SiBeam, joins gang offering wireless high-def video transfer

(Updated to correct reference to Artimi’s total funding)

SiBeam, a start-up based in Sunnyvale, Calif. company, has emerged from secrecy with a chip it says transfers uncompressed high-definition video to an HDTV from a set-top box or other source.

Transferring high-definition video wirelessly is something several companies are offering — all of them in various stages of development and each using different technology. This could permanently remove wires from your home. Few of the companies offer the transfer uncompressed like SiBeam though.

There’s an explanation of its technology here.

However, it’s not clear at all who is going to buy this technology, and whether consumers really care about uncompressed versus compressed (SiBeam says uncompressed is more secure and may appeal to content producers worried about pirating).

It uses 60GHz technology using standard CMOS.

Artimi, a company with U.S. headquarters in Santa Clara, has raised $26.5more than $50 million in funding to develop its chip using ultrawideband technology, focused on portable devices. UltrawideBand can transmit up to a whopping 500 megabits of data a second — roughly 10 times today’s Wi-Fi speeds. Another player, Tzero has raised more than $38 million. Then there are WiFi-focused companies like Palo Alto’s Airgo Networks which say their technology can do just as well. Airgo was snapped up by Qualcomm after raising $130 million. There’s also Ruckus Wireless, which has raised $30 million (see coverage).

SiBeam itself has raised $38 million from Foundation, NEA and US Venture Partners.

“The big question is do consumers want any of this stuff, (and) how much extra is this going to cost them,” says Brian O’Rourke, analyst at In-Stat, to the Mercury News