Introduces the First Technology to Deliver High Quality Video Streaming Using Popular Wi-Fi Standards

Distribution Source : Market Wire

Date : Wednesday - January 05, 2005

LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Market Wire - Jan 05, 2005) -- CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW -- A milestone in moving wireless video throughout the home, Video54 Technologies, Inc. today unveiled BeamFlex(TM), a first-of-its kind technology that ensures the picture perfect transmission of video over wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi). NETGEAR, Inc., a worldwide provider of technologically advanced, branded networking products, will be the first to integrate BeamFlex into its RangeMax(TM) technology brand.

With Video54`s unique patent-pending BeamFlex technology, consumers can now watch their favorite programs in the highest quality while playing online video games or downloading large files, anywhere in the home over their Wi-Fi network, eliminating the need for costly and tedious cabling.

Honored with a CES 2005 Innovations Design and Engineering Award, Video54, a newly founded Silicon Valley wireless media networking company funded by Sequoia Capital, has announced the immediate availability of its BeamFlex technology for home media equipment providers.

``BeamFlex will do for video in the home what Wi-Fi did for data in the coffee shop -- it changes everything,`` said Selina Lo, CEO of Video54.

Videos That Rock and Roam

BeamFlex brings whole-house wireless media networking into the mainstream by solving the performance, range and consistency problems associated with today`s wireless home networks. BeamFlex automatically steers wireless signals around sources of changing interference, allowing transmissions from standard Wi-Fi devices to fly around physical barriers, noise and signal fade. The result is a three-fold increase in wireless throughput and range, higher network capacity and the elimination of coverage holes.

Video54`s BeamFlex technology comprises software-controlled, multi-element antenna arrays. These arrays are capable of generating hundreds of unique beam patterns. Self-optimizing software continuously learns the environment and reconfigures antenna patterns on the fly to adapt to constantly changing RF (radio frequency), network and user conditions. A proprietary learning and path selection algorithm intelligently optimizes antenna patterns and transmissions for each receiving device. With abundant signal path options to cover the whole house and the intelligence to select the best signal path for every data packet, BeamFlex ensures that the network always operates at the highest and most consistent speeds with minimal packet error and delay.

Video54 is developing a wide range of advanced technologies and products for networked home media systems. The company is headed by Ms. Selina Lo, the former Vice President of Marketing at Alteon WebSystems and Nortel Network`s Content Networking business unit.

``With BeamFlex, you can simply and easily watch HD videos on your TV as they stream from the Internet, play online games anywhere in your house, untether your VoIP handsets and roam to the garden and far reaches of your home with your laptop or portable media player,`` said Lo.

Lo noted that BeamFlex works with today`s standard 802.11 chipsets and can be immediately integrated into most networking and media devices. The technology will be compatible with future 802.11n standards.

NETGEAR Jazzes Up the Home with BeamFlex

NETGEAR, Inc. is the first Video54 partner to endorse the technology. ``Video54 has the right approach to making wireless connections ready for high quality video without going outside of today`s standards,`` says Patrick Lo, Chairman and CEO of Netgear. ``We are incorporating BeamFlex into our RangeMax technology platform to help our customers enjoy high performance data and media anywhere and anytime.``

BeamFlex uses new smart antenna technology and state-of-the-art expert system software to constantly adjust the signal path of wireless devices to deliver incredibly consistent and reliable throughput -- the key to real-time multimedia applications such as HD (High Definition) video.

``Today`s wireless networks cannot transmit high quality video throughout a home because the RF environment is too unstable. Even the smallest disturbance such as a running cat can cause enough interference to make the video unwatchable,`` said Bill Kish, Video54, chief technology officer. ``High quality video is not just about top-line bandwidth, it`s about consistent bandwidth.``

Unlike other signal enhancement technologies that require additional radios and proprietary signal processing algorithms, BeamFlex is completely standards based and fully compatible with existing 802.11b, .11g and .11a chipsets. BeamFlex provides much of the benefit of the future 802.11n standard without the cost or risk associated with non-standard silicon. The technology is available for both network and client-side applications and still delivers dramatic improvements when implemented on only one side.

About Video54

Video54 designs, develops and markets technologies and products that enable the home media network ecosystem. The company`s hardware and software technologies deliver improved speeds, whole-house coverage and reliable performance to the vast installed base of home wireless networks to enhance consumer experience in rich data and real-time media applications. Funded by Sequoia Capital, Video54 is led by Selina Lo, CEO, and Dominic Orr, Chairman of the Board, industry veterans with track records in building successful companies. For more information, visit the company`s web site at www.video54.com.