PC-TV Convergence TV-PC
Which way to go,that is the question. To TV the PC or PC the TV.
The Gateway Destination is a great example of TVing the PC. With a
nice big screen and plenty of cpu power along with DVD-ROM the D6-233
is a sure pleaser. Wireless keyboard and mouse give good useability
without tying one to connector cables. It's pretty easy to pass the
mouse or keyboard over when they're wireless, but it's probably a
lot easier to lose them under papers etc too. Look for Gateway to
include a cable modem too when a standard is set.
The TV-PC side of the equation is best shown by the example of
Toshiba's Infinia line. The Infinia 7260 doesn't have DVD-ROM yet,but
it won't be long in coming. The beauty of the Infinia is the In-Touch
Module. The module has ten control buttons in addition to the volume,
dial, and sleep buttons. The lower five buttons let you select between
speakerphone, answering machine, CD player, television, and FM stereo,
with the upper five used to control the selected function. This module
lets pc novices to use these functions without having to go into the
software files and load in the right program. Simple is best, really it
is. Just put a CD into the drive and hit the CD player button and voila.
This brings me to my theory that TV-PC will be more successful than PC-TV.
(I know that I'm going completely against conventional wisdom with my
opinion). The pc is more of a solitary activity than tv by a wide margin.
It's not too often when you have 2-3 people watching the computer screen
with the primary user. On the other hand tv is something that is enjoyed
by a group just as easily as by a single person(nevermind the fights
for the remote control). With the Destination I would have trouble
enjoying myself if someone else was doing the web surfing. There's too
many choices and each person would tend to have a definite way that they
would control the action. Could you imagine the Al Bundy family surfing
together for more than 5 seconds. Not me. As the primary tv I don't see
Destination being popular for regular surfers. As the secondary tv(say
in the den) it would be excellent for a single user.
The Infinia would also be great in the den as a secondary tv with
computer functions. I don't see it working out as the primary tv though.
Not even with a large monitor can I see it being popular. Ok even with
wireless In-Touch Module control. Don't get me wrong I love the Infinia's
concept.Toshiba,please build a $1,000 Infinia!
All this leads to a troubling question. Isn't the set-top box supposed
to bring the tv into the digital pc age? Can the cable modem be tied into
the primary tv in the household only. Doesn't another line HAVE to go into
the other pc's in the household? For the life of me I can't see the
couch potatos turning into computer geeks(web surfers) en masse.
In this round I see Intel having an advantage over Microsoft,unless
Microsoft can work its way into being the O/S of choice for the STB. No
one knows what OpenCable will choose though. Time will tell... still it
seems a little bit of a case of mixing oil and water to me. |
