Home Area Networks and IPTV

The field of Home Area Networks (HAN), a dedicated residential subset of LAN technologies for home-based use, is fast becoming the next frontier for the communications industry. This book describes the various technologies involved in the implementation of a HAN: high-speed Internet connections, indoor implementations, services, software, and management packages. It also reviews multimedia applications (which are increasingly the most important and complex aspects of most HANs) with a detailed description of IPTV technology. It highlights the main technologies used for HANs: information transmission by means of copper pairs, coaxial cables, fiber optics, and Wi-Fi radio s…