PC TV

Apple’s growing library of iTunes video downloads includes TV shows that are available the morning after the show airs. Buy a Discovery Atlas program for $1.99 and it’s yours to watch where it makes sense for you: on the iPod for your cross-country plane trip, on the computer—or on the family room TV. The latter is made possible by Apple’s convergence product, Apple TV, a small, thin set-top box that connects to the TV over either a wired or wireless network. Known generically as a media adapter, the box is the gateway to all the media stored on the primary PC: video, music, and digital pictures.

Media adapters will be as much a part of the home entertainment experience going forward as the DVD player is today. TiVo, HP, and Netgear are among the companies offering a means to pluck that content from the PC hard drive and display it on TV. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 video game player has that capability built in. In the not-too-distant future, consumers will expect their music, digital pictures, home videos, movies, and favorite TV shows to be available on any TV in the house. Although wireless technology is improving, the wired home network—supported by a structured wiring system—is still the most reliable means for getting a full-motion video stream from one device to another.

Companies including Russound offer dedicated servers to the custom installation market. The home server is stored along with other home automation equipment in a media or utility closet. Home Servers. Where will all this content be stored? On the home server, a new product category designed to support the home’s multimedia content. Digital media needs reliable and spacious storage and backup—especially if the primary means of acquiring media is via Internet download versus packaged media such as CDs or DVDs. Families may store images and music on the PC now, but as they become more dependent on the hard drive as the primary repository for content, there will have to be secure and redundant backup. The PCs used to surf the Web and send and receive e-mails leave the content vulnerable to viruses and phishing scams that could compromise performance of the PC.

Already companies including Niveus Media and Russound are providing dedicated servers to the custom installation market. This fall consumers will see the first server designed for the mainstream market when HP delivers a dedicated multimedia server for the Microsoft Vista environment.

“There is no question that consumer demand for PC-TV connectivity solutions will increase in the next few years,” says Scherf of Parks Associates. “Xbox 360 is already the most popular digital video adapter, and approximately half a million TiVo users are using its home networking features. HP is building digital media adapter functions into flat-panel TVs, and a group of Japanese CE manufacturers, including Sony, Matsushita, Sharp, Toshiba, and Hitachi, recently announced that they have set up a joint venture called TV Portal Service Corp. to develop a new standard that will enable Internet videos to be delivered to the TV.”

Add Internet video to the structured wiring system’s job description. It may well be the future of TV.—Rebecca Day specializes in writing about home electronics. She can be reached at custom homerd@aol.com.