Surround and Home Theater Trends Report – The latest CEA consumer surveys show 33% of all U.S. households owned a home theater system as of January of last year, up from 21% in 2000. DVD player penetration in the U.S. is now over 80% of households. Movie ticket sales rose only 0.5% in 2004, while buying and renting of DVDs rose 9%. Home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) sales in 2004 rose for the fourth consecutive year, to 34.4%.
Men Not the Only Ones Wanting Big Screen TV – Circuit City did a new national survey of 5200 men and women which showed that about the same percentage of each would be more inclined to invite friends over to watch if they had a big screen TV. When asked t describe their desire for a flat panel TV, two-thirds of both men and women said they were very interested or wanted one “now.” More than two-thirds of all respondents said the most attractive reason for a flat panel TV was better picture quality. However, 72% reported they were confused by the different technologies and options available.
Cisco Systems Moves Into Consumer Electronics – Linksys, the home networking and consumer division of Cisco, has acquired Kiss – a small Danish company. At the recent CES in Las Vegas Linksys introduced the Kiss DP-600, a networked DVD player which connects wirelessly to the Internet, delivering 3000 Web radio stations, weather forecasts, stock updates etc. into the living room. The company plans to develop other networked entertainment products built around existing consumer electronics.
Men Not the Only Ones Wanting Big Screen TV – Circuit City did a new national survey of 5200 men and women which showed that about the same percentage of each would be more inclined to invite friends over to watch if they had a big screen TV. When asked t describe their desire for a flat panel TV, two-thirds of both men and women said they were very interested or wanted one “now.” More than two-thirds of all respondents said the most attractive reason for a flat panel TV was better picture quality. However, 72% reported they were confused by the different technologies and options available.
Cisco Systems Moves Into Consumer Electronics – Linksys, the home networking and consumer division of Cisco, has acquired Kiss – a small Danish company. At the recent CES in Las Vegas Linksys introduced the Kiss DP-600, a networked DVD player which connects wirelessly to the Internet, delivering 3000 Web radio stations, weather forecasts, stock updates etc. into the living room. The company plans to develop other networked entertainment products built around existing consumer electronics.
Denon Wins Best of CES Awards – The Denon AVR-2807 AV receiver received the CNET Best of CES Award in the Home Audio category at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. The receiver converts all incoming analog video signals to HDMI output and allows source switching in that maximum-performance mode. It also includes MultEQXT technology from Audyssey Labs which creates a “sweet spot” for every listener in the room. Four other Denon products received awards at CES 2006: the S-101 Home Entertainment System, the DVD-5910CI DVD player, and the AVR-5805 and AV receivers.
