[TelstraClear] Why so much kit?

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Stepdoh

16 posts

Geek

#106387 23-Jul-2012 11:56

Just had a cable install done and was wondering where there was so much kit. Have the Freeview T-Box, a wireless router and two cable modems. Cable is split into three, with a line going into the T-Box and each of the modems. Seems a lot of kit.

Does my t-box have an HD in it, or is it using the second cable modem to up and downlink traffic to network storage? Or is it purely for upgrades/network info etc.

michaeln

238 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#660347 23-Jul-2012 12:59

The T-Box does indeed have a hard drive.

The cable modem associated with the T-Box is used to get the on-screen guide, pay-per-view purchases, etc..

Cable modems are commodity items, much for so than things like the T-Box. So, counterintuitively, it's cheaper to pair a cable modem with the T-Box than to build the cable modem into the T-Box.

The T-box cable modem doesn't connect to the Internet. It's on a separate virtual network. You can see that the T-Box's IP address is 10.x.x.x, in private address space.

The Internet cable modem of course DOES connect to the Internet. It's also usually not very close to the T-box. If the T-Box and the Internet did share a common cable modem, then they'd have to use Cat-5 cable to connect to each other, AND would need a router or at the least an Ethernet hub. Thus, sharing the cable modem wouldn't reduce the number of devices.

Stepdoh

16 posts

Geek

#660354 23-Jul-2012 13:06

Ahh, I see. Guess it helps with keeping technical box stuff unmetred.

Zeon

3916 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#660385 23-Jul-2012 14:27

I guess more reliable than running the T-Box over the internet but does cause tie in to the internet supplier if this were used in future IPTV services.

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