The rise of HDTV is also spawning the convergence of TV and computers. Consumers
are now toying with home theater PCs (HTPCs). When demand increases for these
devices, manufacturers will have to fill a growing need for “silent-running” PCs
preloaded with a slew of home entertainment software. Samsung has produced a
wireless home networking device dubbed the Home Media Center, which allows HDTV
to be streamed over the air throughout the home to TV sets in other rooms. When
wireless serving is added to HDTV devices, most likely in late 2005, the trend
toward the integration of digital devices in the home will gain even greater
momentum.Whether or not all this hardware will actually be able to connect is up to the
software companies, which are writing code intended to seamlessly manage these
wireless, Internet-driven, remote-controlled consumer devices. The demand for
this software will continue to escalate. Advances in the software-powered HDTV
user interface will bring us a television that knows its owners’ viewing
patterns. Digital TV start-up MyDTV is one company leading the field of this
HDTV personalization. Within a few years, software companies promise we will be able to tell our HTPC
to, for example, look out for black-and-white Sherlock Holmes movies and record
them, except when they do not feature Basil Rathbone. Video recorder
manufacturers, particularly TiVo, are promoting the development of the HTPC.
With thousands of channels on the horizon, demand will grow for software that
maps the entertainment landscape, so-called interactive program guides such as
Gemstar-TV Guide’s iGuide. Even a once lowly element is experiencing unprecedented demand as HDTV moves
into our lives. Indium, a soft, silvery-white metal used for decades in solder,
is an important ingredient in the LCD screen that serves as the basis for HDTV.
While geologists believe it to be as abundant as silver, mines in Belgium,
Canada, China and Japan produce only 400 tons a year. Just two years ago, indium
was worth $50 per kilogram; this year spot prices have soared into the $700
range.  | Michael Tchong is founder of Trendscape, a San Francisco-based consulting
firm. |
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