Netgear's Coax-Ethernet Adapter up for pre-order

by Darren Murph posted Jan 29th 2009 at 8:53AM

Netgear quietly introduced us to its MCAB1001 MoCA Coax-Ethernet adapter (among other things) at CES this year, but the curiously useful device has just now set itself up for pre-ordering. Put simply, this is the device to get for those who both loathe wireless (and all those inexplicable dropouts) and can't pony up the courage / fundage / willpower to wire their home with Ethernet. By enabling users to extend Ethernet signals over existing in-wall coax cabling, you can easily pass along web content, Blu-ray / DVD material or practically any other digital signal over the coax network that's (hopefully) already established within your domicile's walls. Yeah, $229.99 is a bit pricey, but go price out a house full of Ethernet and then reevaluate.

[Thanks, Matt]

Filed under: Media streamers, Other hardware, Ports, Others

Tags: adapter, coax, Coax-Ethernet Adapter, Coax-ethernetAdapter, coaxial, ethernet, home networking, HomeNetworking, MCAB1001, moca, networking

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

scyber @ Jan 29th 2009 11:28AM

Cheaper to get a motorola nim-100 on ebay. Can be found for less than $50 each. Heck you can even get a pair of verizon actiontec routers on ebay for cheaper than this.

Neutral

Money Mike @ Jan 29th 2009 2:55PM

Having Verizon FIOS, I love the speed of the service, but I got sick of the dropouts with the wireless internet with my router being placed downstairs and my computer being upstairs. I was looking for a way to have another "router" - or something along those lines - for my upstairs bedroom so that I could plug my computer directly in and not worry about getting disconnected (regardless of my adapter, I was getting kicked off every couple of days at the minimum, causing me to restart the router). I was also looking for a way to plug in some other devices - such as my Xbox360 and my Popcorn Hour. This device would have been perfect, but the price is way too high.

When I asked around a while back, I found out I could simply pick up another Actiontec router (which Verizon gives you when you sign up) for cheap and configure it to work in conjunction with the first one. It's also setup to duplicate the wireless settings of the downstairs router, so I get much better coverage for anything I want to use wirelessly upstairs. I never have to reset anything anymore and I am able to plug in a bunch of different devices.

The best part is that you can pick these up for about $30 from computergeeks.com - much less than the device in this article. The only catch, of course, is that I don't know if that would help anyone with service other than FIOS.

Neutral

squiggleslash @ Jan 29th 2009 11:45AM

Yes, but if it's pricey, people will not buy it. Saying "Oh, it's cheaper than re-wiring your house" doesn't mean much if your problem isn't "Oh, if I rewire my house, my daughter is going to have to forgoe having a pony for her Birthday this year" but "How much?! When my HELOC has been canceled? I couldn't afford that!"

In any case, what would be nice is to see the powerline ethernet stuff be cheaper and faster. I'm already using my coax.

Neutral

CraigK @ Jan 29th 2009 1:05PM

We found a great licensed electrician who was allowed to do side jobs by his employer. For $800, he ran a 2nd phone ext, ran all cat5e and coax to 5 rooms, installed a central box, ran coax out to exterior for sat dish feed, and had a guy redo the drywall with paint. 2 days and looks perfect. Builders will charge $3000+ or this. Anyone looking, try craigslist under Barter. He originally was going to do all this for a stove/dishwasher swap.

Neutral

mados123 @ Jan 29th 2009 3:04PM

I have had good luck with my clients using the Corinex Coax Cable products when they first came out at 14 Mps max. Not sure what the speed of the Motorola is but I can't imagine it being around 200 Mps at those prices and being able to stream HD content. Instead of $200+ for one Netgear, you can get 2 (which is needed for bridging) Corinex wall mount units at $200 when directly ordered from the company.

http://www.corinex.com/product/56.html

Just read the post re: Verizon Fios and adding coax bridging to their setup. Smart idea.

Neutral

scyber @ Jan 29th 2009 4:09PM

Not sure the exact speed, but it is more than enough for HD. I can stream 1080p x264 content from my server to my PCH with no issues. I can also stream recorded HD shows between my TiVoHDs at faster than realtime over the connection. I have read comments that the chip in the nim-100 should be able to get you 100mbps.

Neutral

Glenn Pratt @ Feb 5th 2009 5:52AM

The Motorola is MoCA, just like this Linksys (and should be compatible with the Linksys, it's compatible with other MoCA devices) and is capable of the +200Mbps speeds, much faster and more reliable than wireless or old fashioned coax/power/phone adapters. MoCA is very cool and much more than a COAX bridge; it's a high speed, self configuring COAX mesh network that can travel both directions through splitters. I've used it for some very cool and time saving setups with work when we moved employees into unwired buildings and housing for emergency work.

The reason the NIM-100s are so cheap used is Verizon installed a ton of them in houses before the ActionTec MoCA routers came out. I get the feeling most of them "fell" out the back of installers trucks.

iPhone dev accused of harvesting player phone numbers Dhani Harrison: Rock Band 3 will make you better at actual rocking Mass Effect price dropped to $10 on Steam this weekend	You spend more time on MSN Messenger than ANYTHING else Mozilla Jetpack contest winner harnesses GPU power to process data Fugly Friday : Aiseikai Hospital has no opthamologist on staff
Found Photos: Rarely seen Steve Jobs Apple patent application details simple "Grab and Go" sync Save URLs for later with Quiet Read	Layoffs slowing down, but upturn isn't coming yet Trade #2: Coca-Cola (KO) Petrobras shares continue to ascend
Reminder: Watch the first episode of Halo Legends today Homemade Fallout 3 Shishkebab, make 'em now before the apocalypse Gears of War 2 celebrates first anniversary with triple XP	REPORT: BAIC/Koenigsegg may produce Saab 9-5 in China Triumph and TAG Heuer honor Steve McQueen with special Bonneville SEMA 2009: Gran Turismo Best in Show is the Trans-Cammer Mustang
GoGamer.com brings us some pre-Black Friday sales Left 4 Dead 2 pre-load now available on Steam Reminder: Shattered Horizon giveaway contest	Broncos Sign Veteran CB Ty Law The Once-Over: Week 9 With Yankees Done, Pressure's Really on the Giants Now