Source: CUSTOM HOME Magazine
Publication date: November 1, 2008
By Rebecca Day
The best-selling Blu-ray Disc player today is disguised inside the Sony Playstation 3 video game console. Netflix, which reshaped the video rental business with post-paid mailers, is now offering video downloads that bypass the post office and shoot straight to the TV. A Sony PSP portable video game player shows movies and plays Internet radio stations. And TiVo boxes are flexing their processing muscle to become virtual one-man bands of digital content.
What does all this technology multitasking mean? The consumer electronics industry is moving away from dedicated devices as the line blurs between computers and traditional audio/video products. Elastic feature sets give consumers more bang for the buck, pumping additional functionality into the set-top box.
The force behind the digital shift is the Internet, of course. Products packing an Ethernet port give consumers a fast track to the Web which they're using for everything from downloading last night's episode of Lost to playing Grand Theft Auto against a cross-country rival. Internet connectivity on set-top boxes may soon be as commonplace as power buttons and A/V inputs.
Next-generation consumers are already being weaned on the Web. Music stations at CD stores that let you audition a disc before you buy have given way to 30-second clips at iTunes, Wal-Mart, and other online sites.
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