News

Intellon and BridgeCo Introduce Industry's First Powerline Audio Reference Design (1/12/2004)

Enabling Original Design Manufacturers to Offer HomePlug-Enabled Home Audio Networking Products

Intellon Corporation, the world leader in powerline communications, today announced that it has joined BridgeCo, a leading provider of wired and wireless digital home entertainment networking solutions, to introduce the industry's first HomePlug(R)-enabled audio Digital Media Player (DMP). The design is based on Intellon's INT 5200 chipset, which enables whole-house audio sharing via existing powerlines, and BridgeCo's silicon and software platform, which provides home networking capabilities to consumer audio products.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the availability of multimedia content and the need to converge PCs with other consumer electronics products throughout the home. This trend has led to an increased interest in a home broadband gateway that offers reliable whole-house multimedia audio and video sharing. According to a recent study from In- Stat/MDR, multimedia networking is one of the key drivers for the home networking semiconductor market, which is expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2008.

Using BridgeCo's DMP, consumers are able to break away from their home offices and enjoy digital music anywhere in the home. The DMP plugs into any existing stereo system, connecting it directly to a PC or the Internet. End- users control the DMP to select MP3 tracks from their PC's hard drive, and radio stations or music services directly from the Internet, using a simple remote control and the DMP's built-in LCD display. Intellon and BridgeCo are offering a comprehensive reference design that provides ODMs with a fast time- to-market and cost-efficient vehicle on which to launch new consumer products. The companies expect that consumer products based on the reference design will sell for US$ 100 to US$ 150.

"Home powerline networking offers reliable connectivity, limitless coverage area, and increased security," said Angelo Ugge, CEO of BridgeCo. "By joining Intellon and developing the industry's first reference design for HomePlug-enabled audio products, we are further demonstrating our commitment in addressing consumer needs for anytime, anywhere entertainment."

Targeted to be compliant with future interoperability guidelines published by the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), BridgeCo's DMP provides ready- to-go Internet Radio and PC content access. Based on sophisticated radio station database management and integrated network management, it provides easy setup functions on a home network. Using UPnP(TM)1.0 and UPnP(TM) A/V, the Personal Jukebox Application allows media file browsing on any PC on the network and playback on the DMP. Incorporating PC Installer Software for easy installation and MusicMatch Jukebox 9.0, BridgeCo's DMP is a complete package to enjoy the digital music experience instantaneously out-of the box.

"The home networking market is witnessing a transition from data oriented usage, to one where multimedia content is the key driver," said Andreas Melder, SVP of strategic business development at Intellon Corporation. "This transition also opens new doors for Intellon to embed our ICs into various consumer electronic products, such as audio speakers, modems and set-top boxes. This will enable new opportunities, such as whole-house audio distribution, wireless extension, voice over IP, and home security and monitoring. Working with BridgeCo to introduce the first HomePlug-enabled audio reference design is our first step to realizing this opportunity."

Intellon's home powerline networking technology was selected by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance as the baseline for its new HomePlug 1.0.1 powerline communications specification.

www.bridgeco.net
www.intellon.com