Interesting that they start out the article getting the companies wrong. They claim WDC is the Sony partner, but it's actually Quantum unless they have 2 agreements.
I sure like the idea of using a disk drive to skip commercials. They skirt around this issue, but in the end interactive TV and random access recording will give the consumer more power to eliminate those annoying ads, which also provide huge income to the service provider.
Also interesting is the fact that one company wants to use a Linux operating system. Microsoft has been busy trying to build the CE operating system as the model of choice. It looks like they've had some success. In the end, you wonder what they are really going to build with the TV of the future?
I believe the move will be toward a total information port that will handle everything from radio, TV, Internet, communications, telecommuting and remote home management. It will be a short term product cycle for a super VCR when a home server would handle all the storage requirements for a large variety of devices. This won't be a model for everyone, but there should be a lucrative market for the people who can afford these systems.
Again, there is a shift coming soon anyway where the standard VCR tape format can't handle the increasing data storage of HDTV. Throw in the ability to censor commercials seamlessly and people will want to buy these new devices. If the market begins to take off in 12 top 18 months, price declines will probably bring HDD's into line with consumer needs.
I suppose a big factor would be if and when the model of total interactive data retrieval is available. Then you can choose any show, be it a how to tune up your car or Spasky/Fischer chess matches, or the latest Bay Watch, if that's really still saleable, and somewhere in cyberspace will be huge data warehouses serving out video content. Sound like a paradigm shift to how companies like NBC. I wonder what GE has in mind to protect their Media empire?
Regards,
Mark |
