The Wireless Conundrum

Although wireless home networks are easier to set up than traditional wired networks, the current set of wireless protocols is not sufficient for some home entertainment scenarios. Moreover, a confusing array of rapidly evolving protocols may convince some consumers to wait until the industry has settled on a single standard.

As of early 2006, two of the three approved protocols-802.11a and g-offer realistic throughput of about 20Mbps, which is enough for standard-definition video, such as TV programs and DVD playback. (Their stated throughput, at 54Mbps, is significantly higher, but only a fraction of that is available to carry user data. The rest is used for network addressing, error correction, and collision avoidance among multiple transmitters.)

However, both protocols have problems. 802.11a generally requires a line-of-sight connection and is not interoperable with the earlier 802.11b standard, requiring early adopters to purchase completely new equipment. 802.11g is subject to interference from common electronic devices, such as microwave ovens and Bluetooth devices. In addition, while 802.11g works with 802.11b gear, using the two types of devices together further reduces throughput to 6Mbps, which is insufficient for standard-definition video, although acceptable for some forms of compressed video (such as clips downloaded from the Internet).