Thursday, August 10, 2006

You Can't Fit a Round Peg in a Square Hole, But You Can Put a DVR Anywhere

Think about your DVR and TV receiver.

What's the best configuration? Should you expect to use an external desktop computer that will control your TV? Will you continue to use a stand-alone box — either by itself or integrated in your cable or satellite box? Will cable companies force you to use their centralized servers? Or will TV manufacturers sell new TVs that are internet-ready with an integrated DVR?

That last option is interesting, isn't it? Internet-ready instead of cable-ready. Everything self-contained. Never heard of this option before? Not surprising, but you might hear much more about it very soon.

According to engadget, a consortium of TV manufacturers are developing standards for internet-connected televisions. Few details have been released, but I would bet my last dollar that the standard will include a dedicated chipset and hard drive(s) for integrated DVR capabilities.

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