Sony promises Ethernet in everything
Adam Turner has always said his next toaster needs to have Ethernet, now Sony is coming close to delivering the dream of EiE.
Sony head honcho Sir Howard Stringer recently vowed to make 90 per cent of the company's consumer electronics products "network connected and wireless enabled" by 2010. Ethernet in Everything - sounds awesome.
Yep, EiE - I made up the term but I think it's got a nice ring to it. Ethernet in Everything. *Everything*. Okay, maybe sometimes I'll settle for wifi.
What I'm talking about is connectivity. Everything in the house talks to each other via the home network using relatively open standards. Television, telephone, mobile phone, media centre, computer, games console, stereo, network storage, picture frame, alarm clock, environmental, home security, fridge, toaster. You know, all the essential gear. Just in case I want to check on the progress of my toast from the next room without waiting for smoke to waft through the house.
I dropped by Sony's "UCHI" home entertainment product roadshow recently and it's clear the boffins in the Sony labs have been working hard to deliver on Stringer's EiE promise. Apparently UCHI is Japanese for "house", or "home", or "paying the Sony logo tax so your all your gear plays nicely together". Something like that.
Anyway, I was impressed with the Ethernet-enabled televisions, using the PlayStation 3's XMB Xross Media Bar interface to directly browse media stored on devices such as PS3s, phones, computers and music jukeboxes. Of course all this gear had a Sony logo on it, but Sony assured me it's all DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible, so it will play nicely with gear from other vendors.
Regardless of DLNA claims, I'm sure you'll only get the best interoperability by using all Sony gear. That's okay, other vendors are the same. I've come to the conclusion that if you want a good digital home user experience you need to pledge your allegiance to one vendor unless you're prepared to pay a system integrator.
I've decided to go down the Apple path, while my mate Al has decided to go down the Sony path. I'm building my lounge room around a Mac mini (admittedly plugged into a Sony Bravia LCD TV), while Al's building his lounge room around a PS3. We're competing for the glory - to see who can offer the best integrated digital lounge room and the rub the other's nose in it. He doesn't know that yet, maybe I should warn him.
I have to admit that what I saw at UCHI has me worried. A home entertainment system built around a PlayStation 3 is looking more attractive than ever - especially once we see the PlayTV television tuner.
Meanwhile I'm trying to cobble together an Apple solution. The Apple TV just doesn't cut it, you need to hack the bejesus out of it before it does everything you want.
If Steve Jobs doesn't pull a proper multimedia hub out of his back pocket soon in an "oh, and one more thing" moment, Apple is in danger of missing the boat on the digital lounge room. Of course Apple would prefer you to source all your entertainment from the iTunes Store, so this may never happen.
I have to admit it - when it comes to the digital lounge room, Sony has got it goin' on. Just don't tell my mate Al.
Other Blog Entries written by Adam Turner:
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
Be the first to comment on this article.