The growing trend toward flat-screen TVs and ever-faster internet connections is increasing the amount of chatter about a wondrous thing called the 'digital home'.
Integrated home media systems and an infinite supply of audio and video on demand are being held up as hallmarks of an age where home is where the hot spot is. But chat with any of the myriad experts tasked with actually designing and building this fantasy land, and along comes the realisation that the vision of the future is still a blur.
'What the digital home looks like nobody knows. About the only thing that's known is that somewhere in there will be a flat screen TV,' said David Rose, director of home solutions at chipmaker ARM.
It is an ironic observation, because about the only role for flat-screen TV in the digital home is its cosmetic value. Truth be known, grandma's old black-and-white CRT television could hook up to the digital home, given the right accessories.
And this is the key, because it is precisely those accessories that will turn the idiot box into the centre of the universe and make billionaires of those who get the formula right.
ARM is developing processors that will fit inside these accessories and enable tasks ranging from video streaming to voice over internet protocol. Part of ARM's sales pitch is that its development tools help engineers design systems quicker and make the end product simpler for the consumer.
Both speed to market and simplicity are seen as big issues for the development of the digital home, because the company or industry that gets in first will be able to influence consumer loyalty and future market direction. In the United States, the personal video recorder has made consumers accustomed to storing their video directly on a TV-attached consumer-electronics device in the living room.