Californian company Lumexis is positioning its fibre-optic-based IFE networking technology as a means of delivering high-definition television (HDTV) aboard airliners.

At next month’s WAEA show in Miami the company will demonstrate the ability of its gigabit-rated Fibre-To-The-Seat (FTTS) system to deliver 1080i-standard HDTV content to screens as big as 42in.

1080i is the HDTV format featuring 1,080 interlaced lines. It is second in terms of resolution only to the progressive-scan 1080p standard.

“We expect that many airlines will choose to offer this capability only to their premium-class passengers,” says Lumexis CEO Doug Cline. “But we also want to make it clear that the option is available to every seat on every aircraft.” The Lumexis display at WAEA will therefore include not only 1080i content from Discovery Communications on 42in overhead/bulkhead screens but also similar material on in-seat screens.

Lumexis is already demonstrating seat-to-seat videoconferencing, video-on-demand, games and other entertainment and business applications on FTTS.