At the CEDIA Expo in Denver, Bang & Olufsen has unveiled a new wireless audio technology. The wireless technology will be the platform for future B&O products, and will be integrated directly into new TVs that will be able to wirelessly transfer audio to external speakers. It will also be possible to retrofit the solution to some existing products.
B&O unveils new wireless sound system
Bang & Olufsen's wireless audio technology is based on the open WISA (Wireless Speaker and Audio Association) standard. They have worked on the system for several years and B&O says that it can transmit high-quality, uncompressed 24-bit audio in up to 7.1 surround setups with 8 speakers.
Future B&O TVs will include a wireless sound system so speakers can connect wirelessly to the TV
B&O calls the system Immaculate Wireless Sound and it will be integrated into coming B&O speakers and audio systems, as well as new TVs that will be able to wirelessly transmit audio to speakers. Bang & Olufsen’s TVs include a surround decoder so we assume that they can act as a surround center in a completely wireless living room system. And because the standard is open it can also be integrated into non-B&O Blu-ray players, AV receivers and other products that will be able to wirelessly connect to B&O’s speakers.
- "The innovative technology will be integrated into our new speakers that will be launched next month, and in future TVs" Bang & Olufsen tells FlatpanelsHD.
CEO Tue Mantoni adds:
- "Immaculate Wireless Sound is the biggest innovation from Bang & Olufsen for several years and will form the backbone for a launch of several new speaker products later this year"
Bang & Olufsen says that installation is very easy and they also share technical details. The signal is transmitted over the 5.2 to 5.8 GHz bands that are relatively free of noise. The system has a fixed latency of 5 ms, which B&O can use as a basis for auto correction to ensure audio/video synchronization. The system currently supports wireless 7.1 surround, but you can also connect select speakers via cables. To learn more about the technical details click here.
In addition to future products, Bang & Olufsen says that it is possible to “retrofit” existing systems with wireless transmitter and receiver devices.
One of FlatpanelsHD’s sources tells us that BeoVision 11 is one of the eligible products. B&O has no comment.
