Summit wireless home theater HDMI audio hub and speaker modules receive FCC certification

PORTLAND, USA: Summit Semiconductor LLC, a leader in wireless audio technologies for Home Theater, enables the first consumer products to be approved by the FCC for wireless operation in the uncongested, 5GHz UNII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) radio frequency band.

Hansong Technologies, an original equipment and design manufacturer to global consumer brands, will unveil an audio hub utilizing the Summit Wireless UNII band radio modules that support up to 7.1 Home Theater speaker systems, in the first quarter of 2011.

The small form factor HDMI audio hub provides audio video receiver connectivity and advanced high definition audio decode for digital televisions, Blu-ray players, game machines, digital music players (iPods, etc.) and set top boxes.

In addition to the high definition wireless audio link to the speakers, the audio hub uses Summit Wireless automatic optimization capability that includes SpeakerFinder instant setup and MyZone audio sweet spot calibration which in seconds assigns the correct audio channel to each speaker and produces a time aligned sound field for the listener by instantly adjusting delay and volume to their listening position in the room.

"Speaker brands have been asking us for a digital wireless audio hub based on Summit Wireless technology that can be easily bundled with speakers at a price point that is accessible to the masses," said Helge Kristensen, general manager, Hansong Technologies.

"Summit Wireless is in a class by itself and gaining market momentum because it's the only wireless solution that can deliver reliable audiophile quality sound from 2.0 to 7.1, provide built-in digital signal processing for speaker tuning and can be easily set-up in minutes with their proprietary SpeakerFinder and MyZone technologies."

The HDMI Digital Wireless Audio Hub includes the following:
* Built in HD audio decoder
* Including support for DTS-HD Master Audio, and Dolby TrueHD formats
* Digital audio inputs:
* 5.1 Optical and coax
* (3) HDMI inputs and (1) output
* (2) Stereo analog inputs for iPod, iPhone, MP3 players, Nintendo Wii, and other legacy audio devices
* On Screen Display and LED status indicate input selection and surround mode
Support for stereo to 7.1 speaker configurations
* Compatibility with all Summit Wireless enabled speakers

"There is no argument that the ISM band, where WiFi, Bluetooth, and cordless phones operate, has become crowded and congested," said Tony Parker, vice president of marketing, Summit Semiconductor.

"To address this, the FCC and other standards bodies around the world have opened the new 5.2 - 5.8GHz UNII band spectrum. The UNII band offers up to 21 new channels, significantly more than the three channels available in the 2.4GHz ISM band.

"Today's consumer products with audio applications and future products with video applications will benefit from the uninterrupted bandwidth of the 5GHz UNII band. Wireless audio distribution in 2.4GHz is a prime example where congestion can cause audio dropouts, crackling and pops, or worse, bring down a WiFi or security network. At Summit Semiconductor we designed Summit Wireless' technology to be the most robust wireless audio transport possible; operating in the UNII band is just one of many reasons we deliver an unrivaled wireless audio experience."