Homeplug technology was conceptualized nearly a decade ago. A fantastic idea, it has come a long way, ‘intending’ to use the electrical wiring inside your home for data transmission! The technology initially provided rates of about 14 Mbps, and after 2005, at rates of 200 Mbps. ‘Intending’, because the technology has taken its sweet time to enter out homes (and hearts?), which is always a case as technology trickles down slowly. But with the increasing width of data streams (videos being the main culprit), Homeplug is knocking incessantly on jittery Wi-Fi’s feeble doors. So much so that even WiFi’s latest ‘N’ avatar has been found to stutter while streaming high resolution videos from online services like YouTube or Netflix, calling in for an alternative.
Storage giants Western Digital are providing the perfect partner for their colossal storage media, as sharing is set to become easier with the uncomplicated ‘WD Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit’ that will use the good old copper wires running inside your house, in place of Ethernet cables, for data transfer.
The kit contains two Livewire adapters that will act as the intermediates between your devices and the electricity grid. One of these adapters is to be plugged into your main router and an AC supply, and the other to be plugged in the AC supply of the room that needs to be networked. Each adapter has four Ethernet ports for further connectivity with HDTVs, Home Theatres or the plain ol’ PC. The kit is priced at $139.99.