Broadband Applications and the Digital Home

This book explores some of the technological challenges in the application of digital communications technology in the home, including provision of fast, 'always on' internet connections. It looks at the ways consumers will use broadband access and what the key applications will be for provider and consumer. More broadly it aims to describe how communication to and within the home is evolving, and how people's lives are changing as they take advantage of the new technology and its applications. The expert contributors consider delivery mechanisms for broadband, connecting the home to external networks as well as connecting devices and applications within the home. They discuss how people use and relate to the technology, and how it should be developed to meet their evolving needs. Current applications are described and how new applications are being developed to take advantage of new digital technology. Finally two visionaries give their insights into aspects of the future for the home environment and how much it will be a digital home. This fascinating book provides balanced coverage of the issues surrounding this next phase of the development of communications and the Internet, which may transform our homes and the way we live. It will be of major interest to engineers and other professionals working in communications, IT, new technology and entertainment, as well as those active in research within a number of fields of technology.