Those speeds are entirely inadequate for the newer devices making their way into the home, including the digital media adapter, digital furnace and media renderers. Even accessing a simple MP3 server from around the house can give these slower networks fits - not to mention video and audio together.

For today's home networks, it's all about the content. Modern PC hardware is more than up to the task of streaming and rendering audio and video, but what about the network pipes? With faster wireless networks now claiming speeds between 11 and 72Mbits/sec, and even wire-line networks (which use your home's electrical wiring to send data signals) exceeding 10Mbits/sec, do we now have the means to move multimedia around the house without cracking the walls or snaking Ethernet cables around the floor? And can you blast video and run your Microwave without dropping frames?.