Iomega HD Player needs wired home network

This review of Iomega HD Player got it right: 

"Wi-Fi networks tend be a bit sluggish for copying large files and playing HD anyway so you may want to look into a HomePlug adapter or CoAX adapter "

Able to play "HD movies purchased or rented from Cinema Now, an online movie rental service similar to iTunes and Amazon Video-on-Demand.", this device is screaming for easy connection to a HD ready home network like HomePlug (coax is an good option for technicians who know about splitters, but not for normal people).

Broken & Incomplete ITU G.hn PHY specification updated

According to this post at the G.hn shill website Everywire, is reporting the ITU has consented two recommendations a changing the already approved G.hn PHY specification G.9960.  The G.9960 Amendment 1 is to fill in the missing bits in original PHY spec--is there more missing to make working chip? The G.9960 Corrigendum 1 fixes errors in the original PHY spec--how many more errors are left?


Clearly these last minute changes will impact and delay companies make G.hn chips. Hopefully none have spun chips as the G.9960 Corrigendum 1 is not compatible with the previous G.9960 specification. Seems that DS2 jumped the gun with this demo which if they need to re-spin it will speed up their death.


Also consented is the G.hn MAC.


We can expect the ITU to blindly approve all three consented documents in June 2010.  More changes to fix the PHY in June too?  Can we expect MAC amendments and  corrigendum in a years time as was done for the PHY?


All in all, it seems that the ITU is rushing a incomplete and unproven specification to the market. Too bad as the multi-media PHY/MAC sounded cool.


Update: Notice that Matt Theall, president of HomeGrid, does not mention that G.hn is broken or that the DS2 demo was not using a compatible G.hn PHY.

EDN says: DS2 is dead, G.hn/HD-PLC have no hope, and asks which PLC vendor will Broadcom buy

EDN Senior Technical Editor Brian Dipert posted his reporting on Powerline Networking at CES 2010.

Fantastic detailed insider information where he:

• fauns over Atheros' HomePlug-AV turbo chip AR7400 which is IEEE 1901 compatible
• reveals that Gigle's firmware was released early due to Belkin wanting to make the Christmas rush
• claims that "DS2...appears to be on life support (or worse)" and even provides confirmation on senior VP who have left DS2
• trashes the ITU's make work project G.hn,: "unless G.hn faces up to de facto standardization reality and incorporates HomePlug AV into its specifications instead."
• speculates which HomePlug-AV silicon company Broadcom will buy

Update: As several people have pointed out, speculation on the death of DS2 has been around for many years, so don't expect it any time soon.

Update2: The comments section makes very interesting reading. The suggestion that the PLC industry grab the 54-88 MHz  band from handful of TV stations now operating now in the US sounds good, but it is pretty clear, the PLC industry is not big enough to afford it.

DS2 Demos First G.hn Prototypes, Delivers Dramatic Performance at CES 2010

Great news if this demo is true. But the the press release seems strange.

• Why is a fierce competitor like Ikanos posting for DS2? Need to ask Matt Keowen I  guess.
• In the pass, DS2 had huge stands at CES and expensive signage all over CES that would make ebay blush at the cost. This year DS2 does not even have a small booth to do the demo
• HomeGrid has a small private room hidden in the back of South Hall 2, so if there is a demo, it is hidden from public view--wonder why. I also wonder why DS2 could not even afford their own booth
• DS2 has previously said they were have G.hn chips in 2009. Now they are saying 2010.
• It was overheard after a presentation by a senior DS2 executive in Detroit a few weeks ago that they would only have a FPGA prototype implementation in March 2010.

While wishing it was true, something sounds fishy.

"Pass through" adaptor now main stream with HomePlug AV designs

"Pass through" PLC adaptors are cool in that you don't loose a power socket when you plug the adaptor into the wall and, even better, filters any performance impacting high-frequency noise that my be injected by PCs, TVs and the like.

