What is Digital Multimedia?

Until very recently it was not possible to digitize audio and video without using some very expensive electronics to a) convert the media stream to the “bits” of the digital age, and b) send them over a network using a reasonable bandwidth. Now, high performance analog to digital and digital to analog converters make all media digital, and clever compression hardware (which reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted), together with much faster networks, make it practical to send digitized media streams from any point on a digital network to another.

Previously, signals required a dedicated coaxial cable for every media source, and most audio/video systems (including residential entertainment) ended up with a tangled mess of wires for control and distribution of baseband (raw audio and video) and RF (think channel 3 going from your VCR to the TV) signals. Converting everything to digital means you can replace the mess with one cable that carries everything.

Why convert?

• Watch the Weather Channel or http://www.weather.com on one display whilst you fix coffee

• When you go to the kitchen to fix a snack whilst watching your favorite movie/sporting event, don't miss a second because you routed the content to the display there

• Pipe your favorite Internet Radio Station or your favorite CD, broadcast radio station, or satellite music to selected speakers throughout the office/home

• There will be a tremendous amount of competition in the industry that will dramatically reduce prices in what is currently a closed club of proprietary systems. This will ease interconnectivity by relying on standards and dramatically reduce prices.

• Ultra Wide Band (UWB), IEE 802.11n, Powerline, and other technologies will make it unnecessary to wire the building with “CAT 5” wiring (the minimum quality required to handle video speeds), further reducing installation costs and increasing flexibility.

Conclusion

• The watch/listen to anything anywhere at any time paradigm, and TVs that function as Internet access points add a whole new level of convenience and improved experience for all media types, all available at a lower price point and better quality than traditional high-end multimedia systems.

  We're here to help you get started and finished - from feasibility study to implementation, including security, hardware, networking, and an installer if needed. By not being a reseller, we can be objective about the technology, and you can get your best prices wherever you want.

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