Skip to main content

A/V Market is in a Major Stage of Transition

Adoption of networking technologies will make installed home theaters and multi-room audio systems more affordable, opening up this market to more consumers at low-to-medium income levels, according to the latest study by Parks Associates.

Total U.S. revenues for installed home theaters and multiroom audio systems will grow from $6 billion in 2007 to more than $11 billion by 2012, and analysts forecast the number of new installations to grow 67 percent over the same period, from 166,000 per year in 2007 to 277,000 by 2012.

The high-end A/V market is in a major stage of transition. Digital media content is approaching the performance and quality of analog media, with the added flexibility only digital content offers.

Reduced costs coupled with advancements in wireless and powerline networking technologies are also growing the retrofit portion of the market, at a time when mid-market construction is slowing down.

Soon, according to the Parks' assessment, PC-based systems from companies such as Dell, HP, and Cisco will compete for customers who traditionally purchased systems from JBL, Sony, and Yamaha.

Currently, the majority of high-end A/V customers are wealthy. In addition, most installed entertainment systems are sold into new homes or homes going through a major renovation. This mix will change as builders, installers, and integrators become more accepting of no-new-wires technologies.

Popular posts from this blog

Trends Shaping the Global Smartphone Market

There is a pivotal shift within the global smartphone market. Recent data from IDC highlights a more cautious outlook for 2025, with projected worldwide smartphone shipments seeing a significantly reduced growth rate. This revised forecast underscores the intricate interplay of global economic factors and geopolitical dynamics on pervasive personal communication devices. IDC's latest update projects a mere 0.6 percent growth in worldwide smartphone shipments for 2025, a stark reduction from the earlier 2.3 percent expectation. Global Smartphone Market Development This recalibration is largely attributed to prevailing economic uncertainties, including inflationary pressures and rising unemployment, alongside the persistent specter of tariff volatility. Despite these global tensions, it's interesting to note that the United States and China are still identified as the primary drivers of this modest growth. China, a critical market, is forecast to achieve a 3 percent year-over-yea...