digEcor, a pioneer in personal media platforms, manufactures the digEplayer XT In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) player for its airline customers. Purchased by Wencor in 2004, digEcor maintains a strong presence in the in-flight entertainment market, and has expanded into healthcare, train and maritime industries. Based in Springville, Utah, digEcor has offices in Seattle, Atlanta, Miami, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Singapore, and Toulouse, France.

When designing the IFE media player, digEcor sought wireless technology that would allow airline staff to transfer small data files quickly and increase efficiencies, without the need to connect Ethernet cables or manually downloading data from memory cards, USB drives or hard drives.

"If you only have a small amount of data, it's much more convenient to use a wireless interface," said Steve Hurst, digEcor's product development manager. "We had to have wireless functionality designed into the device, and there was a lot of pressure to get this done. D-Link gave us the capability to connect our devices and update content quickly and easily."

digEcor needed wireless adapters with 802.11 a/b/g functionality to allow maximum flexibility and avoid competition from bandwidth at airports with existing b/g networks. The ideal wireless device needed to have a small form factor, consume minimal power, and come free of retail packaging. As a manufacturer, digEcor just wanted the heart of the device, so it sought an OEM arrangement. "We didn't even want the plastic housing on it," said Hurst. "We just wanted the raw PCB (printed circuit board) with the components on it."

After researching options, Hurst noted that D-Link's commercial product, the D-Link® Wireless USB 2.0 Adapter (DWL-AG132), fit digEcor's technical requirements. He contacted D-Link to see if the hardware could be supplied in a non-consumer format -- minus the retail packaging and form-factor casing. "There are lots of consumer retail wireless adapter devices," said Hurst. "D-Link was the only company willing to sell their product in an OEM capacity."

D-Link's pricing was also very attractive. "Price was a big issue," explained Hurst. "We looked at having another company design a custom radio, but the cost was prohibitive. To get an equivalent package from one of those guys would have been significantly more. A custom radio is going to be a lot more expensive. If you can find an existing product that fits your needs, and if the company, in this case D-Link, is willing to sell it stripped down, bare bones, then that's great."

digEcor has found more applications for the digEplayer wireless solution. In addition to the airline application, the company is using the devices in ambulances where idle crews can view instructional videos and take quizzes while on the job. When ambulances are parked near Wi-Fi hotspots, they can easily connect to training content with the digEplayer. Once they are near their local network, the D-Link wireless adapters connect to the network and send in the results.

"Overall, D-Link really hit a home run for us," said Hurst.

Keywords: network solutions provider, computer network solutions, wireless networking technology, steve hurst, airline customers, printed circuit board, wireless functionality, oem arrangement, wencor, media platforms, airline staff, ethernet cables, 802.11

By Robert Hoskins

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