802.11n Wi-Fi technology will dominate the Wireless HD video market, at least for the next several years, says analyst In-Stat. Three other technologies are competing in this space: Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI); WirelessHD, and Ultrawideband (UWB). However, the ubiquity of Wi-Fi technology is proving difficult to overcome for the competitors.
“The installed base of Wi-Fi is immense, and effectively includes all mobile PCs, many mobile phones and a wide variety of CE devices,”says the company’s Brian O’Rourke. “The primary drawback to 802.11n is expense, since it requires codec technology on both ends to transmit HD video. Neither of its primary competitors, WHDI and WirelessHD, requires codecs.”
The company also reports the following:
- UWB will not be a major factor in the consumer electronics market. Many chip companies are leaving the market in late 2008 and 2009;
- Nearly 24 million digital TVs will ship with some type of Wireless HD video technology in 2013;
- WHDI and WirelessHD are being promoted by start-ups, but they are new, expensive and power-hungry, which is generally not a recipe for quick market success;
- WHDI and WirelessHD will see a slow start, with fewer than 8 million devices with those technologies shipped in 2013.
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