Call me a Luddite, but I've always found the whole idea of setting up a dedicated wired connection just to get an AC-powered gadget connected to the network to be a superfluous hassle. I've already hooked up one (thick) wire, the AC power cord. Why can't I just use it for network packet-shuttling purposes, too? In fact, I can; that's the whole premise of powerline networking, although few devices (save the occasional router) currently integrate the power-transported-packets function within them. Instead, indicative of the still-embryonic state of this particular market, you're forced to externally connect a dedicated Ethernet-to-powerline bridge adapter, which you then connect to a different AC socket.

Conceptually, however, the single-connection vision remains valid. And I've noticed encouraging signs of market maturation in recent months. Now-conventional '200 Mbps' powerline adapters are now advertised on sale for around $50 for a two-pack; that's less than half the price that manufacturers and retail partners were promoting not so very long ago. And latest-generation '500 Mbps' adapter two-packs are selling for not much more moola; $75 or so.

I've been daily using as well as periodically evaluating various powerline networking technologies since mid-2004, back in the '14 Mbps' HomePlug 1.0 days. Given recent trends, I figured I was due for an evaluation revisit. How well do latest generation adapters fulfill their marketing promises? Can we finally dispense with burrowing through dirty, spider- and snake-infested crawlspaces and drilling holes in walls and floors in order to route Cat5e cable around?

Powerline networking products are quite popular in the European and Asian markets compared to the US. The Western Digital Livewire product was the first powerline product reviewed by AnandTech. In that piece, I had covered the various powerline networking standards currently in existence. The initiatives of the HomePlug consortium resulted in the IEEE P1901 standard and HomeGrid's efforts have led to the ITU G.hn specifications.

In the WD Livewire coverage, I had noted the lack of working silicon from any of the G.hn supporters as the prime reason for its struggles. Did things change at CES 2011? Read on to find out what I gathered from my meetings with Atheros and Sigma Designs.

Almost all CE devices sold in the market today have some sort of connection to the Internet as well as the home network. The consumers' need to transfer data back and forth between various locations in their residences has led to wireless routers becoming ubiquitous in every home connected to the Internet. However, wireless networking is not a worry-free solution for everyone. The real world performance of wireless networks heavily depends on the layout and construction of the house, as well as the nature of other CE devices operating simultaneously. Running an Ethernet cable around the house is a very good option, but is not worth the hassle and cost for many. Given this situation, the electrical network inside the house looks like an unexploited part of the equation. The HomePlug AV standard aims to take advantage of the electrical wiring inside the house to network various computers and various CE products.

In today's review, we will look at Western Digital's first foray into the HomePlug AV market, the WD Livewire. The company claims that the intent of the product is to deliver the Internet to various locations in your house, including the place where the TV and devices like the WDTV Live are placed. Does the WD Livewire succeed in this respect? Read on to find out.