Netgear have announced their latest networked media box, the EVA2000 Digital Entertainer Live, which allows for both locally-streamed and IPTV content to be shown on your big-screen TV. The EVA2000 can play YouTube videos, pay-per-view movies, Hulu, VuNow and Netflix content, among other things, together with audio, video and images from USB external storage.
Back before HDTVs, set-top boxes, consoles and Blu-ray players sprouted ethernet ports, the only people who needed a network hook-up near their AV kit were those with media streamers. Now one cable might not be enough, so Netgear have stepped into the fray with their XAVB1004 Home Theater Internet Connection kit. Consisting of a four-port ethernet switch with Powerline support, the kit funnels an internet connection across your mains wiring and shares it with multiple devices.
Belkin have launched what they’re calling the first-to-market gigabit-capable Powerline adapters, promising theoretical transfer speeds of up to 1,000Mbps. Offered initially as the Belkin Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit, the bundle includes two single-port adapters, one for connection to your router and the other for a console, mediaplayer or HDTV.
Ethernet over powerline is nothing new – many users are already taking advantage of their mains cabling to avoid stringing Cat5 around the house – but HDMI over powerline is less common. Averlogic wants to change all that; they’ve been demonstrating their 1080p H.264 streaming system at Computex, allowing high-definition video to be squirted through mains cabling.
For those in need of new home networking solutions, you’ll be interested to hear that NetGear announced their brand new MoCA Coax-Ethernet Adapter Kit today, which makes it possible to stream HD video and better enjoy the online gaming experience.
D-Link have announced a series of new home-starter internet surveillance kits, which use Powerline networking to make setup straightforward. The three initial products consist of the DHA-390 starter kit, which comes with a single CCTV camera and Powerline receiver/transmitter pair, the DHA-310 expansion kit, which offers an additional camera and Powerline transmitter, and the DHA-330 video player, which is a 7-inch monitor suitable for local or remote viewing.
Belkin is about to put a 200Mb/s powerline Ethernet adaptor in the market. The Powerline AV+ uses an integrated hub to share the connection between the three devices plugged in. These three ports however are not gigabit ports, they are 10/100 Mb/s Ethernet ports.
Here’s a little lesson on what power line Ethernet is real quick, basically your standard electrical outlets throughout your house can be converted to Ethernet jacks, with data transmission going through your power lines, all by just simply plugging in the necessary hardware. There are several things that have impeded the data transmission speeds of power line Ethernet, all of which have combined to keep speeds for these networks in general down to the 10-15Mbps range.
Apparently DS2, a Spanish company, plans to change that, with a 400Mbps speed which is double the previous top speed. They are claiming that with their technology, you would be able to stream up to 3 HD signals and 2 SD signals throughout your house, they just need to get the cable companies to realize they’ve been going about TV signals the wrong way and they’d be in business.
Ethernet over powerline is one of those technologies I never really thought would take off, but given the number of new products launched using PLC - everything from streaming media to expanding your home network without relying on WiFI - I guess I’ve been proved wrong! Latest is I-O DATA’s PLC-ET/MY range, which offers you a choice of wired (the MY-R) or wireless (the MY-G54) ethernet distribution options.
Powerline network adapters are increasingly growing in popularity. It’s understandable really, extend your network anywhere in the house without having to run cable or mess with wireless. But what about when you want to use wireless in a part of your house that your router won’t reach? Your powerlines can help you there as well.
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