Features

Design Features include:

Distributed — media, communications and control are available throughout the home, unified under a common user interface. A/V media is routed to satellite devices called medianodes (more in system section) - either as independent sources of entertainment (unicast), or synchronized in multiple locations (multicast). The system is initially designed to use wired and wireless transmission, migrating to fully wireless as the technology matures;

Low Impact — also called the Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF), the system is designed to be wall-hugging – ready to take advantage of thin screen TVs and give the family their living space back. Without fans or hard disks, medianodes are quiet, produce less heat and are more reliable than full computers;

10' + 2' Interface — A 10 foot interface (standard remote control) maximizes ease of use and new product acceptance, however higher-order control is sacrificed. By using a touchpad and RF communications, the 10 foot interface in mediabank offers more control at greater ranges and wider angles.

A touch tablet — the 2 foot interface, enables the following tasks without interrupting the main entertainment:

	Greater control — jump to a position, manage the playlist, change enhanced audio and video settings;

	Route content around the home more easily and intuitively;

	Manage large content libraries — search through similar genres, names, linked content. Add, remove, open and save playlists;

	Interactive Content — follow static and dynamic (time-sensitive) links within the content, add auxiliary content to the playlist, get sports scores, historical records, recipes, etc.;

	Browsing — search for more information on the internet. Study while watching. Video is a community activity, browsing is a solo activity (but can be tasked to the big screen at any time).

Educational — Much more than parental control, mediabank enables interaction and exploration of the rich information that is collected by the authors of educational content via links within the content, through the concomitant web sites, or through general web research. All without interrupting the main screen;

Open Standards — Although content would be secure, the browser-based control interface of mediabank allows laptops, PDAs, cell phones and desktop computers to control the system. It also allows 3rd party software tools to integrate with the system;

Distributed Resources — The modular design of mediabank can incorporate multiple sources for entertainment - cable, satellite, IPTV, off-air, DVRs, VOD, internet sources and personal media files. The server is a common storage point, available 24x7, and can manage additional content from other sources;

High-end and Legacy A/V Interface — mediabank is designed to merge with high-end A/V installations, providing greater distribution and control, without degrading the high-end performance of the main room. These features also integrate and extend legacy equipment (analog TVs, VCRs, etc.) throughout the network;

Appliance — mediabank is designed for the robustness and ease-of-use of an everyday home appliance. Failure points, such as fans and hard disks are removed from satellite devices. The server uses RAID disk arrays for the first level of protection, and automatic backup of system settings and purchased content tracking for second layer protection;

Affordable — the system is designed to be affordable to middle-class American households.

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