The audiovisual market has seen a huge shift since last year’s review by Irish Computer. In 2006 the market was still quiet compared to, for example, Britain’s.
In 2004, the audiovisual communications industry’s revenues had been estimated at $18.9 billion annually in North America, with a projected growth rate of 9.6% annually over the next five years. These figures were based on the first report of its kind to quantify the AV industry and project sales figures. The North America market enjoys annual product sales totalling $11.5 billion and service sales totalling $7.4 billion, with the European market following a similarly robust pattern.
In Ireland Osmosis is one of the leading AV distributors, and well placed to monitor market performance. Osmosis AV manager Liam Sheehan told Irish Computer: “The big topic now is digital signage. It is the single fastest-growing area in the AV world. Screens are getting bigger and there’s a clear swing from plasma to LCD.”
Sheehan said Sharp is this month launching a 65-inch commercial panel which it had previewed earlier this year at an audiovisual show in Amsterdam where, according to Sheehan, 60% of exhibits were signage displays. “The way the business is going,” he said, “there’ll be more signage, and the products are getting bigger and technically better.”
Osmosis’ fortunes are indicative of what’s selling. Sheehan said there is strong demand for multimedia projectors for boardrooms pubs and schools. “We sell as many high-end ones as low end models.”
Another item for which Sheehan had seen “huge demand” was digital whiteboards. He said a policy change by the Education Department meant schools now had money for such technology.
Convergence between traditional IT sellers and AV products continues. “Traditional AV companies would not have network experience so, if they wanted signage business, they would have to partner with a networking firm.”
TNS Distribution’s AV channel manager, Don Holmes, said convergence was still a talking point but that it was also seen as an everyday and necessary part of the AV market. “The combination of the experience of the traditional IT resellers and that of the AV resellers has vastly improved service and the customer’s overall AV experience,” said Holmes.
As an example, Holmes cited Dublin-based Digital Knight Enterprises, which designs and sells branded digital content solutions to the retail and banking industries. These systems display special offers, products and services, for example. “Digital Knight recently installed a dynamic digital menu system in a leading chain of convenience stores using the Philips LCD range. “Customers can view meal menus which change dynamically to promote products depending on the time of day.”
Sharptext retail sales manager John Cooke said other factors in making AV and IT convergence a reality were the surge in HD LCD TV sales, wireless connectivity, and widening broadband coverage. He added that Windows Vista would make it easier for consumers to set up a secure home network and take full advantage of the digital revolution. “This year will see such technology become more widespread.”
Cooke said more SMEs are starting to put either LCD TVs or projectors in their board rooms – a task still carried out by dedicated installers but one that he expects to become mainstream as the technology changes.
Sharptext has also seen the flat panel market going into the stratosphere. Cooke agrees with Osmosis’s Sheehan about the emerging dominance of LCD. “The LCD TV market has seen over 175% growth, mostly HD LCD TVs, so we expect a huge increase in HD add-on products. So the channel is now seeing the importance of the convergence of IT and AV products. You will see traditional TV retailers selling IT products and the IT sector selling more AV products.”
Epson business manager Stuart Davis also saw convergence as talking point. He said Epson has seen increased interest in network-enabled models for ease of operation and for remote maintenance monitoring.
Epson also sees the meeting-room business remaining extremely healthy. The trend here is towards installed solutions, rather than portable models, ensuring the equipment is available when needed. He predicted “an increasing demand for wireless networked projectors for ease of use and easy maintenance.”
The AV company also sees a huge opportunity in education, which is still a nascent area in Ireland. A strong selling point with Epson’s EMP-X3e and EMP-82e is that they require a password and can only be operated via remote control – there isn’t even an on/off switch. Simply put, the projectors will not work if removed from the premises without access to the pin code and remote control.
While Epson acknowledges the swing to flat panels, it continues believes the cinema enthusiast prefers projector and screen. “Our projector technologies deliver a true HD projection with superior image quality for a first-class viewing experience,” claimed Cooke.
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