NetGear has announced a pass through adaptor (Powerline 200 AV+ Adapter Kit--XAVB2501). It joins European manufacturers products: and
.

AR7400 (ex-INT7400) 1Gbps PHY Rate says Monster

Monster cable has a CES press release claiming that the AR7400 chip, previously known as the INT7400, has a 1Gbps PHY rate. This is a bit suspect as the Atheros product page still does not list the AR7400. 

Fact checking Monster's CES press release shows a major lie saying AR7400 is the "world's fastest PowerLine Communication (PLC) product" and is "5X faster than all other PLC products currently on the market". Gigle's GGL541 has been on the market for over six months. 

Any case, it is great to see the competition in the HomePlug AV (aka IEEE 1901) market heating up and giving us all more and better chips to choose from.

IEEE 1901 draft standard published today

Big step forward for HomePlug and the IEEE P1901 guys. I guess the IEEE only does this when the standard is stable.

Download (first pay for) your copy of the IEEE 1901 draft standard for powerline communications here. Officially its called "P1901 (D2.00) IEEE Draft Standard for Standard for Broadband over Power Line Networks: Medium Access Control and Physical Layer Specifications" and will set you back $300.

HomePlugAV/IEEE 1901 more and more multi-source

Two more new HomePlug AV compatible chips for CES. One is from a new vendor to boot, bringing to four the number HomePlug AV silicon vendors with chips.

Sigma Designs, ex-CopperGate, has their 1st public demo at CES and first manufacturer of products using their HomePlug AV chip.

Atheros, ex-Intellon, has proven that IEEE 1901 chips have a low time-to-market by announcing their IEEE 1901 chip.

Entropic & Atheros (ex-Intellon) demo MoCA/HomePlug coexistence

According to Entropic's latest press release, Entropic & Atheros (ex-Intellon) demo MoCA/HomePlug coexistence. They also give a jab at ITU's G.hn saying "there is no need to produce a completely new standard that does not provide backward interoperability with these existing market leading solutions".

DEMO: Interoperability with HomePlug(TM)
Entropic and Atheros will be demonstrating the ease at which two technologies can coexist together to distribute multimedia to any room of the home. This marks a joint collaboration between two leading home networking companies to show that Entropic's MoCA offerings and Intellon's HomePlug solutions are already able to adequately serve the needs of operators and consumers for delivering multimedia content. Standardization of next-generation technologies is underway and there is no need to produce a completely new standard that does not provide backward interoperability with these existing market leading solutions.

DS2 Leaking Staff

DS2 has lost a packet of top staff in 2009. The famed supporter of ITU's G.hn specification for multiple media home networking, seems to be having some hard times--we hope they make it past them quickly.

There were rumours in March 2009 that DS2 had put their staff on half-time due to cash flow problems. We thought that when IBM loaned DS2 $2M that would solve the cash flow problem. Seems not.

High profile, Chano Gomez, DS2's VP Technology & Strategic Partnerships and board member, LinkedIn profile was updated over the holidays that he has left DS2. No indication where he is going, other than his profile says San Francisco Bay Area.

Experience
VP Technology & Strategic Partnerships
DS2 Privately Held; Semiconductors industry
June 2005 – December 2009 (4 years 7 months)

Also leaving DS2 since May 2009:

• 
  
  http://es.linkedin.com/in/sebastianrodriguezmattalia
  Process Quality Manager
  July 2008 – November 2009 (1 year 5 months)
  
  
  
• 
  
  http://es.linkedin.com/in/albertojimenezfeltstrom
  PhD, Senior Engineer
  February 2007 – July 2009 (2 years 6 months)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Pablo  Gagliardo
  Product Marketing Manager
  April 2006 – May 2009 (3 years 2 months)
  
  
  
• 
  
  Jorge  Rostoll Leblanc
  Components Procurement Manager
  July 2006 – September 2009 (3 years 3 months)