CES HDTV theme: Convergence

The CES is almost ready to begin, and many themes will be coming out of the show, in light of emerging technology and the economic slide. The main theme for HDTV’s to look out for: convergence. What does this mean?

Convergence is the marriage of networking, media and Internet in home entertainment systems and TV’s. For several years now, there have been plenty of promising platforms that have delivered this sort of thing to users everywhere, and have sworn to join together all the benefits of the net and various media in one package. This year’s CES will more than likely emphasize this more than ever before.

At the past few shows, Microsoft and Intel, among others have demonstrated media PCs designed more for TV, recorded video and music than for office production. But despite lots of hype and some interesting products, the idea of installing a PC in a home entertainment cabinet still has not caught on, or vice versa (a HDTV with PC-like connectivity and features). Perhaps it’s too forward thinking for many?

This is the future, like it or not. In 25 years, this is (probably) what HDTV will mean: the integration of the internet, streaming movies (via Hulu or some other similar services) and entertainment on demand. It will expand and grow, and become an appliance, like a toaster or a microwave. That’s what many companies are hoping for anyway.

We’ll be here to report any news that comes out of CES regarding this, or any other cool HDTV news that leaks out.