10 Points About IP Caldwell ID

IP. Those two little letters are so important in many of the latest home technology products that we install. IP stands for Internet Protocol, which has become the defacto language that newer electronics products use to communicate with one another in the home (like your computers) and to the outside world via a high-speed Internet connection.

With IP connectivity you can distribute audio, video, and data all around the house from digital content that you have stored or downloaded from the Internet. Without it, you have islands of entertainment or data content in your home, accessible only in the place where the content resides. For example, we dont have a water heater in every room that needs hot water; we distribute it through an infrastructure of pipes and fixtures that can transport and dispense hot water. Like the water heater service, we now have hard drives that can distribute their audio/video and data content over an infrastructure of Cat-5 computer wiring to IP client devices throughout the home. Just as you need to know a little about a plumbing system (like where to turn the water off when youre dishwasher starts leaking), you need to know some facts about the IP system in your clients home, because it is the lifeblood of a digital home infrastructure.

1) You cant touch, see, feel or smell IP, but you can tell if its working with your computer by running what is called a ping test. On an XP computer you need to open the RUN command (to get to a DOS prompt) and type in the line: ping www.yahoo.com. If you get a ping reply, then you know that the computer is connected on your home network and to the outside Internet (in this case the Yahoo portal). If you receive no reply, then your IP is not flowingeither the problem is inside your home or with your gateway connection to the outside world.

2) IP network connections used to be only on computers and laptops. Now you can find them on printers, storage drives, thermostats, lighting control systems, A/V receivers, speakers and even pianos! (see www.opus7.net/_media/popup_article.htm)

3) IP is the language of the Internet. It is part of the protocol TCP/IP. Just as English is the dominant language in the world for verbal communication, IP has become the dominant form of data communication primarily because of the Internets phenomenal success.

4) IP-enabled products can often be controlled and upgraded from computers and/or over the Internet. This makes them potentially easier to use and to upgrade. For example, a TiVo with an IP network connection can display photos from your homes hard drive or allow you to program it remotely from an Internet-connected computer. TiVo without an IP network connection is simply a personal video recorder connected to your television.

5) IP is a feature that you should look for in each of the A/V products that you sell and support; it may be the important differentiator that can help you decide between two similar products.

6) IP can travel over wir...

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