Sony and Sun Microsystems have announced plans to further expand their cooperative efforts, with a push to provide direct links between digital consumer appliances and Internet-based content and services.
The two companies aim to create a seamless connection between network servers connected to the Internet and digital consumer electronic appliances homes, Sony and Sun said in a statement.
With the approaching broadband network era, the relationship between digital AV (audio-video) appliances, computers and the Internet will be reshaped, said Nobuyuki Idei, president and chief executive officer of Sony, in the statement.
As a first step, the companies plan to develop home gateway software, running on appliances such as set-top boxes and digital television sets, that support a combination of home networking and network server technologies, the statement said.
Collaboration has already begun, further expanding the ongoing efforts between Sony and Sun aimed at bridging the Sony-backed HAVi (home audio-video interoperability) and Sun's Jini home network architectures.
HAVi is a home networking specification backed by Sony and seven other electronics companies. More information about HAVi can be found on the Web at http://www.havi.org/.
Sony, in Tokyo, can be reached at +81-3-5448-2200, or on the Web at http://www.sony.co.jp/. Sun, in Palo Alto, California, is at +1-650-960-1300, or at http://www.sun.com/.