Maximizing your digital music server can allow you to take full advantage of the technology. Why? Well, think about this. Digital music servers are a great way to store and enjoy all of your songs. Depending upon the size of the hard disc drive, you can record 10,000 ~ 30,000 of your favorite songs with the cover art, artist and album information, as well as the genre for each song.
But, with a traditional system, how many songs can you listen to at one time in different rooms of your home?
Well, the answer to that depends upon the number of discrete audio outputs on the music server, because each output must be connected to a multi-channel amplifier so that it can be routed to each room.
So we were thinking....there is a fundamental disconnect with what the technology can provide from a music server and how it is implemented with a traditional system today in the marketplace. Imagine this -- I can run multiple applications on my PC. Right now I've got my browser open, my email open, an .xls spreadsheet, and a press release from my VP of marketing open on my PC, not to mention several Microsoft word documents. All open. All running at the same time.
Since a digital music server is essentially a PC (it has a hard disc drive, a microprocessor, a CD-ROM drive for recording music, and an operating system), why not be able to listen to several songs in several rooms throughout the home?
And with a traditional installation, I need to turn on my TV to listen to my music coming from a music server, because I need to be able to select what I want to listen to. So that's another cable I have to hook up. When I explained all this to my daughter a year ago, the conversation was really funny, because she kept asking "But Dad, why do I have to turn on the TV to listen to music?"
Why indeed...
With our IP-Based DigiLinX products it can be done. We've partnered with some of the best digital music server companies in the marketplace - ReQuest (http://www.request.com/); Escient (http://www.escient.com/) and Imerge (http://www.imerge.co.uk/) and made them compatible with our solution. What does this mean -- well, with one CAT5 connection from the media server to our switch, I can listen to up to 6 separate songs (or "streams" of music, as we like to call them) in different rooms or groups of room s at a time. And I don't need to run a video cable because the menu to select the songs stored in the media server appear on any touch screen in the home.
Now that's progress.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The State of the Industry
I read an article today in the September / October issue of Robb Report Home Entertainment & Design about "networked control" and it struck me how far behind the consumer electronics industry is in thinking about TCP/IP. (Note this edition is not yet posted on their website but the print issue is beginning to circulate. Go to your newstand and look for this magazine. I find it very insightful!).
Yes, controlling audio, video and home automation products over TCP/IP is a no brainer. Frankly, we all should have moved towards this years ago. My company was beginning to work on this 7 years ago, back when we were the incorporated as GE Smart and were a joint venture with General Electric and Microsoft.
Why do I say the industry is behind where it should be? It seems to me that too many people in our industry think about TCP/IP in the sense that it is just another protocol, like RS-232, RF or IR.
CE Manufacturers of high end equipment started putting RS-232 connectors on their devices in 1997. In the Robb Report article, Jared Lewis (an installer) is quoted as saying "If you think about it, we never got there on RS-232. I mean, you're just starting to see RS-232 on entry level to mid-grade components." And this is now 2005!
To think that our industry may take just as long to transition to a complete IP-Based system (not just IP-Based Control) makes me worry about the future of the CE manufacturer. Our counterparts, the PC Manufacturers, move much quicker on a new technology, especially when they identify a significant enhancement which will improve the value proposition for the consumer. (The key here is improving the value proposition significantly!).
Sure, you could use TCP/IP to control products, but TCP/IP was designed to deliver content too. It's not impossible to do that. At NetStreams, we've proven that with our DigiLinX system, which has been selling for several months now. A whole host of media server manufacturers have enabled their Ethernet connections so that audio is distributed over TCP/IP (more about that in a later post).
Simply controlling A/V equipment over TCP/IP is, in my opinion, not a compelling value proposition to the market. However controlling AND distributing the entertainment content is very attractive to the consumer. Why? Well to name a few reasons:
- Audio can be distributed to multiple rooms digitally and with high resolution (over TCP/IP)
- Multiple songs can be listened to from one hard disc drive based media server (over TCP/IP)
- the system is extremely flexible and scalable
There IS a difference between IP-Based Control and a complete IP-Based system. For those investing in a new system in their home, make sure you're compatible for the future.
Yes, controlling audio, video and home automation products over TCP/IP is a no brainer. Frankly, we all should have moved towards this years ago. My company was beginning to work on this 7 years ago, back when we were the incorporated as GE Smart and were a joint venture with General Electric and Microsoft.
