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altis · 19-01-2005, 18:43

Mmmmmm....

Imagine a lounge with only one remote control; where every piece of AV equipment connects to a single point with one small lead; where every menu has the same look-and-feel...

It could all be available now using exisiting technology but for one thing - it's so simple that big business would find it difficult to take control over it. Consequently, there's no one around to push the concept.

Every piece of equipment: TVs, DVD players, STBs even radios could be connected together using CAT5 ethernet cable or, where necessary, WiFi wireless. At the centre would be a switch that supports multicast packet routing. Devices with a screen, like TVs, would have an embedded browser which defaults to the client list of the DHCP sever (probably hosted in the switch). Click on a client 'button' and the browser would be transferred to the webpage maintained by that piece of equipment. On that page would be all the controls for that device. Dead simple.

From your sofa you could surf to any device in your house using a single infra-red mouse. Or do the same from your PC. Or, assuming you had a broadband connection, you could surf from anywhere in the world and set up say your PVR.

All this technology would be easy fairly to implement if the world agreed on a single open standard. But if that ever happens I'll eat my hat!

19-01-2005, 18:43	#17
altis cf.mega poster Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Warrington ntl:81304 Altitude: 12m (and falling) Posts: 4,499	Re: Recording NTL Digital Mmmmmm.... Imagine a lounge with only one remote control; where every piece of AV equipment connects to a single point with one small lead; where every menu has the same look-and-feel... It could all be available now using exisiting technology but for one thing - it's so simple that big business would find it difficult to take control over it. Consequently, there's no one around to push the concept. Every piece of equipment: TVs, DVD players, STBs even radios could be connected together using CAT5 ethernet cable or, where necessary, WiFi wireless. At the centre would be a switch that supports multicast packet routing. Devices with a screen, like TVs, would have an embedded browser which defaults to the client list of the DHCP sever (probably hosted in the switch). Click on a client 'button' and the browser would be transferred to the webpage maintained by that piece of equipment. On that page would be all the controls for that device. Dead simple. From your sofa you could surf to any device in your house using a single infra-red mouse. Or do the same from your PC. Or, assuming you had a broadband connection, you could surf from anywhere in the world and set up say your PVR. All this technology would be easy fairly to implement if the world agreed on a single open standard. But if that ever happens I'll eat my hat!