Ethernet Over Coax

Recently two companies, Netgear and D Link, have released their Ethernet Over Coax adapters. As the name implies, these adapters allow you to use your coax cable as a high speed Ethernet network connection. One of the biggest hurdles to the Digital Home is network connectivity, as many homes do not come equipped with Cat5/6 wiring throughout the house. To get around this you can set up a wireless network, but if you are looking to stream HD content this is not the best solution. Another option is to install additional Cat5/6. However this can be a considerable cost (especially if you hire someone) as well as banging up some walls/ceilings to run the wires. If you are willing to take the time to do yourself I think this is the best option. I just recently ran some Cat6 in my house and total cost for all materials (this was my first time ever doing so I had to buy tools) came out to around $100, well worth it.

If you want the reliability of a wired network but don’t want to install Cat5/6 then Powerline or Ethernet Over Coax may be the answer. At face value Powerline may be the better option as it is pretty much guaranteed that you will have multiple outlets in each room. I have used powerline in my house and have had mixed results though as there are a lot of factors that will influence the throughput you get such as distance (the greater the distance from point A to point B the less throughput), electric wiring on different circuit boards, interference from appliances, etc… What shows promise with Ethernet over Coax is that factors that may affect powerline should not affect coax. Price is still a little on the high side, with the Netgear/D-Link products falling in the $150-$250 price range, but I would expect the prices to fall rather quickly. From reading around the setup seems to be very easy, another big plus.

For Netgear details, click here.

For D-Link details, click here.