LET THERE BE VIDEO...
This is an addendum to yesterday's post on getting wireless music streamed throughout the house using Sonos, Rhapsody and other music sources and services. At the end of the post I mentioned that video will soon follow.
Just to illustrate that we're getting close, I wanted to highlight this announcement from Focus Enhancements' semiconductor division:
FOCUS Enhancements, Inc.'s semiconductor group is successfully demonstrating the transmission of two high-definition TV (HDTV) streams through walls at its Hillsboro, OR, facility. This exciting development is another successful step toward the ultimate goal of enabling consumer products that will transmit multiple HD streams throughout the home based on FOCUS UWB chipsets later this year. This industry-leading technology extends the WiMedia/MBOA UWB Standard to better meet the requirements of video and high-speed data distribution through the home and office of the future.
There will be many technology providers to enable wireless video in home networks. Now of course, wireless video is not a new thing in itself.
We started this whole commercial TV thing in 1939 with wireless video and rabbit ear 
antennas. The important thing here is that this is unregulated wireless spectrum being used for short-haul transmission around a house or office, and complex, but eventually low-cost chips that can send and receive these high-definition video signals without conflicting with other devices on those frequencies.
Now imagine a Sonos/Rhapsody type of set-up with wireless video. Imagine video subscription services that allow you to watch any "Happy Days", "Cheers", "Friends", "West Wing", or "Law and Order" episode on demand, on any TV in the house. The issues to be resolved are less technical than business model conflicts...with DVD revenues, cable packages, Pay-per-view models, and the like. There are a number of posts on the companies, technologies, and business model issues around video via Internet on this site...just search for "video" in the Google site search box on the right.
These business conflict scuffles have already begun between content providers and mobile/cellular carriers, as discussed in posts on this site like "On Nokia phone with Wi-fi and hard drive".
The latest version of this conflict is in the UK, between BBC and the cellcos there, as reported by PaidContent.org:
BBC Versus The Mobile Operators: You've read a lot (here and everywhere else) about BBC's online/interactive efforts and its effects on the general state on UK's online industry...everyone from newspapers, magazines to broadcast companies have butted their heads against BBC's public remit. But you ain't seen nothing yet...
In the mobile arena, BBC is planning to allow mobile phone users to watch video clips -- and possibly whole programmes -- on a large scale.
The BBC says its three-phase "appointment to view" plan for mobiles will begin in the next two months and should climax at the end of 2005 with the ability to use a mobile phone to record TV shows either by using it to programme a PVR or an interactive media player on a PC.
For the mobile phone operators, the BBC's idea has one major flaw -- it is free.
The two sides--rival TV providers and BBC--are now circling one another and throwing out a few jabs, but the BBC's bold strategy could foreshadow full-scale fisticuffs. Also, the operators are not too happy, though they would certainly have to work with BBC to get anywhere...
The HD chip announcement above was just a timely reminder that all this is coming into our homes in the fairly near future, and has some fairly big implications for how we consume and pay for video and audio content...
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