One interesting shift with the growth in network connected devices is the need to move from wireless networking to high speed wired connections – increasingly, we want to stream high definition video and ever higher quality audio files to multiple locations around the home, and wireless (even 802.11n) just doesn’t cut it.
I’ve just bought a variety of gigabit switches for various rooms in the house – each TV has either a digital media receiver or a games console connected to it and so it was interesting to see Netgear announce the 5-port Home Theater and Gaming Network Switch (GS605AV) this morning, which at first looks appears to be an updated version of their current 5 port Gigabit switch (in piano black rather than white to match the rest of your kit).
5 ports sounds like a lot, but think about just how many devices are now shipping with multiple Ethernet ports – you want all of these connected up sharing media inside and outside the home.
- Connect your networked TV, TiVO,™ DVR, blu-ray player, game console and cable/satellite STB to your home network and the Interne
- Capable of streaming full HD 1080p video, digital music and latency-free online gaming
- Prioritize and optimize performance of your internet and networked video, digital music and online gaming such as YouTube,™ Hulu,™ iTunes and XBOX
- Auto power-down mode save energy when port is unused
- Auto Green mode detects cable length and adjusts power usage to save energy
No word on pricing, but expect to see this guy appear in the Spring.
More Info: Netgear
