The truth is, our fifth-grader has become the equivalent of a live-in Support Desk. True, my husband and I are the designers of the entertainment system. We did all the research and navigated the DLP, plasma, HDTV decision process. We determined the optimal configuration for the accompanying sound system, exercising liberal design reuse (read: we kept our old stereo equipment). But our kid is the one who has really taken the time to make everything sing. He challenges the performance potential of the system and identifies bugs (he’s the one who figured out the work-around for our ‘All On’ button issue before the cable company). He’s knows how to access the radio without undoing the DVD sound system set-up. He’s undaunted by the need to access multiple remotes for certain functions and has even figured out how to consolidate some functions. He loves exploring all the nooks and crannies of the system, providing frequent news flashes to describe features we never knew we had.

It’s great to have a power user in the family to make the most of all of these cool embedded technology innovations, but not everyone is so lucky. Even the ultra-techno-savvy may have been tripped up from time to time dealing with home networks. Much of the reason for this is that, as in my case, they may not be in a position to build a brand new system using all new pieces. More likely, they’re creating their home theater in stages (ouch, sorry for that). Maybe they invested in a new plasma TV, and for now they’re going to have to make do with the sound system that they got for college graduation. Or perhaps they put all of their money into sound, and picture quality will catch up in the next round. And we haven’t even mentioned the Internet and all the fun (and complications) that come with that.

It all sounds pretty daunting, and what’s really funny is that most, if not all, of the elements of this digital den are already there. They’re just not talking to one another. This begs the question of whether taking on this task is just another way of looking for trouble. Are we installing a huge multi-remote-driven Pandora’s Box in our den? An unmanageable mishmash of proprietary standards and clumsy interconnects that we’ll never be able to make any sense of if we’ve matriculated past fifth grade? Hardly. The truth is that embedded solutions out there today offer serious help in dealing with the complexity issue, and more help is on the horizon for important issues like network security, whether users are creating a system from scratch or working with hand-me-down components.

When we switch hats from consumer to designer, creating products to fit into this space, we tend to suffer from a bit of tunnel vision. It’s tough for all of the technology to coexist as a cohesive unit when each new piece thinks it’s the hub. What we need to do instead is look to standards that we can adopt into our process that will help us to think of the user experience and how our cool new idea fits in.

Say Hello to HANA

One of the most promising announcements in this space was made just last week with the introduction of the High Definition Audio Video Network Alliance, or HANA (see press release). With founding members including big wigs like Charter Communications, JVC, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc., NBC Universal, Samsung, and Sun Microsystems, HANA promises to pack a punch right out of the chute. In addition to the founders, ARM, Freescale Semiconductor, and Pulse-LINK bring their expertise to HANA as contributing members. The goal of the alliance is to come up with a design guideline for secure high-definition audio/visual networks that will speed the creation of new, higher-quality, easier-to-use HD products. OK, clearly that’s the press release talking. In non-PR speak, here’s a group of powerful HD industry forces collaborating to detangle the big snarl of standards out there so that all of our stuff can talk. In fact, HANA bills itself as a milestone among industry alliances because they’re starting in the living room and not the home office.

After reading a bit more about HANA’s mission, I decided it was in perfect alignment with my quest for fewer remotes, with some pretty lofty plans. Remember those guidelines they’re creating? They plan to use existing technology and specifications to let you do all sorts of stuff that (if you’re a DVR junkie like me) sounds too good to be true. If they have their way, we will be able to:

• View, pause and record 5+ HD channels simultaneously without compromising quality of service (good thing they threw in that QOS part, eh?)

• View, pause and record HD anywhere in your house with just one set top box (I’m listening…)

• Share personal content from PCs to AV devices while keeping protected content secure (admittedly, anything about system security still gives me pause)

• Control all AV devices and access content with just a single remote per room (now we’re talkin’)

• Add any device to the home network with just one cable (i.e. using IEEE 1394 to connect all the devices).

Just looking at the cables around me right now, I was considering spouting off some “pie in the sky” skepticism, but it’s pretty exciting to consider the possibility. If HD blossoms as hoped, much of this functionality that looks like a wish list today will be considered the baseline in the next 5-10 years.

ARM Lends a Hand

As a contributing member of HANA, ARM will be playing a major role in making the digital den (or living room) a reality. Consider a scenario that includes a fairly state-of-the-art entertainment system in the living room and an older TV in the bedroom.

In the living room, there’s a network interface unit (NIU), and an audio/video hard disk drive (AV HDD), both of which may very well contain an ARM 1176 class device with their TrustZone technology for Digital Rights Management (DRM) support as well as support for STIPlets. Code running on the secure side of a device can exist in either a native application or an interpreted program, also known as a STIPlet. ARM TrustZone technology is implemented within the microprocessor core itself, enabling the protection of on- and off-chip memory and peripherals from software attack. The reason for all of this security is simple. Both the NIU and the AV HDD need to interface with the outside world via a web server to perform their functions. The NIU authorizes use of content through conditional access from the cable company and inserts 5C (DTCP) DRM onto the content transport stream. The AV HDD is essentially a fancy DVR, with the user interfacing to the server through the HDTV.

Next, moving from the living room to the bedroom, they use 1394 Repeaters, in this case each containing an ARM 9 class device. We touched on IEEE 1394 earlier, but this is a good place to discuss its role. HANA likes 1394 for several reasons. It’s secure, implements 5C to decrypt the transport stream, and is approved by the Motion Picture Association of America for premium content delivery. Additionally, it has high throughput, which is critical for HDTV. The 1394 Repeaters do just that – they repeat the functionality in a new location.

Now they move to the bedroom, where the user wants to hook up his older HDTV to his new system. (Hmm, how many of us actually have an “older” HDTV???) But I digress. If they did have one, they would employ the services of a TV Node to get HANA-like support from legacy equipment. ARM’s TrustZone technology comes into play again, and they could find either ARM 9 or ARM 11 class devices inside.

It’s important to note that HANA is not the only group out there fighting the good fight for the HD challenge. The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), the UPnP Forum, and the Internet Home Alliance are all focusing on elements of this large, complex issue.

Looking at the HANA diagram may still cause some tension for the average user out there trying to upgrade his or her home entertainment system. There’s still a significant amount of complexity required to enable this digital experience, not to mention a clear need for a Glossary of Terms for the acronym challenged.

Companies like Philips have made it their mission to make the consumer experience a pleasant one, and they have placed a significant focus on the home entertainment market. They work to hide the complexity of the technology and to make it simple for consumers to understand. For them, it starts with robust, easy-to-use reference designs for equipment makers that include standards like USB 1.1 and 2.0 to enable users to access still pictures via a memory stick plugged into their TV. Their TV reference designs include high-definition media interface (HDMI) capabilities to minimize cables. They are looking to provide the user with an interface that allows them to access materials from all over the home from one location (the TV).

The burning question is whether this technology will enable users to easily access content from anywhere in their home without needing to know where things are or how they’re connected. Philips says yes. It’s all about the system. The user interface will offer them all of their options for music, for example. They don’t need to worry about whether a song they want to hear comes from their MP3, from their CD player, or from their PC, because it’s all connected behind the scenes. This same user interface would be available in each room. It still sounds like a major deal to create this hugely interconnected system, but much easier to use once it’s up and running.

This article could go one for another 10 pages and still just scratch the surface of possibilities for digitizing the den. We didn’t even touch, for example, on the notion of the “entertainment PC” that can consolidate the features of a DVR and PC and serve as the hub of a wireless network. Still, I find myself wondering how long it will be until my own den is rid of the need for a “remote caddy.” Perhaps I should consult the Support Desk.