c.LINK-270 Chipset Uses Coax Wiring To Simplify Home Networking

SAN DIEGO – Jan. 5, 2004 – Entropic Communications today introduced the c.LINK-270™, a revolutionary chipset that transforms a homeowner’s existing coaxial cable infrastructure into a robust (270Mbps) home network, ideal for room-to-room video distribution, gaming, Internet connectivity, and more.

“Coax cable is already installed in virtually every home in America,” according to Patrick Henry, Entropic president & CEO. “It’s super reliable, shielded, and can handle huge volumes of data; the trick was getting it to handle two-way traffic for room- to-room communications. The c.LINK-270 enables a no-new-wires solution for true multimedia networking in the home… “Enabling true coax networking requires traversing splitters from output to output, something they were specifically designed not to do. Entropic’s c.LINK waveform, however, jumps splitters from output to output, and peacefully co-exists with all the content (cable, satellite, etc.) currently on the coax. Therefore, networking with c.LINK-equipped devices over coax means no new wiring or hardware is needed, and it can be installed by the average homeowner with plug-and-play simplicity.

About c.LINK – Entropic’s c.LINK-270 chipset provides the industry’s most cost-effective method for networking video and data in the home, and can be built into a variety of consumer electronics – STBs, TVs, PCs, and DVRs. c.LINK-270 delivers a maximum data rate of 270Mbps, capable of streaming multiple simultaneous HDTV and SD videos with no loss of picture quality. “The home networking market is also eagerly awaiting c.LINK’s capability,” says Michael Librizzi, Entropic’s vice president of marketing. “Numerous OEM’s are planning network devices based upon c.LINK such as an Ethernet-to-coax bridge or a WLAN-to-coax bridge.”

c.LINK-270 consists of two ICs: an RF front-end, and baseband controller with an embedded Media Access Controller (MAC). c.LINK technology supports three protocols over the same coax wire: Ethernet, MPEG Transport Stream, and IEEE-1394. A c.LINK-enabled home network supports up to 10 simultaneous channels, each of which has a data capacity of up to 270Mbps for multiple simultaneous HD/SD MPEG Transport Streams and Ethernet packets. For security, c.LINK packets are DES encrypted.

c.LINK-enabled devices will be demonstrated by Entropic and Toshiba at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 8-11. The Entropic demo will be showcased in the new CES Connected Home Entertainment Tech Zone, South Hall 18826, and Toshiba booth on the show floor. The demos will feature multiple simultaneous transmission of SD and HD television; wireless bridge to coax; Internet access via coax throughout the home; multi-room gaming; and coexistence for all these services and more with cable and satellite transmissions already on the coax.

SOURCE