Wireless Audio Solution from SST

The consumer electronics market has seen tremendous growth over the past few years fueled primarily as a result of greatly enhanced video quality in large-screen displays. However, still lacking in the market is the superior sound effects that can match the high-definition video experience, said
Bing Yeh, president and CEO of SST, The MelodyWing SP offered by SST perfectly addresses the needs of the home entertainment market by delivering customers unprecedented sound effects for both multimedia and multi-room music streaming without the need for wires. MelodyWing SP will
revolutionize home entertainment by redefining the excellence in audio quality for next-generation A/V products.

Daniel Chow, president of SST Communications, added, Existing wireless audio solutions mostly operate at the congested 2.4 GHz radio bands and often exhibit poor audio quality in the form of distortion and noticeable breaks in the audio. As a result, consumer demand for wireless surround
sound and multi-channel, multi-room audio streaming for digital home entertainment systems have been slow to develop. Now, with the introduction of the dual-band 2.4 and 5 GHz MelodyWing SP audio solution with Smart Channel, consumers will be able to enjoy high-quality, pop-free
sound effects from wireless surround speakers and high fidelity audio streaming for multi-room broadcasting.

The MelodyWing SP supports two standard digital audio interfaces, the Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF) and I2S, offering flexibility in supporting a variety of existing and future consumer electronic audio/video products. Support for factory programmable worldwide ISM 2.4 and 5GHz radio
bands (2.4GHz and 4.9-5.8 GHz) and output power allows a single product design to meet the certification requirements of multiple markets. The unique Smart Channel feature permits the solution to select an uncongested channel in the available ISM bands to avoid collision with other co-site
wireless equipment. As part of a wireless digital home entertainment system, the MelodyWing SP chipset can be configured in four flexible solutions. These include:

The Single Link wireless configuration mode allows a single wireless S/PDIF
or 2.1 channel I2S connection between the audio source, such as a digital
TV, and a 2.1 multi-channel speaker system comprised a subwoofer and left
and right speakers with a wired connection to the subwoofer.

The Triple Link wireless configuration mode allows three simultaneous
wireless connections between the audio source and a 2.1 multi-channel
speaker system comprised of a sub-woofer and left and right channel
speakers.

The Hextuple Link wireless configuration mode allows six simultaneous
wireless connections between the audio source and a 5.1 multi-channel
speaker system comprised of a center speaker, a sub-woofer, left and right
front speakers and left and right rear speakers.

The Multi Link wireless configuration mode allows multiple simultaneous
wireless connections between the audio source and multiple 2.1
multi-channel speaker system located in multiple rooms.

The physical distance supported is 20 meters for single-room applications. The distance supported for Multi Link solution can be further extended according to customer needs.

The MelodyWing SP is the only wireless audio solution capable of supporting up to 24-bits per channel for stereo (also compatible with 16-bit stereo), 90dB dynamic range and IEC support for MP3, AAC, AC3 and DTS modes. The consumer-friendly MelodyWing SP solution requires no firmware drivers or
additional hardware for set-up. The embedded SuperFlash memory provides flexibility for system configuration and 48bit security code for privacy protection.

The MelodyWing SP wireless audio boards are comprised of the transmitter board SST11SC03 and the SST11SC04 receiver board. Pricing for the devices is $21.62 for the SST11SC03 and $21.62 for the SST11SC04, each in 10K unit quantities. Evaluation kits are currently available.