Smarter Electronics and Dumber Computers?
Fri, 12/23/2005 - 07:25
Consumer Applications
There has been considerable momentum lately behind the consumer electronics industry with flat panels and HD leading the charge. Meanwhile, it seems like PCs have been getting pretty boring. A key example of that is the set of announcements that came out over the last week or so. I previously reported on the Hana consortium, which is attempting to standardize 1394 and other smart interfaces. Within days of that announcement word came out about the Unified Display Interface (UDI) consortium that has the grand vision of creating (well, that is a pretty strong word) a single display definition that can allow PCs to display on both monitors and HD screens.
In other words, the Hana group of CE companies is going to finally get their act together and standardize smart closed-loop remote controls and video streams while the PC guys are going to make a few tweaks to existing standards to finally replace the decades-old VGA video port.
Granted, neither of these groups is creating any new significant technology. Both 1394 and the DVI/HDMI interfaces already exist in shipped products. The key difference is that the Hana group is audaciously promising to make their stuff finally work together around a networked connection, while the UDI interface is really just a one-way video hose with a content-protection padlock on it. It can be argued that the CE guys are just trying to catch up with PCs, which have been capable of interoperation for years, but it also seems like the PC is regressing into the closed-box mentality that infected CE for so long. If UDI is the best they can come up with maybe it’s time for another revolution.
Larry Mittag
In other words, the Hana group of CE companies is going to finally get their act together and standardize smart closed-loop remote controls and video streams while the PC guys are going to make a few tweaks to existing standards to finally replace the decades-old VGA video port.
Granted, neither of these groups is creating any new significant technology. Both 1394 and the DVI/HDMI interfaces already exist in shipped products. The key difference is that the Hana group is audaciously promising to make their stuff finally work together around a networked connection, while the UDI interface is really just a one-way video hose with a content-protection padlock on it. It can be argued that the CE guys are just trying to catch up with PCs, which have been capable of interoperation for years, but it also seems like the PC is regressing into the closed-box mentality that infected CE for so long. If UDI is the best they can come up with maybe it’s time for another revolution.
Larry Mittag
