While it's fun to watch the price competition in flat-panel and projection TVs, I'm simply not interested in movies or digital TV shows, to the extent that I consider music almost a 24/7 experience. And I refuse to accept the suggestion that this is merely a reflection of the aging 1970s rock 'n' roll legacy in my curmudgeonly existence. There is a distinct minority of teens out there who are not interested in videogaming, and whose primary media interests are in sharing audio files between iPods, computers and home entertainment centers.

In the days leading up to the Consumer Electronics Show, audio took the spotlight with the deal between Apple Computer Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. So why was CES itself so oriented toward the integrated home network experience?

AT&T Broadband, both before and after its acquisition of cable giant TCI, always believed in audio alone as a primary driver of cable modems. Even after Recording Industry Association of America actions ended the Napster craze, AT&T continued to believe in shared mixes of MP3, SHN and uncompressed audio files as a fundamental driver affecting the DSL vs. cable battle.

The success of Apple's iTunes service proves that consumers will respond to pay-for-play file sharing. And they are interested in examining a mix of portable iPod/Walkmans, transportable boom boxes, audio adjuncts to PCs and dedicated audio centers. But many don't want to buy amps, speakers or CD/DVD players based on the utility of Dolby 5.1 surround sound linked to a home theater. If manufacturers in both consumer electronics and broadband access design all products for the high end of the fully integrated digital home, they will be ignoring a significant minority of customers who value audio far more than video.

Loring Wirbel is Communications editorial director for EE Times and its network publications.