Heard on the Net

News about People and Companies influencing The Broadband Home

Briefly Noted: Updates, Observations and Trends

Each month, we collect miscellaneous happenings, studies, trends or observations you might have missed. This month we feature a WiMAX white paper, statistics on DSL and European broadband and some more observations on mobile video.

Two Approaches to Networked Digital Video: DLNA and HANA

As digital video takes its place front and center in the home, standards are needed to simplify interconnection, networking and remote operation. DLNA has been developing interoperable networking standards for some time. Now a new alliance--the High-Definition Audio-Video Network Alliance (HANA)--is developing standards specifically for networked high-definition video. Its narrower focus and sense of urgency have led it to embrace different standards than those chosen by DLNA. Will the home need two networks for digital video?

Don't Let My TV Crash: An Interview With UpdateLogic

Bug fixes and feature updates used to be associated with computers, not with television sets. But digital TVs have tens of megabytes of firmware--and will need updates to fix bugs, comply with changing specifications, and support emerging applications. UpdateLogic offers TV manufacturers a way to update firmware without customer intervention.

Your Voice -- Readers Comments

We received many comments from readers about our condo project and digital interconnections for PCs and AV, a request on newsletter format and some positive reinforcement for writing the newsletter.

Upcoming Conferences

Those who are cheering for the resurgence of interactive services should consider attending The Red Button Interactive Show. If you're going to NAB, there's a one-day IPTV summit in Las Vegas later this month.