Apple digital home inroads

Five years from now, Apple will have made significant strides in its consumer product strategy, expanding its digital home offerings to include products and services to connect PCs and digital content to the HDTV-stereo audio-visual infrastructure in consumers' homes, according to Forrestor Research. CNET reports that the research note predicts a bridging of the "AV/IT divide [...] for video, music, and photos in most homes." The report also speculates that Mac OS X will likely be sprinkled throughout the home, and predicts the introduction of a home server product that would act as the digital hub to push video streams, music, and photos throughout the home. Other potential products include an "AppleSound universal music controller" that could serve many purposes: a standalone iPod, a music and video controller, via dedicated home stereo amplifiers.

Forrestor also envisions a network-enabled "clock radio" and digital-photo frames with HD screens that could deliver media including digital photos, music and video throughout the home. Finally, an Apple TV media extender might inclde Blu-ray player, an integrated DVR, and a possible joint venture set-top box.

by MacNN Staff