Sony Eyes Networked Audiovisual Devices
Posted by @ 8:40 AM, EST
Straight from The Nihon Keizai Shimbun Tuesday morning edition:

"TOKYO --Sony Corp. is developing a series of audiovisual products that can be built into a network of household digital appliances to be operated via a personal digital assistant (PDA).

The envisioned products, which will all have communications functions, will be compatible with the IEEE1394, or the iLINK world standard. Sony plans to release as early as 2001 such digital products as TV, DVD devices, digital video machines, video game machines including the PlayStation2 console, set-top boxes for digital broadcasts and hard-disk devices for storing images.

The PDA can be used, for example, to access the TV on-screen menu and set video or DVD machines to record and replay TV programs. They can also take advantage of online e-commerce and music distribution services, as well as receive after-sales service over the Internet."