Western Digital just announced a new home networking kit for hooking up your media to your various entertainment devices. Called the WD Livewire Powerline, the setup lets you stream HD content to your home theater using the house’s existing electrical wiring.
Using the HomePlug AV standard, the devices plug into your electrical outlets to send data from one room to another, sparing you from upgrading to WiFi-compatible hardware (hey, you’re cheap), lest install a mass of cables all over your house. Offering data transfers of up to 200 megabits per second, it can support playback of 1080p streams on up to seven connected machines all at the same time.
The WD Livewire Powerline comes with two HomePlug AV adapters, each one equipped with four Ethernet ports. Setting up is as simple as plugging the adapters in two separate areas – one where you’ll be watching the streams and the other wherever your router is. Connect the corresponding Ethernet ports and you’re good to go, all without having to trip on wires while you make your way from the upstairs bedroom to the living room and back.
Power cables and ethernet cables all come with the package, so you can quickly get up and running as soon as you pop the box open. Since the electrical lines essentially become surrogate Ethernet connections, you can literally stream anything from your connected storage, including movies, music and other types of data.
Western Digital’s Livewire Powerline AV Network Kit is now available, priced at $139.99. Each purchase includes a one-year limited warranty.
[WDC]