Mains data kits could lead to networked TVs

Panasonic has launched data-over-the-mains kits into Britain in a move that could herald the day when TVs and other consumer electronics devices are networked as soon as you plug them into a power socket.

The company, a division of the Japanese Matsushita combine, has been developing its own version of the technology, called HD-PLC, for years. There are at least two rival technologies on the market, one developed by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance and the other using chips from the Spanish company DS2.

Akihiro Sobue, manager of Panasonic's HD-PLC development, told me at Cebit a couple of years back that the company planned to implement the technology on the circuit boards of TVs and other devices.

This would introduce the technology to the non-techie home market in a way that could get people using networks without being aware that they are doing so.

But the three powerline technologies are not interoperable, and HomePlug members include the likes of Sony and Samsung, so even Panasonic might not be able to push a maverick technology on the market.

Potentially more serious are fears about radio pollution. All the rival technologies notch out frequencies that might cause problems, and power levels are low; but critics say the radio noise floor will be raised considerably if everyone starts using the technology, with unpredictable consequences.

Panasonic claims its new HD-PLC adapter, the BL-PA100, can transfer data at up to 190Mbits/sec. A pair (you need one at each end of the link, will costs £119.

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