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Sharp intros four-port powerline network box

Home networking, it seems, has become too complicated. Enter Sharp, coming to the rescue with its HN-VA40S and HN-VA10S adaptors, designed to help consumers build home networks using their existing electrical power wiring.

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Sharp's HomePlug 1.1 powerline kit

The powerline communication (PLC) adaptors allow the electrical power wiring to be used as the transmission medium for internet-connected devices, such as PCs, games consoles and TVs.

Basing the two adaptors on the HomePlug 1.1 standard for high-speed transmission over electrical power wiring, Sharp said, will enable your humble home owner to connect a device into the Sharp PLC adapter and then plug that into a socket.

Sharp's move mirrors an earlier move by D-Link and Linksys to make home networking over mains power cables more attractive.

The main differences between the two models are that the HN-VA40S has an integrated hub allowing you to connect four network devices, while the HN-VA10S only offers a single LAN port. Most powerline adaptors incorporate only one LAN connector, so the four-port model should prove hand for folk with more networkable devices than free power sockets.

Both adaptors provide a data throuhput of to 85Mbps, protecting transmitted information using 128-bit AES encryption.

Sharp also announced that it plans to use the HomePlug standard as a basis for expanding its line-up of PLC adaptors in the future.

The two adaptors will be available in the UK in August, but pricing is not yet available.