Pointing fingers at one another will not diminish the guilt

Apr 26, 2007 09:58 GMT  ·  By

When the computer industry made the switch from wired networking to wireless networking, everybody was glad to be rid of the cables, but the new trend is to incorporate cable-less connections onto any type of item we can. One such item, which has seen a great deal of interest, is the wireless TV.

And when you come to think that HDTV's are the most popular breed of TV sets on the market right now, a mix between the wireless technology and a HDTV seems like a good idea, at least that's what Samsung thought. They have announced plans for a wireless HDTV system, including some 50-inch and 58-inch Plasma Display Panels (FP-T5094 and FP-T5894, respectively) which are due this September, and will feature 802.11n wireless connection for a range of up to 300 feet. You can't call a HDTV by its name until it supports a minimum of 720p, and the models Samsung has planned will support 1080p.

All is well thus far, but the entire plan hit somewhat of a road bump, called Hollywood. Now I know you may think that they would have something to say against DRM-free digital content, but the problem isn't that, it's the DRM itself. In order for a signal to be transmitted onto the HDTV, and say for instance it's DRM protected digital content, it must go through a demodulator, which takes encrypted content and displays it, DRM-free, onto the screen. When the digital content makes the journey from the source and onto the HDTV through a HDMI or other sort of cable, it's perfectly safe. But when it's aired over a 300 feet radius, well, that's not so good anymore. The content could be received or "captured" by anybody within range, and the capability of recording protected digital content, for free, has made Samsung's plans take an unexpected detour.

Anyway, at this point the only thing Samsung CAN do is to downgrade the service, or make use of forced video downgrades from Blu-ray or HD-DVD players and discs. But another option is to limit the device's transmission range, and it's Samsung again, who is responsible for that. Their SPD-50P91FHD is the world first Bluetooth certified TV. This way, you don't have to bother about the range, and it's still a HDTV PDP, so quality is also preserved, now all you need is a mobile phone that transmits HDTV via Bluetooth, and you're truly mobile.

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