The Custom Integrator Show Installment 00F

The Custom Integrator Show Installment 00F is live.  This week wraps up this short series on home networking and Ethernet switch considerations.  We start out listening to Ian’s positive adventures with powerline networking at his home.  We then take a look at some of the home networking alternatives to hard-wired CAT-6.  We make no recommendations or promises since these options may not perform as well as the structured cabling approach, but sometimes you do not have the luxury of being able to wire the entire home from scratch.  As they say, that is what is so great about standards, there are so many of them – and that there are.

[mp3]http://blip.tv/file/get/IanDixon-TheCustomIntegratorShow00F754.mp3[/mp3]

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We discuss quite a few “standardization” efforts in the marketplace, and not all of them play nicely with each other.  Rather than getting into a detailed description and the perceived pros and cons of each one, we thought it best to list the relevant URLs for many of the technologies so you can get a better understanding of each one (and sign up for their mailing lists).  This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but it should provide you an easy starting point.

POWERLINE

HOMEPNA – http://homepna.org/en/index.asp

MoCA – http://www.mocalliance.org/en/index.asp

HANA – http://www.hanaalliance.org/

ITU-T G.hn Effort – http://www.homegridforum.org/home/

Do not forget to look at antenna options, especially with the new MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) options available on the market.  If matched properly, they can extend the range considerably and will allow for higher throughput over a greater distance.

We also want to remind the Media Center Integrator Alliance members that there is a new version of the Digital Cable Tuners Diagnostic Tool posted on the members area of the MCIA site.  Be sure to download the new version.  There is a Release Notes document on the site that outlines the changes and new features.

  =D-