Difference between revisions 117482159 and 117482160 on dewiki

The '''Freebox''' is an [[Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line|ADSL]] [[modem]] that the French [[internet service provider]] named [[Free (ISP)|Free]] (part of the Iliad group) provides to its [[Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line|ADSL]] subscribers.

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* An external hard drive can be connected to its USB and/or eSATA port. However, some TV channels cannot be recorded to an external hard drive due to copyright limitations.
 Such limitations do not apply to channels recorded from [[Télévision Numérique Terrestre|TNT]].
* The video formats supported are quite wide in range, including mp4, H264, mp2, mkv. Some formats are not supported, although firmware updates may increase the number of readable file formats.
* The server automatically detects local network file shares through [[UPnP]] and can read videos from any computer on the local network.
* The server's hard drive is available from the local network to Macintosh, Linux and Windows computers. It can be made available from the outside if the password is strong enough.
* TV over IP is available in real-time to any computer on the local network, if the bandwidth is large enough and the number of simultaneous channels does not exceed 2. However, some channels are not available (the same that cannot be recorded on an external hard-drive).
* The DSL modem router can be configured either as an Ethernet router or a simple DSL modem (bridge-mode).
* The server handles 2 [[Wi-Fi]] networks: a private Wi-Fi network (possibly hidden) and a so-called "FreeWifi" network which creates a [[Hotspot (Wi-Fi)|Hotspot]] and allows any other Freebox customer in proximity to connect to the Internet using a notebook, smartphone or similar.
* The server can be managed through its built-in web server. Also, TV recordings can be managed from the outside.
* Because of the changes in the hardware and capabilities, the monthly fee (initially 29.99€) increased by 6€, but this increase includes modifications in the services fee (see below). It now includes:
** Free calls to any mobile phone in France.
** Calls to landline phones in France and 104 countries, as it was already included before.
** Free calls to any phone in France from any Iinternet connection worldwide.
** Renting the Freebox Revolution Server and its TV box.
** The TV over DSL option (1.99€) is included in the monthly fee but is now optional, so people who are not eligible for such services (i.e. their home is too far away from the [[DSLAM]]) do not need to pay for it.⏎
* The server can act as a [[DECT]] base station for up to 8 DECT handsets.
* The server can access Internet and email with no computer connected, using either the remote control (which includes gyroscopic control) or from a USB keyboard (not included).
* Games are available from the Free-Store. A USB gamepad is included.
* You can plug in a USB memory stick with photos or music files and watch/play them
* The server supports [[Session Initiation Protocol|SIP]] for [[VoIP]] phone calls. It allows subscribers to use their smartphone or a dedicated VoIP phone to make calls at Freebox rates instead of using the cellular network.
* The server can use a optical fiber network where available.
* The server is now compatible with [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[AirPlay]] and [[Time Machine (Mac OS)|Time Machine]] technologies (firmware 1.1.0, August 2011).⏎
* A [[Catch_up_TV|catch-up TV]] service which covers 33 channels over the last 7 days. This service is proposed in high quality compared to its internet-based counterpart.

===The Freebox Player===
The Freebox Player is the second part of the "Freebox Revolution" offer. It is connected to the Freebox Server via [[Power line communication|PLC]] or by a direct ethernet cable if both devices are close enough. It is possible to rent another Freebox Player if one wants to connect another TV set in another room.

The Freebox TVPlayer device has:
* One Blu-Ray/DVD player (Blu-Ray playback requires HDMI connection) and an optical sound output.
* One USB (on the front) and one eSata plugs to connect hard drives (or joystick or keyboard for the USB part).
* One [[Télévision Numérique Terrestre|TNT]] plug. By contrast with TV over DSL, TNT programs can be recorded to the Freebox Server or to a local hard-drive with no restriction about accessing it from a computer.
* One remote control. By contrast with most concurrent devices, the remote control uses Wi-Fi instead of infra-red. This allows for several software to control the Freebox TV from a smartphone or from a computer and specifications are available on the internet.
* Every external device connected to the Freebox TV is available to that device only but the devices connected to the Freebox Server are available to every Freebox TV connected.

=== Serving Files to the Freebox Player ===
The Freebox Player can access audio/video files on any local computer through [[Universal Plug and Play|UPnP AV]]. [[Universal Plug and Play|UPnP]] is native to [[Windows]] computers but there are softwares to implement such protocol on [[Mac OS X]] and [[Linux]]. External subtitle files (.srt) should be first be merged with the video file in [[Matroska]] format, e.g. with ''mkvmerge''.⏎
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== V5 generation ==
[[Image:Freebox V5 rear.jpg|thumb|Freebox V5 Multimedia element]]
[[Image:Freebox V5 adsl rear.jpg|thumb|Freebox V5 Network element]]
The Freebox version 5 was released in April 2006 and expanded the possibilities of the modem. It is now divided into two boxes connected together via high-speed Wifi [[MIMO]] or [[Power line communication|PLC]]: the first box provides Internet access, Wifi connection and a phone line; the separated box is a [[digital video recorder]], with advanced TV features like timeshifting, or [[video on demand]]. It also supports Video Games, either specifically designed for the Freebox or using emulation of discontinued Video game systems (Master System, GameGear, GameBoy).

The multimedia element is able to read HDTV adsl streams and includes a Terrestrial Numerical Television demodulator, can serve as a home A/V broadcasting station, includes a 40Gb hard-drive for recording and time-shifting, and a load of A/V ports.

The Network element is an Ethernet Hub and a wifi Hotspot.

The two elements can be linked via Ethernet, wifi or High-Speed Networking Over the Mains.

The telephony offer via the Freebox offers various services such as free calls between Freebox and towards the fixed numbers in Metropolitan France and also free over 100 abroad countries abroad (USA, Canada, UK, Spain, China, India, South America etc...).<ref>http://www.free.fr/adsl/pages/telephone/tarifs-telephonie.html</ref>

According to Alexandre Archambault from Free, the Freebox is "nothing other than the return to the fundamentals of the DSL", whose initial objective was "to connect via a single support several types of terminals, therefore several types of services: telephone (telephony), microcomputer (Internet access), television set (television transmission, v(contracted; show full)* [http://floss.freebox.fr Source code of the GPL software ran by the Freebox]

{{CATV}}

[[Category:Modems]]
[[Category:Digital video recorders]]

[[fr:Freebox]]