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Combined package
How furniture makes life more entertaining

It’s hard not to think that furniture and modern entertainment systems are somehow meant for exclusive use only. Why else should industry continue to supply furniture that takes the old cathode ray tube TV sets which are long gone from the market, and why else do end customers still have to drill a hole the size of your fist into load-bearing elements to feed through the cabling? The fact that none of this has been necessary for some time now is evidenced at the new Mediapoint feature at ZOW in Bad Salzuflen. This special exhibition located in hall 19 demonstrates how these allegedly irreconcilable realms of technology function together.

Life has become more technical. Not only are we comfortable at the office among computers, phones and networks of all kinds, but now at home as well we can barely conceive of a life without digital music, videos and photos, the internet and multimedia networks. Electronic home entertainment systems have emerged from living rooms and TV rooms and spread throughout the entire house, and there will come a time when not having internet connections and compatible terminals in the kitchen and bathroom will be simply unimaginable.

The challenge facing furniture manufacturers and the supply sector is what do I need to do or take into account to support the trend toward providing universal multimedia access? What requirements does my furniture need to meet in this age of multimedia? Mediapoint at ZOW is a display of specific interior settings which demonstrate how living rooms and workspaces, kitchens and bathrooms can be designed and fitted out right now to support media access - and networked with each other. Mediapoint is the interface between furniture, electronic entertainment systems and home automation.

The realm of the device

Large format flat screen TVs, surround sound systems, the world of Apple and its iPods and iPhones, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 3 games consoles, the netbook mini-computer, digital cameras and MP3 players of all kinds – the understandable hype surrounding these products is enormous. But there are also well-established, new and upcoming products and their manifold operations to be on top of when designing furniture around their use.  

The familiar components which feature in living rooms should of course not be forgotten: hi-fi systems, TVs and satellite and cable receivers will be no less important in the future. However, products such as the ReelBox which combines and packages several categories are new: just one PC contains a receiver for high definition TV signals and a DVD and hard disk recorder, so that accessing the internet on a plasma TV screen becomes no more than a finger exercise. At the same time, these types of boxes also function as a media server or media client, sending and receiving music and videos to and from the network. It’s only a matter of time before the PC finds its way into the living room,  either as a small, slim and elegant nettop, a touchscreen PC or a High Power computer for games. Be prepared for anything and everything!

Developments are at an advanced stage in the kitchen and bathroom, and this is precisely where there is a need to rethink. The kitchen is back again as a central food station that wants to be networked with the media world in all its manifestations, while in the bathroom entertainment and information in the first half-hour of the day are more in demand than ever.

Portable appliances are also finding increasing application. Portable, that is, not only outside the home but within it as well. Joining the ubiquitous cell phones and digital cameras are MP3 players, video screens and photo frames and/or recorders and USB hard drives which are ideal for making data available in a number of rooms or even in several apartments.

The realm of the network

Not only are devices becoming increasingly universal but also the connections between them. The erstwhile computer network, Ethernet, together with its wireless spin-off, W-LAN, is absolutely ideal not only for transmitting online data but also in providing a suitable highway for delivering digital entertainment to both screens and loudspeakers. Images and sound also span the distance wirelessly between storage device and output devices via Bluetooth.

Where a wireless connection is not possible, universal cables bring digitalized entertainment data from the storage device to the playback device. For the best picture quality with high definition TVs, the HDMI cable is now indispensable. Portable devices use a USB port, while external hard drives, notebooks and others might also use an Ethernet cable for a fast connection to built-in hardware. Even the power supply is used now for the transmission of data.

Don’t forget that, as well as the built-in storage devices or hard drives, flash drives are also absolutely ideal for transporting and exchanging data. USB sticks and memory cards are suitable for use with or slot into practically all PCs, and portable devices are also mostly compatible with SD, Compact Flash, xD cards and memory sticks.

Tailored and universal solutions

Obviously, furniture can be built that is tailored precisely for a PlayStation 3, a specific flat screen TV or even a TV internet screen in the kitchen. Or an online monitor, which works behind a semi-transparent mirror and defies the high temperatures and humidity of the bathroom.

But it’s more universal than that: individual components in furniture can be designed to take PCs in three or five liter format. But the size and ventilation have to be right. A further step would be to incorporate active ventilation for devices that must not overheat. Measures to simplify the transmission of portable data include an Ethernet connection in the plinth of the cupboard unit, shelving or desk; a USB port connected to its counterpart located in the cupboard interior via a pre-installed cable, or a card scanner for direct access fitted in a desk; TV or audio combination.

The popularity of wireless transmission calls for designs which avoid too much metal in surfaces. Even the thinnest vapor coating of metal for glass panels will cut off the signal for cell phones and W-LAN networks from receivers located on the inside of a cupboard. When it comes to armchairs for relaxation, designing in a USB port for an MP3 stick, a playback device complete with amplifier and loud speakers or an appropriate socket for headphones socket is perhaps not all that far removed from the future.