P. Forman & R.W. SaintJohn (Sc. Am. 35-40)
the receiver at the RCA Pavillon was way ahead of its time, it was a combination of television - radio - recorder - playback - facsimile - projector ...
(that in hindsight suggests that we humans have a fundamental desire to merge all media in one entity)
the union of audio, video and data communication into a single source, received on a single device, delivered by a single connection
predicted for decades, convergence is finally emerging, albeit in a haphazard fashion
subsidiary convergences
If compatibility standards and data protection schemas can be worked out, all d-entertainment will converge into a single source that can shine into your life on any screen, whereever you are ...
Observation: the number of competing standards and architectures is enormous!
The convergence of digital content, broadcast distribution and display platforms create the big convergence of d-entertainment and information with feedback supporting human interactivity.
convergence
digital television
digital television (2)
streaming media -- poor resolution
TV or PC
The roadblock to the Entertainment PC could be the PC itself. Even a cheap TV doesn't crash or freeze. The best computers still do.
The Entertainment TV
It might make sense to adopt a programmable PC that can support competing TV standards, rather than construct a stack of TV peripherals.
distribution
digital convergence
What will we do with convergence once we have it?
draft version 1 (16/5/2003)