Freebox
The Freebox is an ADSL-VDSL-FTTH modem and a set-top box that the French Internet service provider named Free (part of the Iliad group) provides to its DSL-FTTH subscribers. Its main use is as a high-end fixed and wireless modem (802.11g MIMO), but it also allows Free to offer additional services over ADSL, such as IPTV including high definition (1080p), Video recording with timeshifting capabilities, digital radio and VoIP telephone service via one RJ-11 connector (the first version came with 2 such jacks but only one was ever activated) The Freebox is provided free  to the subscribers, its value being 190 Euros, according to the operator. It is delivered with a remote control, a multimedia box equipped with a 250 GB hard drive, and accessories (cables and filters). At the end of Q2 2005, more than 1.1 million subscribers were equipped with the Freebox. According to company official's results publication, the 2 million level of Freeboxes were reached in September 2006. V6 generation, Freebox Révolution. The sixth generation device is called the Freebox Révolution or V6 (Version 6). It was launched in early 2011. It is composed of a pair of devices: the  ADSL modem/router and the IPTV set top box/media player. The boxes were designed by Philippe Starck. The Freebox Server device. The Freebox server is a DSL modem, a router, a Wi-Fi hot spot, a NAS (250 GB hard drive), a DECT base with up to 8 connected DECT phone sets, and a digital video recorder for TNT also known as DVB-T and IPTV. As the firmware is updated, its functionalities increase. Most notably: The Freebox Player. The Freebox Player is the set-top box part of the "Freebox Revolution" offer. It is connected to the Freebox  Server via 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 Player device has: Serving Files to the Freebox Player. The Freebox Player can access audio/video files on any local computer through UPnP AV. UPnP is native to Windows computers but there is software to implement such protocols 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. V5  generation. 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 PLC: the first device provides Internet access, Wifi connection and a phone line; the second device is an IPTV set-top box, 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, Game Gear, Game Boy). The multimedia element is able to read HDTV IPTV 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 subscribers and towards the fixed numbers in Metropolitan France, and also free over 100 foreign countries (USA, Canada, UK, Spain, China, India, South America, etc.). 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, video on demand, pay per view...), hi-fi system (radios, etc.)". Therefore, it is much more than a simple ADSL modem, which can only make the interface between a computer and the Internet. Free general conditions describe it as "an electronic instrument being used as interface between the data-processing and or audio -visual equipment of the user and the network of Free Telecom". Technical features. The box is managed by an operating system using a derivative of the Linux kernel. It has many interfaces: Since version 3, the Freebox can be configured to act as a router. The Freebox version 4 appeared mid-2004 and includes a chipset compatible with the ADSL 2+ standard, as well as a USB port, which will allow, in the long term, the addition of functions such as videoconferencing. The Freebox OS uses BusyBox. Now with the v3 (and next), it also provides a VideoLAN client in  order to get the movies (in any format VLC understands) stored on the computer and watchable on TV through a playlist selector. This functionality is named Freeplayer. In the same way, the Freebox (v3 and upper) is able to broadcast TV channels to one or more computers.