 | October 1, 2000 |
Home work
OUTLOOK: Firms flesh out future home gateways
Home gateways, the critical central devices in tomorrow's networked homes, are a lot like desert oases. They look fabulous looming off in the distance, but they never seem to get any closer. Perhaps that will change soon, as a number of companies are starting to take the wraps off their visions, and in some cases actual hardware.
Pace Micro Technology recently demonstrated a digital set-top box souped up to serve as a complete home gateway. Pace's vision, which can leverage wireless, wireline, and powerline networking technologies, rests on three central components in addition to the set-top box/gateway.
The first, Gateway Expander, is a module that can be integrated into or externally connected to a set-top box or to some other form of home gateway. The module acts as a wireless base station, enabling two-way communication between the external broadband network and devices within the home.
The second component, pcConnect, uses DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications) technology to link a PC to the Gateway Expander and in turn to the external universe via the gateway device's cable, DSL, or other broadband connection.
While DECT is widely used in Europe for cordless phones, the choice may be questionable for data connections. The link is limited to 500 kbits/sec, while popular wireless LANs can hit 11 Mbits/sec. Still, DECT rates will suffice for Internet access, and the modular approach Pace has taken will allow support for other wireless and wired technologies later on.
The set-top gateway also provides Internet access via a connected TV. And the third component of Pace's demo, tvConnect, serves to wirelessly connect secondary TVs in the home to the Internet.
Pace's vision also has room for hard-disk technology, which enables PVR (personal video recorder) functionality, new home-shopping applications, and video-on-demand services.
In addition, Pace has developed a range of what it calls Interactive Display Devices (IDDs) for the networked home. One of the first, Shopping Mate, is a handheld IDD with an integrated bar-code scanner. The device will allow consumers to create shopping lists while away from the main screen, and will also tempt users with spontaneous online purchasing opportunities.
Another gateway vision comes from Nokia, which is bringing the Internet to the living room with its Linux-based Media Terminal. An infotainment center combining the Internet and a DVB (digital video broadcasting) tuner that supports datacasting, the product also boasts PVR capabilities like pausing and replaying live broadcasts, and offers the option of splitting the screen between TV and the Internet.
The Media Terminal is the first in a range of products Nokia is introducing for the connected home. Features include broadband Internet access for interactive digital services such as shopping and banking. Consumers can also play 3D network games, order video on demand, send and receive email, listen to and store MP3 files, and connect printers, digital cameras, and other devices. The gateway also supports PCI modules that can add support for wired or wireless networks, which can be used to link other home computers and entertainment systems to the Internet.
Nokia envisions the Media Terminal as an extensible product. To that end, the company is planning a standard software interface that third parties can use to develop applications. In fact, the company has contracted Convergence Integrated Media to develop a standard low-level DVB API (application program interface) for the system. The API will be released on www.linuxtv.org. The Media Terminal will be available by Q2 2001.
Nokia also offers a data-centric home router/gateway that supports wireless connections within the home. The MW1642 bridges SDSL (symmetrical DSL) broadband access to an 802.11b wireless LAN. Aimed at small- and medium-sized enterprises and telecommuters in home offices, the MW1642 supports a high-speed, always-on connection that—unlike conventional DSL links—is just as fast in the upstream direction as it is in the downstream channel. The gateway also supports standard Ethernet on the LAN side.
—Margot Suydam
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