Our demo area is a real family room where we use, enjoy, demo and carefully evaluate technology in order to make qualified recommendations of systems for our clients. In other words, it’s David’s little laboratory where I torture test stuff before telling you to put it in your home! The latest incarnation includes streaming HD video/audio technology, localcasting through ZV which will distribute the HD content from a computer anywhere there is a cable outlet and HDTV in your home. We’ve had this system online for a month and here’s some observations:
1. We absolutely love the streaming HD technology! Our entire family actually watches less TV now, but enjoys it more. Choose what to watch, when to watch it, usually with no commercials.
2. Audio video quality is excellent on a properly configured system.
3. The system is simple and intuitive to operate, especially if you dedicate a fast computer for streaming, use the awesome Zinc browser and invest in a professionally programmed Universal remote.
4. Some of the pluses of localcasting computer content include the ability to pause a show in your home theater and finish watching from your master bedroom HDTV. Add a wireless keyboard and check email or surf the web from any HDTV in the home.
5. True HD content is available to buy and download to your computer now. Create an entire movie library using a computer as the media server for your entire home with no discs. Your entire Movie Library is stored on a computer in an equipment closet.
Just taking a look at the current consumer products available today shows that streaming HD content will be a huge player in the future of digital entertainment as our internet connections become faster and more reliable. Our new Panasonic HD Blurays are Netflix capable and ship with a wireless USB adaptor to connect to the web. Many HDTVs have the capability to access selected web content.
All of these included internet capable technologies currently share the limitation of only accessing a limited selection of streaming content. A PC or Mac with ZeeVee will localcast all web and computer content to all HDTV locations using one system. Another great capability ZV allows is the ability to use the this same PC as a music server for your whole house sound system with the ability to build a playlist and have full control of the PC from anywhere you have an HDTV.
