The PS3 doesn't have a switch - it just has wireless ethernet. The PS3 is also a bit of an "odd duck" in the marketplace - it requires a network connection for online gaming (which has become an integral part of many video games these days) and its price point is dictated as much by the potential for associated software sales as by actual hardware costs. Moving closer to a "typical" home theater component, devices like the SqueezeBox have wireless because they exist solely to be on a network, but for a long time Slim Devices offered a version of the SqueezBox that omitted wireless for a $50 or so savings. Meanwhile, HD-DVD and Blu-ray players with ethernet connections have so far been wired only, as have surround receivers and processors from folks like Onkyo and Denon.

I wonder how much hassle it is to set up a wireless access point as a bridge compared to setting up a wireless bridge built into a surround receiver. You can plug the access point into a USB port and configure it with keyboard and mouse, then just move it once and stick it where it can get best reception while still facilitating network cabling. On the other hand, you'll be using a remote control (good for entering numbers, less so for typing in letters) to configure the wireless bridge in a surround processor. The configuration requirements are basically the same since you're connecting to the same house network either way. I also recall there being a few products from folks like Linksys that were designed specifically to provide a bridge like the one we're describing, as the XBox and PS2 created a large demand for it. What would really be smart for a company like Netgear, Linksys, DLink, or maybe even 3Com (somebody with the network engineering resources readily at hand) would be a "den data hub" device that offered a wireless bridge, 10/100 switch with half a dozen ports, and a form factor and setup interface that was geared specifically for tying the home theater to a house network. Heck, they probably have something along these lines and I just haven't looked for it...