The computer is slated to become the center of entertainment in the home, replacing DVD players, video-cassette recorders, stereo systems, game consoles, slide projectors and even photo albums, industry leaders said yesterday at Computex Taipei.
Improvements in technology that have made computers smaller, more powerful and virtually silent are driving the move from the desk to the living room, they said.
"The personal computer [PC] will be next to your TV, there'll be a book or magazines on top of it, even the cat lying on top of it," said Phil Pompa, a vice president at chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD).
"You can't do that with noisy fan-based systems," he said.
Traditional desktop PCs become very hot when processing video or other complicated tasks and need to be cooled by loud fan-blowers. By improving the performance of computer chips, companies such as AMD have created systems that no longer need fans.
Performance and ease of use are also crucial for users to accept the PC as an entertainment device.
"When you move into the home, people are not going to want to change how they live," Pompa said. "They want instant-on, easy-to-operate devices."
Used to DVD-quality movies, consumers are not likely to accept pictures that cut out or jump around on the screen.
"In home use, video has to be perfect," said Erik Salo, AMD's marketing director.
Intel Corp is eyeing consumers who are now buying digital cameras, digital camcorders and MP3 music players in huge numbers as the next wave of computer buyers.
"With the digital home we will see the next huge spike in computer buying," Intel's marketing director Bill Leszinske said.
"End-users expect that products will automatically find and connect [wirelessly] to other products," he said.
Intel predicts that 9 million wireless digital devices will be sold next year and 38 million wireless notebooks. It has also forecast that 32 million homes will be wirelessly networked -- and many of those will need new PCs, Leszinske said.
Taiwanese manufacturers are already coming out with cool designs for living room PCs. In October last year VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子) launched the Hi-Fi PC home entertainment system that retails for less than US$500.
The slick cube-like XPC from Shuttle Inc (浩鑫) comes in a range of colors to match furnishings, while Acer Inc's latest Aspire system looks more like a DVD player.
"The third generation of Acer Aspires on display at our booth are expected to ship between half a million and 600,000 units next year," said Jim Wong (翁建仁), president of Acer's IT Product Business Group.
BenQ Corp (明基電通), Teco Electric & Machinery Co (東元電機), Sampo Corp (聲寶), Kolin Co (歌林)and Tatung Co (大同) are also making a name globally in the flat-screen TV business, the focal point of the new digital living room.
And at least one local software maker is set to cash in on the home entertainment PC.
"It used to be that software for editing digital images and video was only for high-end PCs," said Erik Hermanson, a marketing manager at Cyberlink Corp (訊連科技).
"Now it's on almost any device. PCs are now entertainment devices and any manufacturer can include video capturing and editing software on them," he said.
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