Multimedia is the watchword - multimedia for the home, for business and for entertainment where developments in image and sound technologies have seen rapidly increasing integration of functions. To have a truly multimedia system, what you need is a personal computer in order to drive it. An ideal set up is a big screen combination of personal computer and television or what is commonly known as the PC/TV. Such device combines the audio and video and the multimedia computing in a complete system which is able to utilize any video source that includes broadcast, VCR, disc, video game, and laser.

Multimedia - The Sights and Sounds of Tomorrow

Whatever mutimedia combination you use, the screen you watch it on has become all important. You spend more and more time staring at a screen and, generally speaking, computer terminals are up to the task -- although some of the largest TV manufacturers have produced their own range of terminal screens.

High-quality huge and wide screens are invading the store displays. The technologies involved are getting better and more streamlined. Of course, allied with this are similar developments in the other components like amplifiers, speakers, CD and video players. The result: matchless quality for sound and visuals.

When cinemas were on the verge of being overrun by video and TV, it was superlative production values and patented reproduction technologies that rescued them by enticing audiences back to the movie-going experience. The same "labels" are now threatening to wean cinema-goers back to the cozy comfort of their living rooms.

Home Entertainment

How is this possible? The answer lies in shared technology, more specifically digital technology, which has opened up unimagined possibilities. Now it allows your camera to talk to your personal computer, which in turn can talk to your television, your audio and video systems. On the home entertainment front you can bring the high-quality sights and sounds you might expect in a cinema right into your living room. Of course, the bottom line is that once you experience the new systems there is no going back -- nothing again will look as good or sound as good.

This is particularly applicable for the amplifier function. You can now have recording-studio quality. And while you are at it why not make your own music video. While you perform in front of a digital camera, which is plugged into your PC and your 40-inch screen, you can edit your song and your images.

Future Innovations

The search for accessible technological systems has been with us for some time. Many of the major technology manufacturers are developing systems that incorporate these functions. It is expected that consumers will have access to these exciting innovation within the near future.

Getting back to the multimedia concept, do not forget that in order to really get things going you need a personal computer to drive it. The ideal is a big-screen combination of PC and television. The PC/TV is the first device that combines audio/video and multimedia computing. This idea is yet to be fully developed, but as the idea of home cinemas matures, the need for sophisticated PC hardware becomes compelling.