This document discusses technology trends related to home electronics and media players. It describes how devices like TVs, media players, set-top boxes, and game consoles have evolved over time to incorporate more advanced features such as playing content from external storage devices, streaming online media, and smartphone-like "smart" capabilities. The document predicts that in the future, blue-ray players, set-top boxes, and game consoles will merge into a new, more powerful device that serves as the new central hub for home automation, replacing the TV in that role due to its increased processing power and wider range of multimedia and smart features.

1. Technology Trend
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2. Index
Contents
TV is Hub of Home Electronics ................................................................................................................. 3
Local/USB (external) Media Players Evolution.......................................................................................... 4
Network Media Players ........................................................................................................................... 6
Smart Devices.......................................................................................................................................... 7
Disc players Evolution.............................................................................................................................. 8
TV Evolution ............................................................................................................................................ 9
STB Evolution ........................................................................................................................................ 10
Game Players Evolution ......................................................................................................................... 11
Future ................................................................................................................................................... 12

3. TV is Hub of Home Electronics
TV has been thought to be the Hub/Center of the Home Electronics or Home Automation. Reason being
TV is the only electronic device with highest processing. But this is not going to be the case soon.
• In Home Automation applications, kitchen storage containers communicates the status to TV. TV
places orders to your supermarket as soon as a product (dal / Rice etc) reaches below a
threshold value.
• Owner can connect to TV from any where in the world and can ON/OFF any device in the house.
• Fridge can communicate to your TV
But this is changing.

4. Local/USB (external) Media Players Evolution
Audio players, like iPod plays audio files from internal flash media.
HDD players plays media from internal HDD
Over the period, Player functionality is separated from Media.

6. Network Media Players
Network media players (like Popcorn Hour) plays media from Internet.
Eg: Videos from Youtube & other URLs

7. Smart Devices
“Smart” Mobile phones allows installation of any application. This “smart”ness may or maynot need
Internet.
Devices like RazorBee brings this smartness to TV.

8. Disc players Evolution
Disc players evolved to include USB media playing, n/w media playing

9. TV Evolution
TVs evolved to play USB media, n/w media and “Smart”

10. STB Evolution
STB evolved to include USB media playing, n/w media playing & Smart.

11. Game Players Evolution
Game players like PS3 can play BD discs. They can be considered as superset of BD players.
They also evolve to play USB media play.
Current PS3 processing capacity is comparable to Laptops. Game Players have much higher processing
capacity than TV.

12. Future
BD players, STBs, GameBoxes are going to merge and evolve in to a new device. This new device is going
to have USB media play, n/w media play, “Smart” features.
As this new device is going to be much much powerful than TV, This new device is going to be the new
HUB of Home electronics.