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Roedy Green
Dec 2, 2011, 10:59:09 PM12/2/11
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I gave up last night trying to hook up the VCR section of the DVD
player to the stereo. There were dozens of connectors all with labels
that made them look like plausible candidates.
I cringe at the thought of trying to hook up my computer to the amp so
we can watch NetFlix on the computer.
Now that computers, home entertainment and telephones are merging we
need to come up with a uniform API for connecting anything to
anything.
It might have wireless, coax, fibre, twisted pair implementations, but
to the programmer or the end user they are almost interchangeable.
So to connect your amp, CD/DVD player, speakers, headphones,
telephone, TV, tuner, legacy VCR, all you would have to do in put them
in the same room, or possibly add some connections forming a spanning
tree. The topology would be irrelevant. If A is connected to B, and B
is connected to C, then A is logically connected to C.
The controller could guide the installation, explaining which
connection to install next, and where extra links were needed to deal
with the increased bandwidth. By default, all devices have
low-bandwidth wireless to at least announce their presence, their
function, and their needs.
None of the devices would need buttons or control panels. A handset
that talked to a intelligent global controller would be all you need.
This would greatly reduce the cost of the components and let you use
them in the dark. See http://mindprod.com/project/inthedark.html
It would also greatly simply operation. As it is you must configure
each device independently.
Perhaps someone would prototype such a beast using Ethernet and WiFi.
A subset of it would be a cellphone that flipped from cell to WiFi
when it was available.
Another entry might be a juke box service where you have access to a
giant DVD library, and you cue up a days worth of music at a time to
play. This comes in via the Internet, it is buffered on hard disk,
and played only once. You pay a monthly fee. If you want the same
music again, you order it again. logically you get it again, but
under the covers it is likely cached.
--
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products
http://mindprod.com
For me, the appeal of computer programming is that
even though I am quite a klutz,
I can still produce something, in a sense
perfect, because the computer gives me as many
chances as I please to get it right.
player to the stereo. There were dozens of connectors all with labels
that made them look like plausible candidates.
I cringe at the thought of trying to hook up my computer to the amp so
we can watch NetFlix on the computer.
Now that computers, home entertainment and telephones are merging we
need to come up with a uniform API for connecting anything to
anything.
It might have wireless, coax, fibre, twisted pair implementations, but
to the programmer or the end user they are almost interchangeable.
So to connect your amp, CD/DVD player, speakers, headphones,
telephone, TV, tuner, legacy VCR, all you would have to do in put them
in the same room, or possibly add some connections forming a spanning
tree. The topology would be irrelevant. If A is connected to B, and B
is connected to C, then A is logically connected to C.
The controller could guide the installation, explaining which
connection to install next, and where extra links were needed to deal
with the increased bandwidth. By default, all devices have
low-bandwidth wireless to at least announce their presence, their
function, and their needs.
None of the devices would need buttons or control panels. A handset
that talked to a intelligent global controller would be all you need.
This would greatly reduce the cost of the components and let you use
them in the dark. See http://mindprod.com/project/inthedark.html
It would also greatly simply operation. As it is you must configure
each device independently.
Perhaps someone would prototype such a beast using Ethernet and WiFi.
A subset of it would be a cellphone that flipped from cell to WiFi
when it was available.
Another entry might be a juke box service where you have access to a
giant DVD library, and you cue up a days worth of music at a time to
play. This comes in via the Internet, it is buffered on hard disk,
and played only once. You pay a monthly fee. If you want the same
music again, you order it again. logically you get it again, but
under the covers it is likely cached.
--
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products
http://mindprod.com
For me, the appeal of computer programming is that
even though I am quite a klutz,
I can still produce something, in a sense
perfect, because the computer gives me as many
chances as I please to get it right.
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