Archive for September, 2010
The Results Are In: Boxee Users Are Ecstatic with their MoCA Experiences
Boxee paired up with Entropic Communications, the leading vendor of MoCA (Multimedia over Coax) chips to offer its users the opportunity to leverage existing coaxial cable in their homes to network their Boxee device/computer and router for an enhanced connection for streaming HD video, high speed content downloads, and multiple, simultaneous devices on the network.
The call for Boxee participants went out on Twitter and on the Boxee Forum, “Cable in your wall but Boxee in areas where net is problematic? Signup for @boxee moca trial and test a solution for free!” and 50 lucky Boxee users were given free Ethernet-to-Coax bridges to install and critique… and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
With 92% of trial users viewing Boxee on their TV – the importance for a strong viewing quality of experience was high – especially when 60% of trial users experienced connectivity issues when using the Boxee service. The trial showed MoCA’s ability to deliver a high-speed, reliable, robust in-home network to support Boxee’s over-the-top services, and also proved MoCA as a strong complement to extending in-home Wi-Fi networks; even when wireless connectivity was blocked by cinderblock home construction or one user’s wife’s insatiable need to stream and download multiple types of content from different sources at the same time.
We’ve listed some quick stats below – if you have specific comments, let us know.
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Find out more about available MoCA products here.
Boxee-MoCA Summary:
| How easy were the MoCA Dongles to install? | |||||||||||||||||
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| How long did it take for you to set up the MoCA kit? | |||||||||||||||||
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| Before using MoCA, did you try to use other technologies to connect your BOXEE to the internet? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Did MoCA improve your viewing experience compared to WiFi? | |||||||||||||||||
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| What BOXEE features, if any, improved with MoCA? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Would you recommend MoCA to other BOXEE users? | |||||||||||||
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| What other applications would you see MoCA networking being valuable? | |||||||||||||||||||||
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MoCA joins CEDIA
MoCA recently announced its membership in CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association). With support of CEDIA, MoCA’s is extending it’s reach into the home via a recognized and professional organization of installers and integrators who are deploying systems that move high definition content around the home. The MoCA Alliance will also be exhibiting at the CEDIA EXPO 9/22-26 in Atlanta, GA.
To read the article click here
September 16, 2010 at 2:19 pm Smart Phone Dojo Leave a comment
Update: Tivo Has Joined MoCA (Really)
TiVo made an announcement that it has joined the Multimedia over Coax Alliance. The one mild surprise is that they have joined as an associate member and not the contributor status as previously seen on the MoCA website. Either way, it’s another step for MoCA into consumer’s new digital entertainment systems.
To read the article click here
September 16, 2010 at 2:17 pm Smart Phone Dojo Leave a comment
The New Apple TV – A Can of Worms?
After months of rumors, Apple finally released the next version of their Apple TV, but may have opened another can of worms. The new $99 Apple TV is 80% smaller than the previous generation and doesn’t include a hard drive. Everything you want to watch — Netflix movies, TV shows, photos, and more — now streams to the device instead of downloading like before. HD movie and TV show rentals play over the Internet to your widescreen TV at 720p max resolution, while music and photos stream from your iTunes.
With a $99 price point, Apple isn’t going to set any new sales records like they’ve done with the premium priced iPhone and iPad lines. So it must be the service revenue – but how many $4.99 movies and $0.99 TV shows will actually be sold (and making nothing on Netflix)? So if it’s not to sell hardware and not for the services why even do it? One thought is that the new Apple TV is really more of an accessory to the iPad and iPhone, allowing mobile content to be displayed on the big screen (via the AirPlay feature). Another thought is that Apple had to do SOMETHING on the TV lest Google TV just takes over the market.
Either way, more connected devices like Apple TV should be good for MoCA. The new Apple TV has both Ethernet and WiFi included, but the new reliance on streaming puts even more a premium on having a solid wired network connection like MoCA.
To read the article click here
September 9, 2010 at 1:52 pm Smart Phone Dojo Leave a comment
