Television broadcasters aren’t the only ones who have to grapple with compromises when weighing HD options and DTV realities.
Viewers also face a variety of decisions about HD display alternatives, audio components and receivers and a number of trade-off in terms of dollars spent and performance achieved. However, no HD compromise may be greater than the bargaining that goes on between spouses. Many of the concrete considerations surround the issue of where the big new HDTV will go and the impact of the cabling that must be run on home décor.
An announcement from ViXS Systems and Maxim Integrated Products last week may ameliorate at least some of those issues. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the companies announced a partnership to deliver an RF video solution to help OEM and ODM customers, such as LCD and plasma HDTV manufacturers, front projector makers, and developers of media center PCs, personal video recorders and DVD recorders to do away with unsightly, potentially deal-killing cabling.
Maxim's MAX2829 single chip 802.11a/b/g RF transceiver operates over world-band frequencies of 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz and 4.9GHz to 5.9GHz. Its low-noise and high-linearity receiver and transmitter design help to increase range and throughput performance for wireless TVs. The MAX2829 fully supports ViXS' recently announced Matrix II 802.11 a/b/g baseband/MAC chip and the Matrix II-based WaveTV wireless reference design. Matrix II is the first single-chip processor to provide dual-stream, HD wireless video distribution. Maxim is also collaborating with ViXS to develop a mini-PCI module reference design. In the give and take between spouses over the decision to purchase an HDTV for the home, a wireless HD transceiver is undoubtedly a welcomed development for husbands wanting a big-screen experience.
For more information, visit www.maxim-ic.com and www.vixs.com.
