DIGITAL HOME
PREREQUISITES
FOR A DIGITAL
LIFE
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE CONNECTED HOME OF
A DIGITAL NATIVE WHO HAS FEATHERED HIS
NEST IN HIGH-TECH SOUND AND VISION
Over a year ago I didn’t own a home, let alone have anything need for HDMI cables over Scart leads because of the differ-
near what I’d class as a digital home, or have what I’d call a dig- ence in video quality — colours are more vivid and what’s
ital life. Today, however, the tables have been turned and as I happening on-screen is more real.
rush out the door, I’m usually at pains to make sure everything In terms of gaming, the Xbox 360 Elite has pride of place in
unnecessary is unplugged. the living room and I have a growing games collection I rarely
In terms of home entertainment, our 42-inch plasma screen have enough time to play. This year’s forthcoming releases
TV is the central entertainment hub of the house through which Gears of War 2 and the fifth series of Call of Duty: World at War
various streams of technology are filtered. are almost-certain additions to the collection.
One of our first purchases was a Sky+ personal video Our bedroom also includes a PlayStation 2 (PS2) console
recorder, which we use to watch everything. The ability to because many of our favourite games are still on this platform,
use the planner to record programmes days in advance is cru- which has stood the test of time. It doesn’t surprise me that PS2
cial, as well as series-linking entire series’ of content. Rarely do sales are still going strong in most countries.
we watch live TV at all, preferring catch-up shows such as Will Most weekends I rarely bother with pubs anymore, preferring
& Grace, The Unit and CSI, along with the odd documentary to uncork a bottle of wine, plug my laptop into a speaker system
and movie. and watch music videos via YouTube. A Wi-Fi network through-
The beauty of the planner is its flexibility in storing entire out the house means I can get internet connectivity from the
series’; being able to browse through Sky Anytime TV and office, the kitchen, the living room and the back garden.
get a selection of content; and having the option to just live- The latest addition to our kitchen is a Logitech Pure-Fi Dream
pause a programme. Sky Multiroom allows us to get the full speaker system, which combines a radio alarm clock with an
array of TV programmes upstairs, albeit without the live- iPod docking station. Despite its diminutive size, the Pure-Fi
pause and recording ability. comes with high-definition speakers that have long-throw
My girlfriend is actually more adept with the Sky planner than woofers, which fill a room with sound. The audio quality is
I am, and I marvel at her dexterity and knowledge at managing greater the further you stand back from the speakers, so I try to
seemingly endless hours of content. keep the noise down and not annoy the neighbours.
DVDs are viewed on a Sony Blu-ray player, the BDP-S300, Future digital plans include getting the Wii Fit and disposing
and, until I connected it to the living room TV via an HDMI cable, with a rarely used gym membership out of deference to these
the high-definition craze was lost on me. I must emphasise the tough economic times.
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