BERLIN, GERMANY, IFA 2008: Broadcom Corp. announced at the IFA Show in Berlin that it has joined the WirelessHD consortium as a promoter company with a mutual goal of helping to enable wireless connectivity for streaming high definition (HD) content between consumer electronics devices and displays. As a promoter company, Broadcom will help to position WirelessHD as a leading organization for the advancement of standards used in the wireless home audio and video technology space by developing advanced solutions that will lower the cost of wireless video distribution.

"Broadcom is pleased to support the WirelessHD consortium as a promoter company and recognizes the importance of creating an industry-led effort for a next generation wireless digital network interface specification that enables the seamless delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia," said Dan Marotta, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom's Broadband Communications Group. "As the first and only wireless digital interface that combines true uncompressed high definition video, multi-channel audio, intelligent format and control data, and Hollywood approved content protection, we look forward to working with the WirelessHD consortium to achieve the mutual goal of providing consumers with a quick, simple and secure way to connect and transmit HD content among a wide range of digital devices."

WirelessHD is a worldwide organization dedicated to the advancement and enhancement of the WirelessHD standard, which has specified the unlicensed, globally available 60 GHz frequency band to enable wireless uncompressed high definition, high-quality video and data transmission. WirelessHD provides a high-speed wireless digital interface that will enable customers to simply connect, play, transmit and port their HD content in a secure manner at speeds as high as 4 Gigabits per second (Gbps) in real time.

"Broadcom has been a long time proponent and leader in the standardization and certification of a variety of communications technologies. Their experience and diversity of product categories will assist the consortium in achieving a widely implemented and interoperable standard," said John Marshall, President and Chairman of WirelessHD. "Broadcom's wired and wireless technology expertise at the communications core level provides additional synergies that will provide more reliable and robust communications between WirelessHD-enabled devices. We are excited to work with Broadcom to reinvent the way consumers access, control and experience their multimedia content."

WirelessHD solutions will be first targeted for builds into HDTVs as well as a wide range of fixed location and portable audio/video (A/V) devices. With the availability of high definition wireless connections, cables, switches and other complexities traditionally needed to support HDTVs, HD disc players, digital video cameras and game consoles are eliminated, allowing consumers the freedom to position WirelessHD-enabled devices anywhere in a room. With WirelessHD audio and video links, installing home theater systems will be dramatically simplified and the traditional need of locating devices in close proximity to the display will also be eliminated.