Homes of the future to be a totally immersive multimedia experience

Walls to become constantly changing screens

17 July 2006 12:42 GMT / By Amber Maitland

The home interior of the future will be a dazzling, constantly changing screen-scape of televisions and projections, according to a panel of technology experts and trend forecasters gathered together by ntl Telewest.

With the way we watch television changing rapidly with HDTV, TiVo and Sky+, as well as TV on demand, the boffins have projected what our homes will look like in 2020.

The traditional TV set will be as outdated as the black and white televisions of the past. Instead, the walls themselves will becomes screens, as video wallpaper and tiles take over.

Thanks to flexible screens, like the ones that Epson has developed recently, news could be watched on the back of a cereal box, while internet content could be viewed directly from the cover of a magazine.

One TV screen could show two different programmes depending on the angle that it's viewed, so that two viewers could watch what they want and hear it clearly thanks to "advanced narrow directionally projected sound".

TV on demand would mean that viewers can decide on plot twists in a soap opera and cast new virtual actors.

Little chips worn on your clothes can encode what programme you're watching, so that screens change to keep up with your movements from room to room; they would also change the wallpaper effects, lighting, and object positioning on the walls to your personal preferences.