Over the past decade, there has been a phenomenal amount of crossover
between computer technology and TV technology. This is especially
surprising given the fact that most Americans have largely rejected the idea of
a living room computer. However, most of the computer technology that has
found its way into the living room hasn't had the overt appearance of a
personal computer.
The earliest example of an acceptable piece of computer equipment in the
home entertainment center (that wasn't a video game platform) was the digital
TV receiver. The widespread use of these devices actually dates back to the
early nineteen nineties when satellite TV became economically viable for
typical households. By all outward appearances, it would have been easy to
blur digital TV receivers together with any other set top box, but underneath it
all was the fact that they converted digital data to the sounds and images that
made up TV.
The DVD player was a much more obvious example of the blurring between
computer and TV technologies. After all, by the time that DVD players
became common, CD-ROM drives had been on computers for years. Since
both are optical drives, and computers and DVD players loaded their discs in
similar ways, the resemblance was pretty plain. Of course, CD's had been in
stereo systems and computers for years, so people were already used to
seeing the resemblance there.
The next major change was the digital video recorder. DVR's as these
devices are more commonly known, can record video onto computer hard
disks and then play that video back later. Most models also automatically
record whatever the viewer is watching live in order to enable the pausing and
rewinding of live TV. Among the advantages that DVR's have over VCR's is
an ease of programming that none of the manufacturers of VCR's ever got
right. Another advantage of DVR technology is an ability to watch recorded
programs in any order. That's because a hard disk doesn't store video
sequentially like a video tape does. In other words, a video file can simply be
accessed without the time wasted cuing through other videos.
Over the years, computers have also taken on a number of the same
capabilities that's previously only been reserved for TV sets. For example, it's
been possible to buy a special TV tuner that can be installed in a computer for
years. These devices allow computers users to watch TV right on their
computer screens. These days though, this capability is standard on many
computers to some extent. For example, most modern computers can display
streaming Internet video on their screens and laptop computers have been
used to watch DVD's for years. There are also now special adapters available
that contain a TV tuner and connect to laptop computers through a USB port
so that users of laptop computers can watch TV on the screens of their laptops.
The most obvious hybrid between computers and TV equipment is the media
center computer. These devices are DVD players, DVR's, digital receivers,
and Internet browsing machines all combined into a single unit. They're likely
to be the future of TV technology.
Author Resource:-
E.Sanderson writes articles about the latest developments in technology, electronics, and satellite TV. She'd like to inform you about the latest Dishnet HDTV services.
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