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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
The next big thing in home entertainment is...

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Friday, Jan. 16, 2004
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This year's recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show proved two things: Sending audio and video around the house via Wi-Fi will get a big boost this year. And a trade show that has overtaken Comdex in importance has also become just as unwieldy.

Highlights from CES




Microsoft explains its recently released Portable Media Center operating system.
 Watch now





DirecTV demonstrates its first digital video recorder to include TiVo-powered high-definition viewing.
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Panasonic shows off its do-it-all D-snap digital camera.
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FIRST, the gadgets. Digital audio receivers, which let you play digital audio and (in some cases) video from your PC over your home entertainment system, were clearly in evidence. Netgear, Linksys, Prismiq, and Roku announced or unveiled DARs. The $499 Roku SoundBridge, in particular, looks really sharp.

But, though I'll admit the Linksys 802.11b MusicLink might find a place next to my stereo system, all of these devices are temporary solutions. I doubt any of them will be here in their current form a year from now; each will be replaced by something that does more and is easier to use even if it doesn't cost less.

That prediction fits in with my general rule of thumb: The next big technology that you and I will want is always already out there. It just costs too much and is too difficult to use. But get the price down, and usability up, and everybody will want one.

Take HDTV, for example. If you've been waiting for high-definition video to appear in your living room, you no longer have to--at least if you don't mind using Dish Network as your provider. Why? Because the company will sell you a complete system, including a screen, for $1,000--as long as you're willing to commit to a year of service.

THE PRODUCT I saw at CES that I most want for my own home is Philips' new DSR708, a next-generation dual-tuner DirecTV receiver with TiVo DVR functionality. I already have an earlier model, but the 708 has 70-hour recording capacity, twice what my current deck offers. Yes, I know I could, with a little hacking, add another drive to my existing unit. But I think instead I'll just run some cable and move the older box into my office. Alas, the 708 lacks TiVo's Home Media Option features, such as the ability to set up recording remotely over the Internet.

For a while now I've been telling you to expect Microsoft to announce a way to send music, photos, and video from your Media Center PC to television sets around your home. That expectation was realized with the announcement of the necessary hardware, called the Media Center Extender. Too bad it won't be available until next summer or so.

Expect Gateway, Dell, Alienware, and HP to be among those offering set-top versions of the device in time for the 2004 holiday season. All of these will consist of a box with 802.11g capabilities that will be able to bring the Media Center "10-foot" user interface to an attached TV set. A remote control allows the user to select content stored on the Media Center PC located elsewhere in the house and watch that content on the TV that's connected to the Extender. I did not hear pricing discussed, but I am imagining a $200 price tag.

These devices will probably hit the market at about the same time as the as-yet-unannounced TV sets with the Media Extender capability built-in.

You may have been wondering why you needed a 3GHz processor on a home PC, but when you try sending multiple video streams around your house to several Media Center Extenders you'll understand how all that power can be put to good use.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, Gateway is offering just such a Media Center, but in a new form factor. The FMC-901 is designed to match the design of home entertainment equipment. Expect other manufacturers to introduce this form factor as well. I think these will be tough sells at first, but eventually they'll catch on.

One of the things that will help them do that will be a built-in, multi-tuner digital cable or satellite TV receiver. The real problem with today's Media Centers is they really need to be connected to analog cable to receive television programming. Cable companies don't like to sell analog service anymore and you can't get all the channels you want unless you have a digital or satellite box.

Sure, a Media Center can be set up to operate with an external set-top box or satellite receiver. But that's messy and involves something called an "IR Blaster" to mimic your device's remote control, allowing the Media Center to change channels as it needs to.

I didn't see any of these integrated systems in the back rooms of CES, but I'd be very surprised if, by next Christmas, a Media Center with built-in DirecTV wasn't available to compete with TiVo boxes.

This is but a scratch at the surface of what was on display at the show. For full coverage, visit the special report on CNET, which covers a zillion things I never got around to finding out on the floor.

ONE REASON I didn't is that CES itself has now grown to the size that Comdex was not too long ago. During the show, there were no hotel rooms available within 30 miles of the Las Vegas Convention Center (I know, I tried). Cabs and limos were at such a premium that when I needed to make the last flight out of town--or sleep at the airport--it cost me $100 to get to the airport.

The problem is that CES has jacked up attendance so much--thanks to all the Johnny-come-latelies from the computer world--that it's hard to get anything done at the show.

Forget that preparing for CES, which always comes around right after New Year's, routinely messes up Christmas for companies preparing to exhibit or attend. The logistics of getting around Las Vegas have become so difficult that scheduling more than a few daily meetings is now impossible. A couple of times I was able to catch a ride in someone's limo, but if a friendly face hadn't rescued me from the cab line, I'd have missed more meetings at hotels away from the Convention Center than I would have been able to attend.

That made this year's CES much less useful than the show used to be. I hope something can be done so that people who have business to do at the show--as opposed to those who merely walk around gawking at gadgets--will next year find it easier to get their work done. If not, CES's usefulness could be gone for good, at least for me.

What do you think? Would you buy a digital audio receiver? What about a digital receiver for your TV? TalkBack to me! 

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