MP3 players hooked to your home stereo are just the first little step in the quest for the holy grail of home entertainment consolidation (the “digital hub” concept). What I see that’s coming next is a convergence (yes, I used the over-hyped “C” word) of digital home audio and video (what all of geeks would like to see).
I believe that this will take the shape of the tightly integrated ability for the end user to access audio and video via their home entertainment system (read: TV and stereo), with the ease-of-use to pass the “Mom Test” (could my mom operate this?).
In order for this to occur, there needs to be “something” to coordinate the access to all of this digital media and serve it up to the user, and there needs to be a transport technology to get the information to wherever the user wants it (e.g. streaming video to a display unit in the kitchen or den, streaming audio to the living room stereo or the basement workshop or the back deck or …)
My guesses? For the digital hub, I’m using the SLIMP3 device right now (great unit, but streaming audio only, although the next gen SlimDevices unit is WiFi enabled. However, I think that the breaking news of the Tivo acquisition of StrangeBerry is a sign to where this is going to go (thanks Om for the info).
For the communications piece, I’m leaning towards the recent announcements regarding UWB (Ultra Wideband) technology. I think UWB will be the interconnect technology used to hook perpipheral devices together — the server in the back room to the receiver, the cable TV port to the TV itself. Sure, UWB is still another year off, but with the clearing of the way from the FCC to the release of new standards, there is momentum here.
Naturally, it’s always difficult to predict the future, but my cloudy crystal ball has these 2 ideas floating around in it, and they have a tendency to keep coming to the top (this sounds more like a Magic 8 Ball, come to think of it). Regardless, as a consumer (and geek), I like where things are heading…
Categories: Geek
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Session five of Acts of Volition Radio is all about great guitar rock songs. This is a good one to burn to a CD and play in your car.
