Image of a digital future still blurred
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.
But this is just one business model. The computer industry would love to see a model centred on the PC.
'The market could develop in either direction, and in each case there'll be great storage options,' said John O'Donnell, vice-president of technology at Pixelworks.
While there is lack of consensus about which model will win for the digital home, it is widely agreed that storage needs will grow exponentially. Even if video was limited to streaming (which is unlikely), users will want to put their whole collection of DVDs, music and home movies on to a hard disk for easy, central access.
Once that happens, the next question will be how to deliver it around the home. The problem is that the greatest enabler of a home digital network is also its Achilles' heel.
With various iterations of Wi-fi and the approaching hi-speed WiMax standard, there is no need to lay wires throughout the home. If not for wireless technology, joining together any number of stereos, TVs, DVD players and an internet connection would be impossible, or at least very costly. From one central device, data can be sent wirelessly to anywhere if the connection is good.
'Most people want to do multiple streams in their house, and you can't escape the fact that AV streams have equal priority ... and we absolutely know that contention will happen,' said Gabe Frost, programme manager for transports and connectivity at Microsoft.
