Dummies, Wireless

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Part V: The Part of Tens
Other major brands are getting into the wireless HDMI business as well, and
we’re expecting the current high prices to drop considerably over the next
few years as we move along the chip volume production curve and as
competing WiHD products come to market.
The wireless cable experience is not limited to HDMI though. We expect
to see short-distance, high-capacity wireless technologies actually turn the
mess of wires behind your stereo gear into a totally wireless network with
logical configurations done on your browser or through your TV set. Want
to connect your DVD player to your receiver? No problem; just configure the
wireless ports on both machines to see each other and you’re done. We’re
excited about this development, which we hope will happen in the next three
to five years.
Your Musical Instruments
Band gear has been wireless for some time. You can get wireless mics,
guitars, and other musical instruments. But what is new is the bevy of musical
gear that is coming on the market, designed for hopping on your wireless
LAN and making your life fun. We’re talking wireless band mayhem!
Guitar Hero (www.guitarhero.com, $90), the runaway success from Activision,
jump-started this trend in our minds. A simple wireless guitar with buttons
instead of strings allows even the most unmusically minded player to play
with the best bands on Earth.
Rock Band (www.rockband.com, $170) takes it a step higher by taking the
four key instruments one needs to make a band (guitar, bass, drums, vocals),
and builds them into a highly playable (and addictive) game. Each person
plays their respective role in the game, using their wireless instruments, and
drums, strums, bangs, and yells their way into rock history. As we write, the
first versions of this game are coming out for the latest gaming platforms,
such as the PS3 and Xbox 360, but PC versions are expected as well. It’s only
a matter of time before you are virtually playing with other players all over
the globe via the Internet.
A wireless home backbone enables fast access to online music scores, such
as those from www.score-on-line.com.
Other musical instruments are also growing more complex and wireless.
With ConcertMaster, from Baldwin Piano (www.gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/
Baldwin/), your wireless home LAN can plug into your ConcertMaster
Mark II–equipped Baldwin, Chickering, or Wurlitzer piano and play almost
any musical piece you can imagine. You can plan an entire evening of music,
from any combination of sources, to play in any order — all via a wireless
RF remote control.