Home Entertainment Networking Made Easy

In the early days of home television entertainment a consumer had a television with one plug -- a power cord -- that was plugged into an electrical outlet. That was all that was needed to get their viewing experience up and running. Today it's an entirely different story, and many people ready to outfit their homes with home entertainment systems and networks do not really know where to begin.

Walk into the local big box store or consumer electronics retailer, and a person will experience a dizzying number of acronyms for the different technology products available. With options like Wi-Fi (802.11) and Multimedia over Coax (MoCA®) to Powerline, HomePlug, HomePNA, among others -- consumers may need a litle guidance in selecting the technologies that are right for them.

There are a few things consumers need to know before setting up a home network. Here is some information and tips, courtesy of Entropic Communications, part of the MoCA Alliance, an industry standard which uses the coax cable to create a seamless home network.

More Than Just TV

Up until recently televisions and PCs have essentially lived separate lives. One provided movies and shows while the other connected a person to the Internet and enabled him or her to share files and other data. Now they aren't estranged technologies residing in the same house. A greater number of home consumers are realizing the benefits of merging the two worlds of TV and PC into one. With a home network individuals can discover, download, and manage digital media, and enjoy TV, music, movies, or photos on a big screen backed up with a full-bodied surround-sound speaker system.

Multi-Room DVR

Customers who became hooked on the ability of recording and watching movies and TV content on their own time embraced the technology of DVR. But up until the most recent offerings from many digital television service providers, recorded content could only be enjoyed in one room at a time. Now the advent of Multi-room DVR (MR-DVR) service enables viewers to record and watch stored content anywhere in their home.

Spotty Service

The increased interest of sharing content and enjoying different forms of data all over the home have led many consumers on a quest to find the best ways to outfit their homes.

Immediately many homeowners looked to their existing Wi-Fi connection, provided by a wireless router. While this may be a go-to source of distributing content, the inconsistency of this type of service can make it a less-than-optimal way of transferring content.

Firstly, in-home wireless networks often produce dead zones where the signal is obstructed or weakened. (Just think about the last time you tried to upload photos to your social network page from the upstairs bedroom, far, far away from the basement router.) If this poses a problem, what will be the case when downloading larger movie files to enjoy in the same room? Content may be choppy and picture quality not at its best.

Wired -- The Right Alternative

With so many wireless items on the market, reason would have one to believe that wireless is the best. While it has its purposes, many experts find that homes equipped with wired networks actually provide a more complete level of service and better signal quality. If consumers are going to pay for premium content and services, as well as high definition (HD)-and 3DTVs, they should also invest in premium way to spread that content throughout the home.

In fact, major operators like Verizon and DIRECTV, Comcast, Cox and Time Warner Cable have set forth on a mission to overcome service degradation by deploying new connected -- or wired -- home networking technologies to ensure maximum service levels with high-speed performance to guarantee consumers' quality of experience.

The home networking standard endorsed by the majority of pay-TV service operators is the wired solution known as MoCA (Multimedia over Coax alliance) -- an industry standard which uses the coax cable already in installed in nearly every U.S. home. It is the only home network standard that can seamlessly network multiple streams of HD video and multimedia content around the home; creating a high-speed, ultra-performing home networking backbone to guarantee service levels for sharing HD programming from one set-top-box to another. It also enables services such as MR-DVR, powering lag-free online and multi-room gaming, distributing personal content such as videos, photos, and music from a PC to the TV, or extending the Wi-Fi coverage beyond traditional in-home "hot spots."

Getting Started

Many major U.S. telecom, satellite, and cable TV providers are already using MoCA technology in their services. Consumers can also set-up their own wired home networks using Ethernet-to-Coax Adapters (ECA), powered by Entropic's silicon, which connect existing coax wiring (anywhere a TV is connected) to stream multiple HD signals simultaneously to the farthest reaches of your home.

"We have a guest house on our property and unless we kept the garage door open, we found it difficult to keep that part of the property connected wirelessly due to interference from our tin roof and cinderblock construction," said Matthew Talbot, a MoCA ECA user in Florida. "We found the system to be a great application for connecting our main house to the guest house. The best part: I had it set up within 10 to 15 minutes, and the connectivity worked perfectly."

To learn more about getting next-generation services, including MR-DVR or Wi-Fi/broadband extension, contact your service provider. MoCA ECA Kits are available from NETGEAR, D-Link and Actiontec, and are currently sold online and at leading retailers nationwide. For more information on MoCA, visit www.mocablog.net.