The Time for HD Wireless Home Theater systems is right now.
CES in Las Vegas is over and my head is still spinning; no, not from too many late night parties.
The WiSA Association had a suite at the Venetian and it was inundated with visitors wanting to know more about the Association and listen to the demo of a wireless, high-definition 5.1 ( from Klipsch) and a 7.1 (from Aperion) surround sound system, putting out 24bit, 96Khz uncompressed audio.
At last count we had given 40 demos! We played the echo drum fight sequence from “House of Flying Daggers”, and a music video of the Eagles playing “Hotel California”. Most were stunned that such sound quality could possibly come from a wireless speaker system. Our visitors ranged from custom installers, to value-added resellers, to system manufacturers and press. It was great to see a skeptic’s face turn into wide-eyed disbelief then to big grins, nodding heads as the demos progressed.
Everyone agreed that the stated purpose of the WiSA Association of certifying compliance and interoperability of wireless speaker and audio systems for the home theater is essential for the consumers to feel confident that when they buy products displaying a WiSA logo and take them home, they will work together seamlessly.
We also held our first WiSA Advisory Board meeting at the Bouchon restaurant in the Venetian Hotel. Representatives from the nine member board were all there breaking the ice and getting to know each other. Our advisory members are from: Aperion Audio, DEI Holdings (Polk Audio), Hansong, Klipsch Group, Meiloon, Pioneer, Sharp, Silicon Image, and Summit Semiconductor. We discussed the plans for the upcoming year and the fact that the .8 version of the compliance test specification (CTS) is now available to members. We also discussed the marketing activities for the year. The WiSA Association will be attending Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam at the end of this month, followed by the High End® trade show in Munich in May and then, of course, CEDIA in September in Indianapolis. Beyond that, we will also be holding press events in major geographic regions around the world and issuing press releases as membership grows.
Speaking of membership, give serious consideration to becoming a member of the WiSA Association. To make this standardization happen, it will take everyone in the industry pulling together.
