Plug-And-Play Getting Closer?
By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 9/11/2006
When we asked some of the industry's top executives in our 20th anniversary issue on August 28, “What CE product are you most eager to see invented in the future?” at least a dozen of them said in one way, shape or form, easy plug-and-play networks. Some mention the home, others added the car and mobile communications devices, but their comments all were in the same ballpark: plug-and-play.
I mention this because, as usual, the future comes pretty quickly in this industry. At this week's CEDIA Expo in the mile-high city of Denver we should get a peek at what some upscale consumers install in their homes later this year and into 2007.
While the systems on display in Denver this week are probably not going to be the intuitive plug-and-play systems our group of industry experts are pining for, but the installations should be easier. Senior editor Joe Palenchar reports that a variety of manufacturers are giving custom installation experts more ways to distribute and manage audio and video content around the home (see p. 1).
Some are using a home's Ethernet network, others use content stored on a networked PC, network attached storage devices supplied by IT companies or dedicated media servers. During CEDIA Expo, NetStreams plans to demonstrate an IP-based video-distribution system which will be shown alongside a product that connects the company's IP-based DigiLinX multi-room audio system to a home PC network.
On the surface the average consumer, not to mention a customer from a CEDIA-type installer, knows more about networked PCs, media servers, the Internet, et al than ever before. With content going digital along with the CE equipment that is playing it, it is logical that networked home entertainment systems should completely embrace PC technology. Convergence is finally here.
All this sounds great, but yours truly hasn't seen any of them in action yet. I'd hazard a guess that while the systems being discussed in this issue are probably easier for custom installers to put into homes. But I can bet that operating them is still not as intuitive as many of us have dreamed. We'll see this week.
Another surprising trend that you'll see at CEDIA that we report on in this issue is iPod becoming a key part of some installed multi-room audio systems. (See p. 32.)
Believe me when I say that I'm not an audiophile or an audio snob. Sure, iPod has taken over the audio world so I can understand why suppliers are flocking to connect with Apple's hit. But iPod, an MP3 player, being the key content delivery system for multi-room audio systems that cost several thousand dollars? I'll leave this one to the audiophiles out there, but for many MP3 quality audio pales in comparison to CD. And I'll tread on this one lightly, given all the problems laptop PC batteries have had lately, but doesn't everyone remember the problems iPod had with their batteries causing the loss of whole music collections? Who says that problem has been completely solved?
But I digress. With the diverse amount of technologies in and out of the industry to deliver audio and video content to the home, and the equally diverse ways consumers want to access that content, logically more options are better for everyone, even if an option or two raises an occasional eyebrow. See you in Denver.
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