The digital home
 
What's that on your TV?
From its famous garage to its house of the future, Hewlett-Packard looks at the television as a lot more than a box for watching TV programs. The key is the set-top box, which has evolved into a personal computer, complete with a hard drive for digital recording, on-demand programming and as many as 500 channels.

Investors can press 'play'
How to find the companies poised to benefit from digital home technology

 

Keeping the pipeline open
Cable companies know that whatever the digital home of the future will look like, the Internet will be the main conduit to its potential.

Is Netflix ready?
Netflix wants to make sure customers are ready to use its service to download movies and TV shows from the Web.

 

Home IQ
Designers say the best new home technologies will
make people -- not their houses -- smarter. Whether it's communication, entertainment or safety, our personal preferences and needs will dictate what technology we
have to have, what we want and what we’ll take a pass on. Need fashion advice (left) from your mirror?



Welcome home
Peek inside for the latest in digital
home technology.
 
Changing places
Home design and building is getting a makeover thanks to technology: Homes would be designed with the features you want and built off site. Custom components would be shipped then assembled in just days on your property, with nearly zero waste. Standardized connections would make it easier to plug in plumbing, electricity, digital connections and other services. It’s a long way from most construction techniques still being practiced today. And, some say, efficiencies in the home-building industry are long overdue.
 
Smart and good-looking, too
Old meets new, green and sustainable meet smart and efficient in the new Smart Home exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

Q&A with the architect
Michelle Kaufmann focuses on five "'EcoPrinciples": smart design, eco materials, energy efficiency, water conservation and healthy environment.

 
TECHNOLOGY
Closer to reality?
The idea of the fully-connected digital home has been percolating for decades, but only recently has it begun to appear both practical and affordable. Products are making their way into stores to let consumers do all sorts of things they could not do before, using the Internet and wireless technology to tie everything together.
 
CONNECTIVITY
Putting the pieces together
The big challenge for digital product manufacturers is to make everything work together without a fuss. Devices have to connect quickly to a home network, and it all has to be easy to manage. Until these hurdles are overcome, consumers won’t fully embrace a digital lifestyle.
 

A door to the future
 MarketWatch's Rex Crum visits with Brian Burch, (left) H-P's director of marketing for 
connected entertainment, at the
Hewlett-Packard "smart home" in Silicon Valley.
Special Report: The Digital Home
This is the second part of a three-week series looking at the challenges of advancing digital technology for home design, building, consumer electronics, and the companies -- and investors -- poised to benefit.
• Coming next week: Investment opportunities, the future for the cable and set-top box industries and more.
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