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Sony PS3 becomes a Time Warner Set-Top Box by using MoCA
Xbox isn’t the only game console starting to be used as a set-top box as it’s recent announcements with Verizon FiOS TV and Comcast XFINITY TV indicate. Sony’s Playstation 3 is also starting to take on set-top box (STB) features starting with the ability to play back recordings from a Time Warner DVR. If you already use Time Warner’s Whole Home DVR service (which uses MoCA networking) then it looks like you can also connect your PS3 to the same network using a MoCA Ethernet-to-Coax adapter to the PS3 and another MoCA adapter to connect your router to the MoCA network. Now you can use your PS3 in your game room or kid’s bedroom to watch your recorded TV shows in addition to Netflix, VUDU and online gaming. Here’s what you need:
- Time Warner Whole Home DVR service
- Playstation 3 (with DTCP-IP enabled)
- MoCA Adapter Kit (one connected to the PS3, the other to your router)
Now that your PS3 is networked to the DVR, the DVR will show up on your PS3 as a media server (SamSTB below).
And you can select the DVR media server to access the recorded TV shows, listed by recording date, and start playing them on your PS3 in HD quality or however the shows were recorded just like it was a STB.
Fast forward, rewind, pause all work similarly to as if the content came off a networked drive and the only real drawback is that sometimes the PS3 will show a TV show that has been deleted from the DVR, but for some reason still shows up on the list. The other obvious difference with an actual STB is the lack of Live TV on the PS3, possibly one day TWC will have a PS3 app similar to the Live TV app they have for the iPad.
The PS3 DVR feature is another small step for connected CE devices to start accessing the Cable or Satellite TV service you pay for every month. Besides iPad apps and Xbox TV, another example is the Samsung SmarTV which acts like a full fledged set-top box with Live TV and DVR features when connected to DirecTV’s new RVU Server via a MoCA network.
Since MoCA is the de facto standard for Cable and Satellite TV networking, don’t be surprised to see even more benefits to connecting your CE devices to a wired MoCA network using MoCA Ethernet-to-Coax adapters.
Mark Cuban Calls Out MoCA: The TV Business Keeps Getting Stronger ! « blog maverick
You know you’ve entered the mainstream when you get called out by NBA World Champion Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban. On his blog, Cuban makes the case for traditional TV as the engine for online video growth not a competitor. It’s a very compelling argument from a guy who made a billion dollars selling broadcast.com to Yahoo! back in the day. Where Cuban goes both right/wrong is during his critique of the OTT technology standards, he calls out MoCA (Yay!) but lumps it in with WiFi (Boo!) when he talks about how people won’t wait around for buffering. We totally agree – which is why good old reliable MoCA networking solves that problem. Either way, when “MoCA” gets mentioned with “Tebow” – you know your name is getting out there. Next stop, the Kardashians!
And last but not least, MOCA, DLNA and good old fashioned wi fi is always going to be a hassle. No one has perfect wi fi at their apartment or house. It always screws up. That may be acceptable to a price sensitive market. But when people want to see Tebow Tebow, buffering just wont cut it.
via The TV Business Keeps Getting Stronger ! « blog maverick.
Home Networks Get New Options | PCWorld
Home Networks Get New Options | PCWorld.
Another post-CES article that details the 3 major networking options available today – WiFi, MoCA and Powerline. MoCA is the fastest growing home networking standard worldwide, and new adapters like the Wi3 WiPNET will enable over 35M US households with MoCA coax networking by 2015 according to IMS market research.
MoCA Roundup at CES 2012
CES 2012 brought a bundle of great news involving MoCA home networking and here are just a few of the big stories.
DISH Network Starts Using MoCA Networking
MoCAlliance’s Channel – YouTube.
MoCA Alliance has a number of great videos including the DISH announcement of their new Whole Home DVR which uses MoCA networking, and videos from the Wi3 and Channel Master booths.
