Peripherals are gearing towards media

9 April 2008

Anyone with a foot firmly placed in the digital content market will agree that media centre PCs are becoming a vital part of consumers' home theatre environments.

While certain components within the conventional 'PC world' are being left behind, others, such as input- and output-centric peripherals are being adapted to play in this new world.

Calvin van Wyk, Logitech product manager at Tarsus Technologies, says that the primary focus is currently on devices that are used in conjunction with PCs.

"Users want all of the intelligence and versatility of their PC at their fingertips, but at the same time want to interact with it as conveniently as they would a DVD player, amplifier or their DSTV decoder," he explains.

"So functionalities such as how intuitive the device is, how easily it integrates with other devices and whether or not it eliminates the need for wires are becoming increasingly important."

van Wyk sees this trend impacting the most logical of peripherals, the keyboard and mouse. "Universal remotes, docking stations for digital devices like iPods and media extension devices are also a large part of the changing landscape.

"This trend, however, will only become more prevalent and far-reaching over the coming years.

"Looking at the options available in this realm today, a clear vision of a completely integrated home, with devices seamlessly interoperating and streaming content back and forth is not that far off in the future," he adds.