[geeks] Whee! Lightning strikes, AGAIN!

[nate at portents.com]

> We do not use USB to connect DVD players to TVs (or generic media
> playing devices to generic video displays), which is what we were
> discussing.  I think you have crossed this thread with Mark Benson's
> request about Video Casting.

We do use USB 2.0 and Firewire to connect things like HD-DVD and Blu-Ray
drives to devices that decode and convert their bitstreams.

A solution you might even be familiar with is the HD-DVD drive for the
XBox 360, which hooks up via USB 2.0.

> Connections between TVs and DVD players evolved from discussing
> replacing everything with fiber, after someone said that this would be
> useful because of a single point to point connection instead of 4+
> cables.  I suggested that HDMI supplied that particular desire, but that
> HDMI sucked.  Someone said that we should standardize on MPEG2 and H.264
> and use FW to connect media devices.

I suggested we have the option of buying receivers that don't switch
component video or HDMI or whatever else high-bandwidth decompressed
streams and we have the option of buying cheap transports that don't have
all the decoding circuitry and scalers and video processors.  We already
have the multimedia standards, so no need for new signaling standards
(which is what HDMI and DisplayPort and whatever else comes along will
be).  I didn't say anything about re-compressing anything, which would be
silly.

- Nate