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The Digital Home
This briefing note is prepared as background information for the Forum at ITU Telecom World 2006. This is part of a series of articles providing an analysis of some of the hot topics in the Programme. The digital home of the future is likely to have access to the world’s largest library, the largest movie collection and a complete range of sporting events, all delivered over a broadband IP-based network. The digital home will also have dozens of in-built computing and communication devices using sensors and RFID tags that are able to monitor and modify the surrounding environment in accordance with the needs of the household members. But the challenge remains how to make all of this work, and how to make information accessible around the home, so it can be used as easily by Grandma as by the tech-savvy teenagers in the household.
Figure 1: Players in the digital home
 Who Are the Players?"Digital home" has two main implications: connected entertainment and automation. Although the automation of the home is considered as a long-term goal (see also the article on Ubiquitous Network in this series), it is in the field of distributing digital entertainment to all the different parts of the home where much of the current action is taking place.. Players in the digital home market are as diverse as the services and products they offer. The overall direction is towards convergence. PC makers want their products to be the digital entertainment hub, while consumer electronics and game console makers envisage their own products playing that role. Software providers want their products to be the main interface for the same hub. Because connectivity in the digital home will most likely be IP-based, telcos and cable companies all want their services to be the backbone of the digital home. Using this IP-enabled network, content providers and internet firms want to use exploit this new opportunity to sell their services and products. As markets converge, different industries may find themselves competing, cooperating or even merging. For instance, Intel and Microsoft, the two traditional partners in manufacturing the PC, have found new partners in Yahoo! and Time Warner, to ensure that their products and services come with attractive digital content. The network equipment company, Cisco, has acquired a TV set-top box maker, and TiVo, a manufacturer of hard-drive recording devices, is developing its own software. Apple, a PC maker and software provider, is now moving into consumer electronics with the iPod. The term "Multiple Play" is sometimes used to describe the network side of convergence. Telcos, cable companies, broadcasters, and mobile network operators are increasingly offering multiple services. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is trying to harmonize standards operated by different devices. In the Republic of Korea, in coordination with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), network operators SKT and KT are taking a lead in establishing two digital home consortia. Each consortium comprises a number of industry players including telcos, broadcasters, construction companies, consumer electronics, network infrastructure providers and content providers. Some statistics show positive signs of growth in the digital home market. Unit shipment of consumer electronics Hard-Disk Drives were estimated at 16.7 million in 2005, more than double that of the previous year (Figure 2, left) as more and more users employ them to store their digital content (Figure 2 right). The availability of convenient means for time-shifting (and place-shifting) of viewing will, in turn, promote further demand for entertainment delivered over IP enabled networks.
Figure 2: Home server market and Estimated Users
Unit Shipments of Consumer Electronics Hard Drives (2003-05) and the Percentage of Digital Content Stored on Home Computers/Hard Drives  Source: Adopted from "Media Servers in the Digital Home", Park Associates 2006. Key Challenges: Interoperability and UsabilityIn building the digital home, interoperability and ease of use remain as key challenges since consumers, not systems are the main target. Seamless digital solutions for business users usually assume a certain level of expertise for installation and use. But for products aimed at the consumer market, a different approach is necessary, with an emphasis on convenience and ease of use. In addition, when hardware is offered by multiple different companies, they are likely to use different digital rights management (DRM) systems. For example, downloaded music may work on one digital music player but not on another. Wireless frequencies for exchange of information may also differ between devices or services. That might mean that the 'convergence' in the digital home is more likely to be a 'collision'. Such a situation might be prevented where digital home products and services are based on open standards, agreed at the international level . As ICTs merge with consumer electronics, many different skills need to be combined together. How can this be done most effectively? Does the ICT industry really understand what consumers want? Can the existing wiring of the home be used to distribute information resources? Are wireless networks the best solution for linking together the different members of the household, and the different rooms? What level of market demand is likely to develop for "domotics", or home automation? These are just some of the questions that will be raised on the exhibition floor and during the Forum at ITU Telecom World 2006. Relevant Sessions on "The Digital Home" at ITU Telecom World 2006
Key Speakers on relevant sessions on "The Digital Home" include:
NoteFor more information, see ITU's works on Joint Co-ordination Activity on Home Networking and What rules for IP-enabled NGNs?
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