The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A cable that serves as interface between digital platforms

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 25, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A cable that serves as interface between digital platforms

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: As consumer electronics gets a makeover from analog to digital, one cable claims to replace the complexity of multiple wires and sockets in your machine.

The Hi-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a single cable that will act as the interface between digital platforms — be it your TV, DVD player, video camera, computer or your cable TV receiver.

A cable that will be capable of transmitting uncompressed digital information of high-definition video and multi-channel audio from one device to another.

Silicon Image in association with Digital Studios, a sister company of Kavithalaya Productions, and the Tamil film industry, recently organised a seminar to create an awareness of the need to gear up for one standard and a common interface for the entertainment industry: a standard that also facilitates content protection.

As Rajan Varadarajan, Director of Market Development, Silicon Image Inc., said: "Entertainment today is undergoing a massive shift from analog to digital in content and distribution.

Digital content drives incremental revenue growth for the creators. HDMI and Hi-Band-width Digital Content Protection is the critical link in securing the distribution of digital content."

"HDMI has the necessary features and security for broad adoption in international markets around the world," he said.

The standard developed by Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Thomson, Toshiba and Silicon Image has already found over 300 adopters.

It was now time for the Indian film and broadcast industries and the Government to consider the technology in the context of digital content delivery and resulting revenue growth.

"It's better to formulate policies before something can happen. But, you've got to think of a standard before you get into policies," Mr. Varadarajan said.

"This seminar is only a tip of the iceberg," Kandaswamy Bharathan, CEO of Digital Studios, said.

"Silicon Image is planning to have more focussed seminars for All India Radio and other broadcast channels, and will also participate in FICCI's `Frames' to be held in March," he added.

More information on the technology can be found at www.hdmi.org.

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