HP sees a lucrative future in "HDTV 2.0"
Hewlett Packard has been outlining its plans for the next-generation of high definition TVs, and has dubbed them "HDTV 2.0", according to a report in Electronic Design.
Whereas current "HDTV 1.0" sets feature components that allow for viewing of over-the-air and physically connected content (eg Sky and an HD DVD player via HDMI), plus PVR functionality, "HDTV 2.0" sets will offer place-shifting technology that allows content from PCs and the Internet to be viewed.
It's a way of introducing us to their new range of sets that will contain MediaSmart software that will let consumers browse, select and buy movies from third-party services. In fact, the concept isn't that new, even for HP. They produced a 37 inch MediaSmart HDTV last year.
HP hope to buck the trend of ever-reducing profit margins on LCD TVs by building in extra value into the set itself. In doing so, it also hopes to become a serious competitor in the high definition TV market. That seems a tall order given that, according to figures from iSuppli, the company is not currently in the world's top 36 manufacturers.
My personal preference would be to build this kind of system from component parts: a media centre PC, Apple TV, or wi-fi media router, and a high-quality high definition TV. This has the advantage of allowing individual pieces of hardware to be upgraded when necessary, rather than having
