HP, others see living room as media hub

Monday, Jan. 10, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.

A panel of consumer electronics experts debated at a Consumer Electronics Show session Friday who would control the digital living room of the future.

Their respective views demonstrated what's likely to happen -- there will be all sorts of innovations designed to appeal to consumers and all sorts of methods to deliver the content. And it will be up to the consumers to vote with their dollars as to what they'll like best.

One of the big-name CES keynote speakers, Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive officer Carly Fiorina, announced minutes before the digital living room session that her company intends to be one of the players in that niche, presenting a demonstration of HP's planned HDTV media hub.

"Digital entertainment is about enabling consumers to enjoy, manage and interact with all kinds of content from any source in a simple, easy way," Fiorina said in her star-studded presentation.

Fiorina's appearance filled the Las Vegas Hilton Theater, one of the highlights of the four-day CES that came to a close Sunday. More than 125,000 people were expected to be in Las Vegas for the industry trade show, which has become one of the premiere technology shows in the world and is one of the largest events staged in Las Vegas each year.

Fiorina said HP's media hub, which is expected to be on shelves by fall integrates high-definition television, libraries for music and digital photographs and a digital video recording system.

The HP system also will incorporate an electronic programming guide that allows consumers to find and record television content, a music information service that provides song titles, CD artwork and artist information and an automatic upgrade service that updates the device with new services as they become available, extending the life of the usefulness of the device.

In essence, the HP machine will store digital pictures and allow them to be presented as slide shows on a wide-screen television and home-theater system, serve as a conduit for television and premium movie services, serve as a digital video recorder and store digital music content.

The multiple technologies would be managed with a single remote control.

Fiorina showed off the hub system and other product introductions in her 90-minute presentation with appearances by Jeffrey Katzenberg, chairman of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., musician and fashion icon Gwen Stefani and singer Vanessa Carlton.

Katzenberg showed clips from DreamWorks upcoming computer-generated feature "Madagascar," while Stefani and Carlton promoted "personalized tattoos," downloadable art used to decorate HP-branded iPod music devices.

Fiorina also gave a preview of a product in development -- a computer screen coffee table on which users can assemble puzzles by dragging pieces with their fingers. The table also can display maps and other visual media.

Fiorina also promised to discuss HP's digital format platform at this year's National Association of Broadcasters trade show, which will occur in Las Vegas in April.

But HP's media hub was clearly the company's biggest announcement. And the session on the digital living room demonstrated the importance of the product to the marketplace.

The idea of having a computerized system to manage media content has been around for years and several companies have proposed systems that not only manage that content, but also provide Internet access and e-mail capability.

Panel moderator Tim Bajarin, Creative Strategies, a Campbell, Calif., technology consultant, said there are more than a dozen products on the market or nearing release that manage digital media content. Some are PC-based; others have devised their own standards of operation.

It's those varying standards of operation that frustrate consumers because varying devices may not be able to interoperate with each other. While several panelists concurred that a uniform set of standards would help move the industry forward, panelists had different ideas about which standard would be best, based on what industry he represented.

"The ultimate arbiter will be the consumer, who will vote with his dollars," said panelist Pat Griffis, worldwide media standards director for Microsoft Corp.

Panelist Levy Gerzberg of Zoran Corp., Sunnyvale, Calif., also pointed out that systems that may work well for Americans may not necessarily be a global solution.

"There are a couple of small countries called China and India that may have something to say about it," Gerzberg said.

Different global markets have accepted new technology at different paces, panelists noted.

For example, experts say Americans own the most personal computers per capita in the world, while Europeans have embraced cell phone technology the fastest.