CES 2008 could see launch of yet another pesky format war

wireless_hdmi.jpgRegular readers will know how much we loathe the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD wars and wish that they, like the War on Terror or the War on Drugs or the War on Baby Seals, would end soon, as there can be no clear victor. That’s why we give a sideways glance at the new format war brewing that could see CES 2008 as the first battlefield — the format for wireless HD content.

Not wireless as in mobile, but as in HDMI-sucks. There are three emerging, rival consortiums aimed at creating a standard to deliver the content over “last foot”, from the receiver or player to the HDTV itself. As we buy our fancy flat-panel TVs, we want to hang them on the walls, as some sort of “window to entertainment”. That cable snaking down the wall ruins the effect.

So bring on the first salvos, e-warriors. Fight and scrap till the last group can be a victor. Cry Havoc! And let slip the, uh, chips of war.

Rivalry over wireless high-def TVs [Yahoo! news/AP]