Samsung to come out with wireless plasma TV
LAS VEGAS--Samsung will come out with a plasma television later this year that will be able to swap data with set-top boxes and PCs without cables.
The television still needs to be plugged into the wall, but data travels wirelessly over 802.11.(n), David Steel, vice president of the digital media business at Samsung, said during a press conference here Sunday, one day before the Consumer Electronics Show.
Wireless networking is one of the big topics at CES this year. Start-ups such as Neosonik, Avega Systems, Amimon and Quartics are showing off home theater systems, speakers and components that can wirelessly swap high-definition files. Everyone hates speaker and television cables. The challenge in this market for years has been to maintain quality of service. If the system drops frames or sections of songs, customers get irked.
Samsung chose 802.11(n), but it isn't ruling out adopting other wireless standards based on HDMI or 802.11(a) or even powerline networking, which Sharp has adopted for. It's just that the state of the technology, combined with the costs, work out well for 802.11(n) at the moment.
"We're not dogmatic on the standard," Steel said.
Steel also reiterated that Samsung will come out with LCD TVs with a 120-hertz refresh rate, which will lead to crisper picture quality.
The company has also linked up with Boston Scientific to develop a digital music system that deaf people can enjoy. Samsung will show it off on the floor, which opens Monday.
The South Korean electronics giant will also show off a wireless digital broadcasting technology that will let Americans watch digital televisions in their cars.