Why do I say the industry is behind where it should be? It seems to me that too many people in our industry think about TCP/IP in the sense that it is just another protocol, like RS-232, RF or IR.
CE Manufacturers of high end equipment started putting RS-232 connectors on their devices in 1997. In the Robb Report article, Jared Lewis (an installer) is quoted as saying "If you think about it, we never got there on RS-232. I mean, you're just starting to see RS-232 on entry level to mid-grade components." And this is now 2005!
To think that our industry may take just as long to transition to a complete IP-Based system (not just IP-Based Control) makes me worry about the future of the CE manufacturer. Our counterparts, the PC Manufacturers, move much quicker on a new technology, especially when they identify a significant enhancement which will improve the value proposition for the consumer. (The key here is improving the value proposition significantly!).
Sure, you could use TCP/IP to control products, but TCP/IP was designed to deliver content too. It's not impossible to do that. At NetStreams, we've proven that with our DigiLinX system, which has been selling for several months now. A whole host of media server manufacturers have enabled their Ethernet connections so that audio is distributed over TCP/IP (more about that in a later post).
Simply controlling A/V equipment over TCP/IP is, in my opinion, not a compelling value proposition to the market. However controlling AND distributing the entertainment content is very attractive to the consumer. Why? Well to name a few reasons:
- Audio can be distributed to multiple rooms digitally and with high resolution (over TCP/IP)
- Multiple songs can be listened to from one hard disc drive based media server (over TCP/IP)
- the system is extremely flexible and scalable
There IS a difference between IP-Based Control and a complete IP-Based system. For those investing in a new system in their home, make sure you're compatible for the future.
Friday, August 12, 2005
My First Blog Post
My name is Herman Cardenas and I am Chairman and Founder of NetStreams, a company based in Austin Texas. NetStreams was formed with the idea that all consumer electronics (your TV, DVD player, Speakers, PC etc) in the home will distribute their entertainment content and communicate with each other using TCP/IP (the same language as the internet).
Why TCP/IP? It's the same language as the Internet. The architecture makes it easily expandable. It's an open protocol, so it's easier to configure a system to communicate with and control a variety of products from a variety of manufacturers. And it's the same language that the computers in your home use to talk to each other.
No Question -- IP is the future.
With this vision, Netsteams created and shipped DigiLinX, the world's first IP-Based Multi-Room Audio system in the market. (IP-Based meaning that the system distributes audio, data, and control over TCP/IP).
So what's so difficult about creating an IP-Based Multi-Room Audio system? Well the biggest issue that NetStreams overcame is the ability to synchronize the audio. Synchronization of high quality audio is important in a Multi-Room Audio system. Why? TCP/IP was primarily developed to distribute data, and never designed to be real-time. Imagine if I'm sitting in a room with 3 people and I send one email to all of them. We're all in the same room, but one person might get it before another person and so on. With audio, if you're listening to the same song in the kitchen and the dining room over an IP-Based system without synchronization, you would hear a strong echoing effect when you're walking from one room to another.
Maybe you're wondering why I wrote this blog? Well... several reasons....
Why TCP/IP? It's the same language as the Internet. The architecture makes it easily expandable. It's an open protocol, so it's easier to configure a system to communicate with and control a variety of products from a variety of manufacturers. And it's the same language that the computers in your home use to talk to each other.
No Question -- IP is the future.
With this vision, Netsteams created and shipped DigiLinX, the world's first IP-Based Multi-Room Audio system in the market. (IP-Based meaning that the system distributes audio, data, and control over TCP/IP).
So what's so difficult about creating an IP-Based Multi-Room Audio system? Well the biggest issue that NetStreams overcame is the ability to synchronize the audio. Synchronization of high quality audio is important in a Multi-Room Audio system. Why? TCP/IP was primarily developed to distribute data, and never designed to be real-time. Imagine if I'm sitting in a room with 3 people and I send one email to all of them. We're all in the same room, but one person might get it before another person and so on. With audio, if you're listening to the same song in the kitchen and the dining room over an IP-Based system without synchronization, you would hear a strong echoing effect when you're walking from one room to another.
Maybe you're wondering why I wrote this blog? Well... several reasons....
- I wanted to share, with interested people, my thoughts on the future of home entertainment and technologies, as wellas my personal experience with the same.
- I know that from my experience as a home builder that choosing the right technology and wiring for your home (whether it's a new build or a remodel) is a confusing and frustrating experience for many, so I thought I might be able to help.
- And of course, I'd like to hear your comments and ideas.
Best,
Herman
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