Philips focuses on how interoperability, content sharing drive CE devices!

Nataraj Kumar, PIC.

Recently, I had the pleasure of interacting with Nataraj Kumar, director, Consumer Lifestyle, Philips Innovation Campus (PIC), where we discussed things such as Philips technology in interoperability, and the role of this technology in the Philips development ecosystem.

Content sharing platform and consumer behaviour are two key areas of focus for the Dutch electronics giant, Philips. As you know, connectivity and interoperability, as well as certification, play key roles in the overall make up of CE devices as well. To ensure that all devices work smoothly, consumer electronics manufacturers have to be very careful regarding testing and interoperability issues.

Last month, Philips had organized the Philips Connectivity Plugfest-02 at the Philips Innovation Campus in Bangalore, India. It attracted 31 companies who showcased 90 devices focusing on connectivity technologies — HDMI, USB, Bluetooth and DLNA.

As you can see, the focus was on content sharing over multiple devices — all of whom need to operate and function in unison — and that’s where the interoperability factor comes in!

In fact, more than 70 percent of the companies participating in the Plugfest-02 focused on HDMI. According to Nataraj Kumar, there were 42 products related to HDMI, while there were 23 products focused on USB. Bluetooth had 17 products and there were four related to DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance).

In contrast, the Philips Connectivity Plugfest-01, held in June 2009 at the same venue, had attracted 15 companies who showcased 40 devices focusing on technologies such as Bluetooth, HDMI and DLNA!

Strong current focus on HDMI

Obviously, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) has been gaining in importance. Now, with HDMI 1.4 doing the rounds, the interest naturally has to be on the higher side. HDMI 1.4a, released on March 4, 2010, and adds two additional mandatory 3D formats for broadcast content, which was deferred with HDMI 1.4 in order to see the direction of the 3D broadcast market. It has also defined the mandatory 3D formats for broadcast, game, and movie content, respectively.

As per Nataraj Kumar, HDMI 1.4 supports the audio return channel, provides 3D support, as well as an HDMI Ethernet channel.

Elaborating on the Plugfest-02, he said that there were a range of CE devices, such as TV sets, graphic cards, active HDMI cables, control boxes, products that get into DVD players, etc.

He said: “We made a matrix of every company, and presented each company 45 minutes. Within that period, each company had to pick up its product — or source — and carry it to a synchronization device, which receives and displays data. Then they evaluated a variety of test cases that were already pre-defined by Philips.”

Most of the participating companies at Plugfest-02 were able to test successfully for interoperability and perhaps, also identify problems that could be later resolved.

Just how well is Philips geared up for HDMI is visible from its well equipped Interoperability and Certification Center (ICC) lab (sorry folks, no pictures).

The Philips’ ICC lab has the facility to handle HDMI 1.4 compliance testing. It also offers HDMI 1,4 CEC compliance testing, HDMI HDCP compliance testing, and HDMI and HDMI CEC interoperability testing.

The ICC lab offers interoperability testing with CE devices for Bluetooth, as well as Bluetooth profile testing. For USB, it offers USB interoperability testing, while for DLNA, it offers DLNA interoperability testing for 1.0 and 1.5, respectively. The lab offers RF4CE (radio frequency for consumer electronics) interoperability testing as well.

It must be mentioned here that the Bangalore ICC lab is a unique center within Philips. It ensures the certification and interoperability of Philips’ products before their commercial launch. This center is already involved in the design and development of several products.

Now, I couldn’t find any company showcasing WHDI (wireless home digital interface) capabilities. Perhaps, the technology is still very new! And what about Philips’ interest in this technology?

On inquiring, Nataraj Kumar said that Philips is exploring opportunities as to what the WHDI standard can do for home entertainment. Should Philips participate in this specification, it would possibly look into WHDI’s standardization process as well.

Top 10 telecom predictions for 2010!

Well, well, well! We are close to the end of 2009! Nearly a year ago, I’d written about the top 10 telecom trends for 2009! Wonders of wonders — they’ve been bang on! Here’s what they were, according to me!

Top 10 predictions for 2009

1. WiMAX vs. LTE — when will this debate get over and done with?

2. Growth of 3G services in places where it hasn’t taken off or started!

3. IPTV — well, it needs to catch up and grow substantially.

4. More of GPS enabled devices as mobile navigation attempts to grow stronger.

5. Near field communications. A report elsewhere on the web talks also about NFC phones starting to roll out in Taiwan.

6. Further adoption of femtocells… hope the Forum does much, much more in 2009.

7. Embedded Internet devices.

8. Carrier Ethernet should gain steam.

9. More of mobile VAS and mobile Web

10. More of mobile OS wars.

What’s up for 2010? Top predictions

1. For one I don’t see anything radical happening in 2010. However, I must mention a particular technology — xMAX — a new technology that bypasses the traditional cell phone networks to bring lower calling costs to the market. This disruptive technology is likely to shake things up a bit! So, for 2010, I have hopes to see xMAX being more in the news.

