Digital home devices to shine in 2007
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(InfoWorld) - After a series of false starts, sales of devices for the digital home will take off in 2007, the chairman of Acer said Tuesday. Large numbers of users will start to replace their current home entertainment centers with digital devices because the hardware, mostly made from PC parts, is easier to use and connect to other gadgets, and thanks to attractive prices, said J.T. Wang, the chairman of Acer, at a conference in Taipei. "This [2007] is the year all platforms, hardware and software, are ready," he said. The willingness of the entertainment industry to move forward on selling movies and music over the Internet is another key reason 2007 will the year of theÂ digital home, said Jau Huang, chairman of CyberLink, a developer of media player software and recording on optical discs. "It's all about content. It's all about experience," he said. Another important factor is the marketing effort from companies such as Apple Computer and Microsoft to promote new digital home gadgets and services. The iTV from Apple, for example, will put iPod content in the living room for the first time for many users. "We talked about [the digital home] 10 years ago. What a fragmented market it was then, what a different market," Huang said. However, Huang lamented one missing link, the lack of an industry standard for DRM (digital rights management) software, since it's a tool that companies can use to ensure users are only able to play their music and movies on certain devices. He said his company is working with theÂ Digital Living Network AllianceÂ (DLNA), which includes tech industry heavyweights including Intel, Microsoft, and Sony, on an open standard,Â Universal Plug and PlayÂ (UPnP), which will include a media management and control standard. DRM was originally developed as a way to stop Internet music and movie piracy by verifying that a user had paid for the content.
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At the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, audio manufacturers -- of both home and portable devices -- are expected to be adding a variety of wireless features. We take a look at this and other top trends in audio electronics.
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Robots are set to become increasingly familiar companions in homes by 2007, says a United Nations survey. Seven times more robots will helping us out with the cleaning, security and entertainment in three
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With sales of digital music players skyrocketing, is it any wonder that hardware makers are scrambling to create the next big portable entertainment gizmo?
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The home computer has morphed into an all-purpose entertainment hub. When buying a computer this holiday season, here are some important factors to consider.
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Investor's Business Daily - Mobile Internet devices, next-generation high-definition TVs and new and improved systems for watching video entertainment from the Internet on your living room TV are among the buzz-worthy products to be shown at this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
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The Seattle P-I has an interesting look at Redmond's program that has 'Softies taking home the latest in home gear in an effort to better understand how the company's digital living room products perform in actual living rooms.
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SAN FRANCISCO/LOS ANGELES  - The living room, once  the most technologically simple part of the average home, is a  high-tech battleground today as the consumer electronics  industry seeks to digitize home entertainment and make it  available anywhere, anytime.
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With Americans cutting the cord to their land lines, 2007 is likely to be the first calendar year in which U.S. households spend more on cell phone services, industry and government officials say.
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This year, high-def audio. Next year, the connected receiver. Before long, we will all be surrounded by sound.
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At CES 2008, home entertainment will be dominated by a move towards various forms of wireless connectivity -- and, of course, enormous TVs. This year, LCD technology appears to have definitively won out over plasma and rear-projection, even for very large displays.
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Apple, Amazon.com, and Vizio take a plunge into the consumer electronics world.
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Voice over Internet Protocol may be about to enter your living room.
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Networking technology turned out to be one of the more interesting stories in 2007. Jon Oltsik offers a look ahead to the new year.
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Digital media is the future. Here's one way to cash in.
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Companies are teaming up to bring their technology to your living room.
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Digital photo frames expand beyond standalone frames into home appliances.