Cebit 07: Sharp links Blu-ray with infrared

Sharp has launched a Blu-ray drive with a new high-speed infrared link designed to allow cameraphones to transfer pictures directly.

The technology can also be used to beam video to new Sharp LCD TVs, though it is unclear yet whether these will ship in Europe.

The system uses a new spec called Infrared Simple Shot (IrSS), developed by the Infra-Red Data Association specifically for the purpose.

It has a data rate of 16Mbits/sec and has been implemented in several cameraphone models in Japan, at which the new player is primarily targeted. Image transfers are a task targeted by emerging ultrawideband (UWB) radio links.

Sharp is unsure how and indeed whether it will go down well in the European market. Joachim Neils, manager of product planning, appeared to doubt that it would rival UWB.

“Infrared is not popular in Europe. It has a number of disadvantages… for instance, anyone can walk across the beam and break the link.”

He said Sharp had a far greater chance of gaining acceptance for the technology in the Japanese market, where the company has more market influence.

The Blu-ray player, the BD-HP10S, is the first to be launched by Sharp. No price or shipping date were announced.

Comment: Come back IR, all is forgiven