Marguerite Reardon at ZDNet:
Airgo Networks, which makes Wi-Fi chips, announced Tuesday that Caton Overseas and STMicroelectronics will use its latest generation of wireless technology to distribute video over Wi-Fi links throughout the home. Caton is a Chinese maker of set-top boxes for satellite and cable TV providers in Asia and Europe, and STMicroelectronics provides chips to set-top box manufacturers such as Siemens and Cisco Systems’ Scientific Atlanta.
Airgo has already been supplying wireless routing companies such as Linksys with high-performing Wi-Fi chips using a technology called MIMO or multiple input, multiple output, which improves Wi-Fi’s range and throughput. MIMO is currently the primary basis for next-generation Wi-Fi standard 802.11n.
Now Airgo says it has tweaked its MIMO technology to improve the throughput, range and reliability of the signal enough to deliver high-quality video. Airgo’s next-generation chips, called True MIMO Gen3, provided transmission speeds up to 240mbps when tested in Airgo’s 6,000-square-foot model home, said Dave Borison, director of marketing for Airgo. This speed is enough to transmit three high-definition TV channels, he said.
The good news is that you don’t have to run wires, but I wonder about interference if everyone has a similar setup. How many folks in your neighborhood use anything but the default channel for their Wi-Fi setups?
