News

Eight Technology Leaders Form Multimedia Over Cable Alliance To Enable Entertainment Devices to Interconnect Throughout the Home Via Coax Cabling (14/1/2004)

-- High speed network uses existing cable to deliver DVD/HDTV-quality video-

Eight leading consumer electronics, cable and satellite providers, technology providers, and retailers, have formed the Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA) to enable consumer entertainment devices such as TVs, digital settop boxes, digital video recorders (DVRs) DVDs, digital VHSs, CD/MP3 players, and PCs to seamlessly interconnect throughout the home using its existing coax cabling. The founders of the new Alliance include Cisco Systems, Comcast, EchoStar, Entropic Communications, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), Motorola, RadioShack Corporation, and Toshiba.

The goal of MoCA is to develop specifications and certify products that will tap into the vast amounts of unused bandwidth available on the in-home coax without the need for new connections, wiring, point of entry devices or truck rolls. It is anticipated that the first MoCA enabled products will be released within the next year.

The technology underlying MoCA provides the vital elements necessary to distribute DVD quality entertainment throughout the home - high speed (270 mbps), high quality of service (QoS), and the innate security of a shielded, wired connection combined with state of the art packet-level encryption. Coax is designed for carrying high bandwidth video. Today, coax reliably and securely delivers millions of dollars of pay per view and premium video content on a daily basis. The MoCA network also can also be used as a backbone for multiple wireless access points, extending the reach of wireless throughout a consumer's home.

"MoCA is an important step in delivering a home network that can securely connect the most advanced entertainment, wireless and computer devices in the home without the need for new wiring or connections," said Ladd Wardani, President of MoCA. "The companies founding MoCA represent the commitment of industry leaders at each key level of the value chain to simultaneously distribute high quality digital video and broadband data throughout the home."

Installation is simple: a MoCA enabled device connects to the network with a standard coax F connector (TV connector). This allows the consumer to connect video devices without new connectors and in the manner and location to which they are accustomed. The MoCA network extends and coexists with terrestrial, cable and satellite provider services on the same home coax cabling, and supports a retail product roll out.

The simplicity of installation and ease-of-use, QoS, high speed, and security features combine to provide unprecedented sharing of entertainment and digital content throughout the home.

www.mocalliance.org