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News: Hidden clue to Lost's timeline?
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Today's Show:
We review the Viewsonic N3250w wide-screen LCD TV. And we've talked about HANA in the past, today we introduce MoCA, the Multimedia over Coax Alliance. They are doing similar things but over the Coax already running through your house.
Features:
- Two stereo speakers mounted below the screen
- 32-inch LCD TV; measures 31.75 x 23.75 x 9.5 inches (WxHxD) with included stand
- Eight millisecond response time, 170-degree viewing angle
- Watch TV and surf the Internet or check e-mail at the same time with the PIP (video-over-data) window
-
Inputs: 1 composite, 1 S-Video, 1 component, 1 RF, 1 HDMI
What we liked:
- Price
- Size - (speakers on bottom) so its not too wide
- Sound - the speakers actually sound pretty good
- Color - good color when viewed head on
- Small shipping box - this is a bigger deal than you would think. You can put this in the back seat of most mid sized cars.
- HDMI HDCP compliant
What we didn't like:
- Off angle viewing
- Poor Blacks
- Very Clumsy menu system
- Hard to switch inputs
Although
this TV has been around for a bit it is still available at stores like CompUSA and online at the Amazon.com. The TV can be found for just under $1000 after a mail in
rebate. The bottom line for the TV is that it is a good performer for
the price. The TV has a fast response time of 8 ms and does a pretty
decent job with color. The sound is quite good for TV speakers. But
other than that it is pretty ordinary. The Blacks are not very good and
we found noise in the picture, including HD. The lack of an ATSC tuner
may not be a big deal for everyone but by now every TV should have one.
For just a little more money the Syntax gives you Super In-plane
Switching for better color and off angle viewing.
About MoCA
MoCA, the Multimedia over Coax Alliance was formed to develop in-home
multimedia networks over standard coaxial cable. Almost every
house in the US has coax run to just about every room, MoCA wants to
leverage that existing infrastructure to create a mechanism to transport
digital entertainment and other information content from room to room.
From MoCA's Website:
The goal of MoCA is to create specifications and certify products that will
tap into the vast amounts of unused bandwidth available on the in-home coax
without the need for new connections, wiring, point of entry devices or
truck rolls. It is anticipated that the first MoCA enabled products will be
released within the next year.
More than 70% of homes in the United States have coax already installed into
the home infrastructure. Many have existing coax in one or more primary
entertainment consumption locations such as family rooms, media rooms and
master bedrooms - ideal for deploying networks. MoCA technology allows
homeowners to utilize this infrastructure as a networking system and to
deliver other entertainment and information programming with high QoS.
The technology underlying MoCA provides the vital elements necessary to
distribute DVD quality entertainment throughout the home - high speed (270
mbps), high quality of service (QoS), and the innate security of a shielded,
wired connection combined with state of the art packet-level encryption.
Coax is designed for carrying high bandwidth video. Today, it is regularly
used to securely deliver millions of dollars of pay per view and premium
video content on a daily basis. The MoCA network also can also be used as a
backbone for multiple wireless access points used to extend the reach of
wireless throughout a consumer's entire home.
From the MoCA FAQ:
What is necessary for "no excuses" video?
The requirements on the home network
are numerous. However, the key requirements are reliability and
ubiquity, without which deployment is not feasible. The home networking
solution that can and will be deployed is one that is a >95%
solution, with reasonable remediation for the remaining <5%. One
that can support multiple HDTV and SDTV streams, the best packet error
rate (PER), security, and low jitter and low delay for voice and
gaming.
Does it co-exist or interfere with Docsis, CATV, Satellite, HAM radio?
The MoCA frequency plan is
specifically designed to co-exist with Docsis, CATV signals, satellite
and other RF signals. MoCA's frequency can be set to accommodate other
services. It uses a 50MHz channel bandwidth and can reside between
850MHz and 1.5GHz.
Does MoCA work through splitters? How many?
The coax splitters used in homes are
really directional couplers designed to isolate splitter outputs and
prevent signals from flowing room/outlet to room/outlet. This isolation
is for two reasons, a) reduce interference from other devices and b)
maximize power transfer from Point Of Entry (POE) to outlets for best
TV reception. The MoCA technology is specifically designed to go
backwards through splitters (insertion) and go from splitter output to
output (isolation). All outlets in a house can be reached from each
other by a single isolation jump and a number of insertion jumps. Each
isolation jump has an attenuation of 25dB and each insertion jump
attenuates approximately 3dB. MoCA has a dynamic range in excess of
55dB and still support 135Mbps throughput, therefore MoCA can work
effectively through a significant number of splitters.
MoCA News:
Motorola Introduces First All-Digital Set-Top Family With Built-In Home
Media Networking Capabilities |
