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Tech
Scan
February
17, 2003
A/V to pioneer multimedia home network market
UNITED STATES -- According to In-Stat/MDR, audio and
video, though of limited interest to the typical consumer,
can draw the average consumer into home networking.
The typical home network today is data based, and emphasises
sharing peripherals and Internet access within the home.
However, the introduction of audio and video promises
to create a new market for multimedia home networking
technology, with the number of multimedia home network
households, worldwide, projected to increase by a CAGR
of 210.7 percent from 2001 to 2006.
Moving
multimedia streams is much more difficult than moving
data. While most home networks today can carry audio
with little difficulty, video requires more bandwidth,
QoS guarantees and content protection. There are a number
of multimedia home network wiring and standards options,
including IEEE 1394, 802.11x, Ethernet, coax, power
line, ultra wideband, and phone line. All have different
strengths and weaknesses for carrying multimedia. It
is extremely unlikely that multimedia, or Audio/Video,
home networks will depend on one of these options. Infact,
reliance on a combination of standards and technologies
will be more likely.
Some
other findings of In-Stat/MDR include:
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In
terms of devices, it is unclear whether the PC or
consumer electronics cluster will take the leading
role in the unfolding market for multimedia home
networking.
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The
emergence of DTV, particularly HDTV, is expected
to be a multimedia home networking driver. Just
as data based home-networking was boosted by the
need to share an expensive broadband connection,
multimedia home networking will be boosted by the
need to share expensive digital and HDTV content.
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Selling
multimedia home networks will require substantial
consumer education and marketing. Solutions will
have to be simple enough for average consumers to
install.
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In
the near term, it is expected that only compressed
video, such as MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, will be networked
because of bandwidth and QoS constraints.
Contact:
In-Stat
Web: www.instat.com
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