HP's MediaSmart flat-panel TVs with built-in intelligence drew big crowds. The system, which was connected to HP's network-storage device powered by Microsoft's new software, featured a pleasant, remote control-friendly interface for acquiring media from multiple sources, storing it, retrieving it and playing it. Perhaps the best way of describing the intelligence built into MediaSmart is that it's like TiVo on steroids.

However, no media server was the topic of more discussion at CES than the one Apple introduced at Macworld in San Francisco: Apple TV. Apple has made no secret of its desire to dominate the living room media experience the same way its iPod media players control the portable media scene.

Given the complex needs of the future home network, it's probably no coincidence that it's starting to resemble enterprise networks. That's because some of the issues that must be solved are the same: High bandwidth requirements, heavy-duty storage needs and the ability to manage large amounts of data. And those complex requirements must be handled in a way that nontechnical users can manage.

That means that NAS, servers, and a combination of wireless and wired networking are coming home.