That's Computainment! New Orleans LA

Posted by : Elizabeth Millard

There was a time when electronics knew their place. The television nestled happily in the living room or bedroom, the computer resided complacently in the home office or den, and the only thing digital in the kitchen was the coffeemaker's built-in timer. Now, PC makers and entertainment purveyors have a new message: There's really no difference between a high-end computer and a tricked-out home theater system; so why not mix and match?

Computer users have long added entertainment functions to their PCs. Of course, PCs make a great music hub for CD mixing and MP3 downloads. The PC is the primary photo fixing, sending, and storing device. Newer models also play DVDs with digital pictures. And there are several tuner cards on the market that let users watch TV and listen to the radio.

It's really not that hard to bring digital entertainment to your den or home office. The trickier part is bringing computing into your living-room entertainment center.

Major manufacturers and retailers have strengthened their push to bring digital entertainment into the living room's analog environment in the last few years. As consumers get more comfortable burning CDs, using personal video recorders (PVRs), and e-mailing digital photos of the kids to Grandma, companies from both entertainment and computing universes are ushering them even further into the digital realm with hardware like the HP Media Center PC and software like Apple's iLife.

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