The Home Theater PC is Coming
Over the last few months, I've put together a dedicated machine to drive various parts of an integrated Home Theater. Running Windows XP, using off-the-shelf hardware, shareware, open-source software, and some custom scripts, the box is now the centerpiece of my home entertainment center. I now believe that some form of multi-functional PC will form the basis for future living-room entertainment.
Using just one XML-programmable remote and a TV-friendly interface, it provides:
- Software de-interlacing and advanced filtering of cable / satellite TV
- High-end DVD playback
- Time-shifted TV and time-shifted HDTV
- A Music Jukebox that is browsable via album cover and has full-screen visuals
- Ability to play RealMedia, Quicktime, Windows Media, Divx, and Flash files, full-screen via a remote control
- A photo viewer with browsable image thumbnails
- Internet Radio from the BBC, NPR, KGO, etc.
- Browsable archives of media clips and ripped DVDs
- PC Video Games
- Up-to-date 5-day weather forecasts with radar images
- Full screen web-browsing with a remote control
The unit is quiet, has high-quality sound output, and can fit inside one of the many custom anodized Home Theater cases available today. It updates media by wirelessly synching over an 802.11 network, and cost about $2,000 in parts (although it can be done for closer to $1,000 if one doesn't need state-of-the art components).
My observations after doing all this are that:
- There will be a Home Theater PC in most living rooms within 5 years
- Assembling many of these capabilities with stand-along boxes would have cost many times as much
- All of the hardware and application software needed is available - assembly, system integration, and UI are challenges, as well as heterogeneous deployment enviroments
- Ordinary people can use the system and appreciate it
Really, this is what Apple or Sony ought to be doing rather than building cuter or sleeker computers. Ironically, Microsoft is the only big player innovating in this space - the Windows Media Center Edition has many fewer features, and costs just as much or more, but it is a bold step in the right direction.
It's not clear how startups can make money from this right away, but it depends on the evolution of such a box. If it is developed as a closed unit, then opportunities for startups are highly restricted. However, if Microsoft or Apple are courageous enough to release it as an open platform that 3rd parties can deploy A/V applications on, then a whole new class of software could emerge.
