Optical Solutions Demonstrates Streaming Movies to Home Computers Using Microsoft Windows XP and Intertainer - Brief Article

Fiber Optics Business, July 15, 2001

Optical Solutions Inc. is working with Microsoft Corp. and Intertainer at Supercomm 2001 to demonstrate the streaming video capabilities of the Microsoft Windows XiP operating system. In the "living room" of Optical Solutions' Supercomm booth, the companies are using Optical Solutions' fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network to deliver Intertainer's entertainment on demand service to Windows XP-based home computers. A fiber optic cable interconnected the Microsoft booth with the Optical Solutions booth to facilitate the demonstration.

Microsoft Windows XP, available October 25, 2001, has been designed with an emphasis on multimedia features such as Web publishing and streaming audio and video. Connecting the Windows XP system to a broadband fiber optic network, and then piping through Intertainer movies, music, and television shows, allows streaming video to be viewed in its finest form.

"Fiber is the only medium that does justice to 'killer apps' like streaming media," said Optical Solutions' chairman and CEO, Darryl Ponder. "And you don't have to stop there -- with a fiber optic connection to the home, family members can watch a movie, talk on the phone, surf the Internet, and play an interactive game -- all at the same time. Only fiber can offer consumers all the bandwidth they'll ever need, all the time."

The Windows XP/Intertainer demo will leverage Optical Solutions' new FiberPath 400 fiberto-the-home system, which makes its debut at Supercomm 2001. FiberPath 400 is a complete equipment, networking, and systems integration solution for service providers that delivers up to 100 Mbps data speeds, multi-line voice service, streaming IP video, and hundreds of analog and digital cable-TV channels directly to the home, business, and broader community.

"Fiber to the home is the end-game for delivering real video entertainment to families at home, and computers using Windows XP are ready to receive and show it," said Peyton Smith, general manager of the network service providers group at Microsoft. "Content providers such as Intertainer are poised to give customers movies, music, and more, and with Windows XP, today's PCs can now handle video much more gracefully than they have in the past. All we're missing is the bandwidth to your house, and fiber to the home is emerging as the favored way to get that."

Optical Solutions is now in its fourth generation of designing, manufacturing, and marketing fiber-to-the-home solutions. The new FiberPath 400 transmits voice, video, and high-speed data directly to the home and small business via a passive optical network (PON), which allows the service provider maximum flexibility and cost-savings for construction and maintenance.

In the tradition of FiberPath, the new FiberPath 400 is purely optical, with no commingling of copper or coax near the customer premise, and no special wiring required within the home or business.