2. Is there room to accommodate WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) specification? It can be a trend, but well, the adoption would be more in the consumer electronics segment. Nevertheless, these are two new technologies I’ve heard about lately.

3. Yes, 4G/LTE has also been introduced by TeliaSonera — which claims to be the first in the world to do so. 2010 could well be its year.

4. Next, Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig), the organization advancing the adoption and widespread use of 60 GHz wireless technology worldwide, announced the completion of its unified wireless specification. Will it start to show steam in 2010? Remains to be seen!

5. There’s also the VoLGA (Voice over LTE via Generic Access). In fact, Kineto recently announced the industry’s first VoLGA access network controller.

So, I have five new things to report. If you have others, please share, and let’s try and see where 2010 will be headed.

The rest of the predictions (or trends) will likely a mixture and carryover of those in 2009 — the industry has been so boring this year! All I’ve heard is about mobile applications and application stores. Wonder what’s happened to good, old fashioned telecom stuff!

Right, Ive been requested  to list five other trends… Are they trends or facts? You decide!

6. More smartphones and mobile applications; also wireless netbooks. Am sure, you’ve heard of Intel’s announcement of next-generation Atom platform. If not, see the next post. Intel reportedly has been working closely with mobile operators and modem vendors to advance 3G capabilities in netbooks in established and emerging markets.

7. More growth of 3G services. And, I hope it finally sees the light of the day in India!

8. Perhaps,  more mobile application stores and integration of mobile social networking with other applications, including m-commerce, as Juniper Research also says.

9. NFC phones should start making an appearance.

10. More LTE networks (and also, WiMAX)… the debate continues!

What WHDI 1.0 can do for consumer electronics!

Here’s a brilliant technological development that should interest everyone associated with electronics!

WHDI LLC today announced the completion and availability of WHDI (Wireless Home Digital Interface) specification. Joe Kilmer at WHDI, Santa Clara, shared this information with me. Many thanks Joe!

What does WHDI do? Well, it enables full 1080p/60Hz HD with Deep Color at a distance of 100 feet and through walls. No other wireless standard combines this level of quality and robustness with the ease of multi-room wireless. WHDI thus enables consumers to build a wireless HD network in the home to take advantage of the latest content and interactive services.

A leading standard for wireless, multi-room distribution of HD video, WHDI will enable manufacturers to deliver higher value added devices that can connect the increasing number of HD sources (CE, PC and mobile devices) to TVs around the home.

By purchasing products featuring the WHDI logo, consumers will be able to use devices from different manufacturers that will simply and directly connect to one another and deliver HD content and services without the need for complicated and expensive wiring.

What’s so great about WHDI 1.0?
According to Joe Kilmer, WHDI enables consumers to build a HD wireless network in the home to take advantage of the latest content and interactive services.

The application areas include set-top-boxes, DVD players, Blu-ray, DVRs, game consoles, PCs (desktops, notebooks, netbooks), mobile devices (phones, PMPs, camcorders, etc.) to TV HD and wireless HD connectivity. It means, WHDI can be ported across all sorts of CE devices!

AMIMON and Maxim are said to be manufacturing the RF chips.

WHDI enables full 1080p/60Hz HD with Deep Color at a distance of 100 feet and through walls.

Now, WHDI enables full 1080p/60Hz HD with Deep Color at a distance of 100 feet and through walls. Here, through walls should be multi-rooms (see image) -– wirelessly connecting a DVR in the living room to a TV in the bedroom -– and wirelessly connecting devices across and throughout the home.

Be aware that non-WHDI devices won’t be compatible with products having WHDI logo at this stage. Is there a way to overcome this?

Of course! It appears that consumers can use WHDI video accessories/dongles to connect and integrate legacy devices into a WHDI network.

So, what’s the technology behind WHDI – especially wireless?

According to Kilmer, Amimon’s video-modem is the basis of the WHDI standard. That said, all the promoters have contributed to the standard. The WHDI Consortium was formed by Amimon, Hitachi, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, LG Electronics.

Just when we all thought that we were future proof with HDMI 1.3, there’s talk brewing about HDMI 1.4. And, do all of these technologies mix in with WHDI? Kilmer added that WHDI is complementary to wired technologies such as DisplayPort, HDMI and DiiVA.

And, how does WHDI compare to DisplayPort and WirelessHD, if at all?

WHDI competes directly with WirelessHD! The key difference being: WirlessHD is in-room only, while WHDI enables whole home HD wireless connectivity.

The roadmap ahead for WHDI involves adding adopters to enable a WHDI ecosystem.

So, what should a company do to be able to acquire the license to the technology, especially, makers of CE devices in Asia, and elsewhere? Simply, companies can join in as WHDI adopters, and license the WHDI specification and trademark.

The first WHDI standard based products are targeted to be available to consumers in Q3 of 2010; most likely the initial WHDI enabled products will be dongles, TVs, and PCs.