear that these service providers wanted those solutions to require no new wires. 

Ultra wideband addresses that requirement.  A range of companies demonstrated solutions using UWB at the show.  The companies included Amedia, Complete Media Systems, Entone, Magnum Semiconductor, Siemens and UTStarcom.  And the solutions shown included residential gateways, set-top boxes and networked digital video recorders.  Read more.

YouTube and UWB

What these two things have in common? And what is Google thinking? $1.65 billion for YouTube, a company with an unproven business model along with what The Wall Street Journal terms “potentially huge censorship and copyright problems.”

Despite the challenges, this deal is a clear indicator of how much the world of video distribution is changing. So is the recent announcement by NBC to carve $750 million from its operating budget by 2008. Traditionally broadcast seems to be struggling, while new modes of accessing video content are taking off.

Through all of this turmoil – from broadcast to on-demand, over-the-air to online - one thing will most definitely remain constant, people’s desire to watch TV on their TVs. Sure, clicking on a video clip works great on a PC and 17-inch monitor. But taking that convenience to the 42-inch flat panel for Saturday night movie watching is a big challenge.

One of the missing pieces is UWB. It will be able to stream video from a set-top box, media gateway and Media Center PC to displays throughout the home. It will deliver incredible performance and convenience. And maybe, just maybe, it should be known from here on out as YouWB.

Wireless HDMI

One of the biggest hidden costs when purchasing a high-definition television is the cost of the required HDMI cabling. For even their shortest cables, some manufacturers charge more than $200.  And hiding that cable in a wall can run into the thousands of dollars. Tzero and Analog Devices have teamed up to address that problem with a reference design aimed at consumer electronics companies. It uses Tzero's ultra wideband technology and Analog Devices JPEG2000 compression chipset.That solution should help get a range of devices with wireless video capabilities rapidly to market.  Read the announcement.

Confusion, Not Competition

The press loves controversy, but the contrived battle between UWB and 802.11n – the next generation of the 802.11 wireless LAN – is just causing confusion. The simple fact of the matter is ultra wideband (UWB) and in particular, TZero’s UWB solution, for wireless video networking has no serious competition

Trying to use 802.11 to stream high-definition (HD) video is like trying to make a bird fly with a large boulder on its back. WiFi simply isn’t designed to ensure a HD video experience. WiFi’s narrowband, limited-spectrum technology suffers from fading, and normally works at very high (several percent) packet error rates. That’s fine for data, but if you’re video signal drops out every 10 to 15 seconds, how’s your television watching experience going to be?

UWB meets the link reliability and packet error rate requirements specified by consumer device makers Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony, ensuring a error-free video experience. WiFi solutions are subject to interference from a variety of common devices, including cordless phones, microwave ovens, and even other WiFi networks. Tzero’s UWB solution offers far greater resistance to in-band interference even when the interferer is as much as 10 times stronger than the ultra wideband signal. Finally, 802.11n does not provide real Quality of Service (QoS) or guaranteed bandwidth allocation because of the need to support legacy devices, while UWB can integrate a full video-capable QoS as specified by the WiMedia Alliance.

There may be competition and perhaps controversy as more vendors adopt UWB. But 802.11 will stay where it belongs – a data networking solution.

Let me know what you think – will UWB become the standard for the home entertainment network?

Welcome to the UWB Blog

"Ultra Wideband will either be the beginning of a new age of communication or the end of an old one, and probably both."

That prescient statement, made by technology columnist Robert X. Cringely, is about to come true. The wireless generation has come of age, and the emergence of high-definition video and true market-ready ultra wideband solutions is gong to change the way people get entertained, communicate and share information.  It will eliminate the hassles of installing and connecting a broad range of devices.  And it will stimulate innovation in a range of industries.

This blog is designed as a place to share information about ultra wideband solutions and trends. It's a place for everyone from professional product designers to pure technology enthusiasts.  Here, you'll find information about the latest developments, trends, real world demonstrations, and thought provoking commentary from industry experts like Tzero founder and CTO Rajeev Krishnamoorthy.

Cut loose from the wired world and join the community of innovators and influencers that is shaping the future of home entertainment!