America Online is cutting partnership deals with several networking companies to bring AOL content, including digital radio and photographs, to home entertainment centers.
The ISP has announced that it is working separately with network hardware vendor D-Link Systems and middleware vendor Digital 5. In both cases, the combination of equipment will enable consumers with broadband Internet connections to listen to AOL's Radio@AOL service using a TV or home stereo system.
The announcements were made at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, which runs from Thursday through Sunday.
Multimedia Shared
AOL and D-Link are also working on technology that will permit consumers to view photos stored on AOL's You've Got Pictures digital picture service on their television sets, according to a joint statement Wednesday. D-Link is displaying the new D-Link Wireless Network Players using AOL content at CES, the companies say.
Those new players take digital content from a broadband Internet connection and transmit it across the home to entertainment centers, where the media is played or displayed. Customers can interact with Wireless Network Players and choose various AOL services through a television-based user interface and D-Link remote control.
Wireless Network Players also come outfitted with optional DVD players or 5-in-1 flash card readers, the companies say.
Enabling Technology
Under the Digital 5 deal, consumers who buy devices powered by Digital 5 middleware will be able to access and stream the Radio@AOL service to their entertainment center.
Digital 5 is demonstrating this technology during CES. The Digital 5 technology enables both wireless and wired content sharing among networked consumer electronics devices. Its middleware and platform technologies are frequently used to give DVD players, televisions, and stereo systems access to media over a home network and the Internet.
Radio@AOL and Radio@AOL for Broadband are part of the AOL Internet radio services under the AOL Radio@ Network, which also includes Radio@Netscape. The AOL Radio@ Network offers 175 music, news, sports, entertainment, and seasonal stations.
XML (Extensible Markup Language) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) will permit sharing of the AOL content with the D-Link Player and consumer devices. An authentication scheme based on specifications developed by the Liberty Alliance, an industry consortium developing open standards for federated network identity, will secure the AOL content as it is transmitted, the companies say.
Other Entertainment Interests
The news is just the latest in a string of announcements by major technology vendors and media companies aimed at extending Internet content into the living room.
Intel has announced that it will invest $200 million in companies developing new types of hardware, software and networking products that will make it easier for individuals to use digital content at home. The goal of the funding is to accelerate the convergence of PCs and consumer electronics equipment by making it easier for consumers to play music, video, and other digital content on devices around the home, the company said. The fund will be managed by Intel Capital, the chipmaker's investment arm.
Other major computer technology vendors, including Microsoft and Dell, are expected to display new consumer products at the CES show as well.
See PC World's ongoing CES coverage.
