New wireless chipset to mirror mobile content on TV

Come October, a new third-generation, 60 giga hertz (GHz) chipset will change the way consumers view high-definition (HD) content and will move the HD experience of mobile devices to the big screen of the television, wirelessly.

Nasdaq-listed Silicon Image Inc, a provider of wireless and wired high-definition (HD) connectivity solutions for consumer electronics, mobile and PC markets, has developed GameChanger, a wirelessHD 60-GHz chipset that supports interactive wireless HD video and audio transmission between portable devices and mobile HD link-enabled displays and projectors.

Silicon Image has demonstrated the GameChanger reference designs, optimised for seamless integration into OEM (original equipment manufacturer) mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, at the 2012 Mobile World Congress held recently in Barcelona, Spain. “This third-generation silicon is just coming in right now and we will be sampling it in Q2 of the current calendar. The product will be commercially launched for tablets and smartphones in the fourth quarter of this year,” says Eric Almgren, vice-president (intellectual property business group), Silicon Image.

The WirelessHD 60GHz technology came into Silicon Image’s fold from Sibeam, which it acquired for $25.5 million in April last year. The company has so far invested $200 million (approximately Rs 1,000 crore), including the $120 million that Sibeam had raised earlier, in developing several generations to get the technology right.

Developed at Silicon Image’s US headquarters Sunnyvale, with contributions coming in from its Hyderabad and Shanghai R&D centres, the WirelessHD 60GHz technology enables users to wirelessly view all of their audio-video content, including games and interactive content, on their tablet or smartphone.

“With 60GHz band being very wide, it can carry a lot of data. Because of the nature of the 60GHz communication, it is limited to an in-room type of link. With that, you could essentially have any content on your mobile phone or tablet that you could walk into a room with and stream it over on a larger display with virtually zero latency,” explains Rashid Osmani, vice-president (worldwide engineering) of Silicon Image.