Sony Corp and Sun Microsystems Inc are collaborating to develop Java-based software that will deliver content and services to networked Sony consumer devices via the internet. The software, dubbed Home Gateway Access software, is intended to provide a bridge between the internet and devices such as set-top boxes, digital and digital video cameras linked together in a home network. In January, Sun and Sony started work on making their respective Jini and Home Audio/Visual interoperability (HAVi) home network software communicate, and the new announcement is an extension of that.
The Home Gateway Access software will use various software elements from Sun and Sony and aims to provide a secure ‘pipe’ between Sony web sites and the home. Sun’s Java Embedded Server will sit on the device side, provisioning and managing content and services from the internet to the home, while Sun’s Management Center (SMC) will be held on Sony servers, allowing remote diagnostics and configuration of devices on a home network. Sony is using its iLink high bandwidth digital interface, based around the IEEE1394 standard, as the means of shuttling data between its devices. Sun and Sony expect that the development work on the software will be completed within a year.
The gateway software will enable Sony to offer two separate services to connected users. Initially, Sony technicians will be able to help users set up complicated digital devices, such as video cameras, through the diagnostic and online help functions in the SMC software.
However, the potential revenue from content delivery services is the real driver behind this software effort. As the take-up of broadband delivery services increases, Sony will be in a position to provide films directly to a set-top box/digital set-up or music files straight to an MP3 player. Sun says that the security and authentication layers inherent in the Java model will provide security for this valuable online content.
Sony is already putting the pieces in place for content and e- commerce web sites. In 2001 it will launch a digital distribution venture, called e- Distribution, which will distribute games software, music and films via broadband cable TV networks. And with the Sony PlayStation 2 it has a hardware platform that can function as an all-in-one home networking and entertainment box. Peter Glaskowsky, analyst at the Microprocessor report suggests that a PlayStation-like device without the gaming features would be an even more appropriate platform for a home networking hub, since it wouldn’t be subjected to frequent rebooting as games are changed or restarted.