TiVo Updates to Multiroom Streaming on Premiere DVRs
TiVo started to update the new multiroom streaming (MRS) software in their Premiere DVRs which allows streaming saved shows from TiVo-to-TiVo without having to “download” video anymore. Not only does this create a more complete Whole Home DVR experience, but allows access to more shows that might have been blocked by copy restrictions. TiVo recommends a Wired network connection, either Ethernet or MoCA, so expect a lot more TiVo users to be upgrading from WiFi to a reliable wired MoCA connection.
Actiontec Shows First Multi-band MoCA Networking Adapter
The folks at Actiontec who build the MoCA routers and adapters for Verizon FiOS, have now come up with a new MoCA adapter that works in either Cable, Verizon, or DirecTV networks. Called the Multi-band MoCA adapter, it works like the standard Ethernet-to-Coax adapter except now you don’t have to select between a Cable/VZ-only or DirecTV DECA, you can just use a single adapter for either network! It’s also insurance if you decide to switch between Cable and Satellite, and could be bundled with a game console or connected TV at your local electronics store.
Samsung Includes DirecTV RVU Support on All 2012 Smart TVs
Samsung threw even more support behind the RVU standard by announcing support for DirecTV in all of it’s new Smart TVs. RVU is the standard that allows your TV to have it’s own set-top box features, connecting to a central RVU DVR server (the DirecTV HR34 Home Media Center) via Ethernet or MoCA networking. The TV can then access DVR shows, Live DirecTV, PPV, etc… just as if it was connected to a set-top box. Since the RVU software is basically just an App that runs on the Smart TV, don’t be surprised to see more support for DirecTV on other connected devices like bluray players, game consoles, tablets and smartphones.
MyGica Introduces New MoCA Ethernet Over Coax Kit
MyGica, known for it’s TV and PC video products, launched a new MoCA Ethernet Over Coax Kit to complement it’s lineup of USB video capture products and Android set-top box. The kit includes 2 Ethernet-over-Coax adapters, is compatible with MoCA 1.1 networks, and ships directly from their online partner at a great value. New users who are considering MoCA networking now have a lot of options to choose the solution that fits them best.
Wi3 MoCA Product Wins CES 2012 Innovations Award: Discovery News
Faster Home Networks Using Coaxial : Discovery News.
CES 2012 Innovations Award Winners
Building on the success of it’s WiPNET product, Wi3 announced that it had won the CES 2012 Best of Innovations Award in the Home Networking category. The WiPNET replaces the coax outlet in your home and is described by Discovery Channel News:
Each patented in-wall sleeve and interchangeable cartridge features two Ethernet ports and is professionally installed in 5 minutes without ripping apart or drilling into sheetrock. Even better, the system is future-proof. As the technology evolves, you’ll be able to customize/upgrade your home media set-up by simply swapping in a new cartridge.
WiPNET has also won 2011 CEDIA Manufacturers’ Excellence Finalist, 2011 Resi Award for Industrial Design, 2011 CE Pro Best Technologies Award, and Communications Technology 2011 Platinum Award. Congratulations to Wi3 and their amazing MoCA-based product.
MoCA Tech Back at CEDIA Expo, and Bigger Than Ever
The CEDIA EXPO 2011 is coming up, Sept 7-10 in Indianapolis, IN, and this year promises even more MoCA exhibitors and products than ever before. Last year it was DirecTV that was launching their new whole home DVR service and this year should include even more MoCA surprises. See the announcement from MoCA Alliance website below:
MoCA® makes it simple.
Join MoCA at Booth 327, CEDIA Expo 2011, September 8 – 10, Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, IND
Use MoCA and make money in retrofit video and connected TV installs.
HOW?
- See our live demo and training at CEDIA Expo, Booth 327.
- Attend our money making, retrofit install training session: FREE!
Friday, September 9 @ 10:00 AM OR 2:00PM. Marriot Colorado. Click here to add to your planner. (http://cedia11.mapyourshow.com/5_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=18ADC6)
Indianapolis, Indiana
CEDIA EXPO, Indianapolis Marriott® Downtown Marriott – Colorado room
350 West Maryland Street
Want a free pass to EXPO? Email Robertas@mocalliance.org before Sept. 1, 2011.
