Photos: Homes of the future

PCBC 2006, a homebuilding trade show taking place this week in San Francisco, showcased gadgets that may be found in the homes of the future.

The prototype GE Smart ConnectionCenter, displayed by Livermore, Calif.-based Interactive Home, lets people use a single, wall-mounted touch pad to control their home environment, including its audio and video, intercom, security, climate and lighting in individual rooms.

The blue touch pad on the left allows homeowners to control the GE Smart ConnectionCenter, located on the right.

This wall-mounted control pad for Sony's New Home Solution System lets homeowners control the home entertainment system, which includes a 400-disc DVD changer, 400-disc CD changer, combination DVD recorder and VCR, five-disc DVD player and an AM/FM tuner.

Sony's New Home Solution comes programmed, prewired and mounted on a rack that can be installed into the wall in one step. The system works with a variety of Sony high-definition TVs.

The Sony New Home Solution can play content from DVDs, CDs, AM/FM radio and a combination DVD recorder and VCR independently, and can store as many as 406 DVDs and 400 CDs.

The Sony Wall Station integrates audio or audio and video throughout the house at the cost of $1,000 to $2,000 per room.

The Sony Wall Station has a customizable faceplate that can be painted to match any home's interior.

Controlled by remote, the TecStream by USTec streams content from any number of HD devices throughout a home over FireWire, incorporating Ethernet, audio, video and telephone.

TecStream's IEEE1394 cable set-top box integrates multiple entertainment systems, subscriber services, telephone and computers on one network, which is accessible from as many as eight different rooms.