I'm trying out for a writing gig on The Gadgeteer. This is my sample submission...

I'm a big fan of the "what we want, when we want it" model of media. I'm an even bigger fan of the "where we want it" addendum to that model. I've spent a good deal of time, effort, and sadly money crafting a decent home theater setup, which delivers a great viewing experience in my living room. That's fine if the content is coming from what is increasingly being called old media - pretty much any and everything that isn't the internet. But what about all that new media? How do I share the love (or more accurately, share the pile of home theater stuff) with the new media?

What's the Problem? We can solve it with more STUFF!

Traditionally (meaning last year) making this bridge to tomorrow meant building or buying a Home Theater PC (HTPC). Yes, the dreaded HTPC grail, sought after by many, including the giants Microsoft and Apple, as well as a host of compainies large and small. The HTPC idea is simple: you've got your PC, you've got your TV, plug the two of them togeather and tada! you've bridged the two worlds. Ok, so it's not quite that simple - it never is - but that's the dream. The reality is that you're facing several interesting hurdles before you even get to the real problem, that of the viewing experience. You've got your video, your audio, your internet (which is way over there, not over here...)

The current thinking, judging from the crop of new gadgets popping up like spamvertising windows, is that the whole HTPC idea might have been too complicated so what's needed are small single purpose devices you add to a home theater like a DVD player. A good example is the WD TV HD Media Player Julie reviewed in December, 2008. Great, so instead of one complicated HTPC, we now have one, two, or three little black boxes to integrate into our home theater. Progress!

New Media - What exactly do I want on my Home Theater anyway?

(to be continued!)