Get the CEDIA Expo app:
New MoCA Installation Videos on YouTube
New installation videos are now available on YouTube showing how to install MoCA adapters with various connected devices including Internet TVs, Bluray Players, Game Consoles, Slingbox, TiVo, etc… Stay tuned for more videos on MoCA installation, operation and features – subscribe to our MoCABlog YouTube channel today !
Report: Wi-Fi 30 percent slower than wired
Report: Wi-Fi 30 percent slower than wired | Wireless – CNET News.
Anyone who’s ever used a wired connection at work versus their corporate WiFi shouldn’t be surprised that wired is faster. What is surprising is how much slower WiFi makes your broadband- 30% in the US according to this comprehensive study which polled 14,000 users across 4 countries over 4 months. Specifically, US download speeds averaged 7.4Mbps over a wired connection compared to 5.2Mbps for a WiFi download. The significant difference was also seen in the UK (26.5% slower for WiFi), Italy (40%), and Spain (30.1%). Download the Epitiro study whitepaper here.
This should be an alarm for both consumers and their ISPs. If you’re paying $50/month for 10Mbps cable modem service, you’re really only getting 7Mbps on your WiFi devices. Those “wasted” 3Mpbs are leaking out of your home network in the form of retransmissions, lost bits, and general waste. Your ISP should be as concerned as your power company to conserve, even more so since they are getting paid a flat rate.
Moral: Save Bandwidth, Get a Wired Network! And since most homeowners don’t want to rip up their walls, installing a MoCA coax network is the next best thing to wired Ethernet (and less expensive).
3 Antennas vs 1 Coax: WiFi Still Can’t Do What MoCA Does
Three Stream N For HD Streaming: Close, But No Cigar
As the late great Howard Cosell said “I’m just telling it like it is”, and so are the guys at SmallNetBuilder as they once again stage their HD Smackdown using the latest WiFi competitor, 3 stream 11N. Identified by 3 antennas instead of the usual 2, the latest in WiFi technology has demonstrated increased throughput, but can it successfully stream 1080P HD video without interruptions? Sadly, it’s more “Agony of Defeat” as summed up by SmallNetBuilder:
It may seem hard to believe, but all the additional bandwidth provided by three-stream N still isn’t enough to ensure trouble-free 1080p wireless streaming. The best performance I could achieve still had minor, occasional problems during fact action sequences with a strong, next-room signal and the router set to spectrum-hogging Auto 20/40 MHz bandwidth mode.
So how do you hook up to your brand new Internet TV? Not with the (2 antenna) dongle that comes with the TV and it doesn’t look like powerline does the job either. What do the reviewers recommend?
So it still appears that your best bet for trouble-free 1080p network play remains 100 Mbps Ethernet, with MoCA a viable alternative if your setup allows it.
OnLive Gaming – The Perfect OTT for MoCA
Haven’t heard of OnLive? Then you’re probably not into video gaming or cloud based computing. OnLive was started by Apple/WebTV pioneer Steve Perlman to provide an HD gaming service that would never require updating your game console. How do you do that? By putting all the gaming hardware in the “cloud” ie Internet servers so that the hardware required at home is minimal. It’s essentially an HD TV channel that reacts to your joystick/gamepad moves – a TV channel that interacts with you.
And just how do they perform that magic? Start by locating data centers 1000 miles or less from every customer, using the most advanced GPUs and servers, and squeezing out every bit of latency (delays) from your system. OnLive started out on the PC only and is now introducing their $99 microconsole for HDTV play. And how do you connect your living room to the Internet – via MoCA of course! Aside from wired Ethernet, MoCA has the lowest latency of all networking technologies, typically less than 3.5 milliseconds, so your gaming session goes as smooth as silk with no interruptions. Good luck with using powerline or wireless with this system if someone turns on a blender.
As more advanced over-the-top (OTT) services like OnLive launch, the more consumers will clamor for a reliable wired home network like MoCA.
