News

10 May 2010

 

SiBEAM launches first dual-mode WirelessHD/WiGig RF transceiver and development kit

Fabless semiconductor firm SiBEAM Inc of Sunnyvale, CA, USA, which develops millimeter-wave (mmWave) solutions and high-speed wireless communications platforms, has announced availability of what it claims is the first WirelessHD/WiGig solution, the SB8110 WirelessHD/WiGig RF transceiver and the associated SK8100 development kit. Based on both the WirelessHD and WiGig standards, the SB8110 is available now and the SK8100 kit will be available in June.

The WirelessHD Consortium was formed in 2005 as the first 60GHz standards organization for wireless A/V applications in consumer electronics, personal computing and mobile devices, and is now a part of the IEEE 802.15.3c standard. As new 60GHz specifications have recently entered the market, SiBEAM says that it has evaluated and assessed the 60GHz market opportunity as a member of the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) Alliance and WirelessHD, and, as a result, has developed products to encourage market adoption and gauge demand for 60GHz in different wireless applications.

SiBEAM has been shipping 60GHz chipsets based on the WirelessHD standard since 2008. Its semiconductor systems provide what is claimed to be the only available option to deliver lossless, uncompressed multi-gigabit wireless high-definition video, audio and data. Consumer electronics products from Panasonic, LG Electronics, Best Buy’s Rocketfish brand, Sony, Gefen, and Cables To Go have been shipping over the last year.

“There are three key wireless applications: wireless local area networking (WLAN) using Wi-Fi, wireless personal area networking (WPAN) using Bluetooth, and wireless video area networking (WVAN) using WirelessHD,” says CEO John LeMoncheck. “Upon review of the WiGig specification, we believe that WirelessHD will continue to provide the best solution for WVAN. As for other application areas, WiGig can potentially serve as a good platform for support of data and WLAN applications,” he adds.

“Membership in these organizations provides SiBEAM with the necessary tools to encourage market growth of 60GHz solutions while delivering the optimal user wireless experience in a variety of devices and applications,” says LeMoncheck.

The SB8110 WirelessHD/WiGig RF transceiver supports both single-carrier and OFDM modulation schemes and can be used to create either a WirelessHD-only, WiGig-only or dual-mode WirelessHD/WiGig product. The SK8100 development kit includes the SB8110 WiGig RF transceiver and all supporting system and IC documentation.

See related item:

SiBEAM secures $36.5m in Series D funding

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