One has to wonder if the quest for wireless HD distribution is more closely related to the Philosophers Stone then Grand Unified Theory at this point. A friend of mine compared this to eating a cake by saying 'you never know if its going to taste good until you eat it, and then its too late. A lesson in confections from the kitchen of Mrs. Schrodinger indeed.
Wireless HD distribution is something I would install in the blink of an eye, were I confident it would\could work reliably in both speed and location. My home is not new, not nearly new, not was new to my father in his youth; in fact my home is just barely considered new by the strict definition of antique. While spacious and accommodating my 1901 colonial home still has walls of 1x3's and lathe under plaster. I spent a good portion of my formative childhood tearing down just such walls in the numerous homes we lived in to rebuild and update. I know just how difficult it is to retrofit these homes with modern wiring without planning a complete renovation. It is not a task I look forward to with any pleasure.
I also have years of experience working with wireless systems of all sorts and know full well the fragility of the connective infrastructure. RF transmission of media can be summed up simply - Wireless transfer of data is the most convenient method yet developed, it is also the most inconsistent and unreliable form ever put into operation. (I think this statement has a very Mark Twain lilt to it and given his relationshipp with Tesla quite possibly attributable to him in an alternate Universe).
The EE Times has published, as part of a year end 'Hot Technologies to Watch for in 2009, an eye opening article on the the relative stasis HD home distribution over RF has exhibited. In the article 'Not getting the big pictures(s) yet', the EE Times editors describe 802.11n as 'troubled', UWB as a 'failure' and the 60GHz as '...too immature...'.
So, why pursue an RF HD distribution model? HDMI has some notorious short falls when it comes to whole house distribution which include but are not limited to cable length and physical connectors. It is a market that has huge potential to make redundant an entire category of cable and distribution. Trouble is what we have currently and for the near term results in an end video more BrundleFly then Seth Brundle.
I suppose I should take a deep breath, thank my mother for having the forethought to prepare me for this moment and with wrecking bar in hand begin the process of renovating to run wire.
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