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Industry Changes The home audio industry is preparing itself for future change and adapting to current changes to turn around its declining fortunes. Already, component A/V receivers, home-theater-
in-a-box (HTiB) systems, and all-in-one compact stereo systems are connecting to the home network to reproduce music stored on a networked PC or streamed from Internet radio stations. Compact systems (also called shelf systems) incorporate an AM/FM tuner, amplification and a CD player in one or two small chassis packaged with a pair of speakers for tabletop placement. HTiBs, which are larger and generally more powerful, add surround-sound decoding and additional speakers to reproduce movie-theater soundtracks. Other networked products reproduce music stored on a central, dedicated music server located in another room. Some of them also stream Internet radio stations through a broadband connection. In a hint of things to come, one company in 2005 shipped the world’s first networked clock/radio, which wakes consumers up by streaming an Internet radio station or a music file stored on a networked PC.
-Connect to wired or wireless networks to access music stored on any networked device located in any room of the house, whether the sources are multiple PCs in different bedrooms or a centralized hard-disk-drive (HDD) music server. In custom-installed distributed-audio systems, servers distribute music to speakers mounted in the walls or ceilings of various rooms. -Connect to the Internet to stream Internet radio stations. -Control increasingly popular satellite-radio tuners. -And build bridges to portable audio devices by controlling and playing music stored on a connected MP3 player through a high-quality home stereo. Such products include “docking stations” that incorporate amplifier and speakers to reproduce music stored on a docked MP3 player.
The Substance of Style Besides developing components and systems that accommodate new music sources, suppliers also are developing more products that erect fewer practical and aesthetic objections to adding a home theater to a household. More component A/V receivers and HTiBs, for example, feature virtual surround technologies, which deliver a convincing surround-sound experience through two speakers rather than the usual four to seven speakers. In some cases, one speaker does the work of five.In 2006, the industry will continue to broaden its base with products that fit unobtrusively in a home’s décor to overcome the objections of a household’s female decision-makers. To that end, suppliers aggressively have marketed small, aesthetically pleasing compact music systems, HTiB systems and high-fidelity AM/FM table radios, which incorporate a tuner, speakers, an amplifier and sometimes a CD player in a single small chassis. Compact stereo systems are generally larger than tabletop radios but still compact, but like high-performance tabletop radios, they also combine most of the elements of a bulky hi-fi component-audio system into a single, less-intimidating purchase. A compact stereo’s speakers, however, are physically separate from the system’s main unit, which houses all of the electronics. Many compact systems sport furniture-quality cosmetics to distance them from conventional-looking “black-box” systems. Some incorporate vertical-loading CD mechanisms or other visually striking design elements. Other types of outstanding decor-conscious designs include wall-hanging music systems that use flat components and speakers.
During the first decade of the 21st century, the industry is advancing its music-reproduction goals in ways that its founders could never have imagined. Those methods include the networking of previously unconnected home entertainment products with one another and with PCs, the expansion of MP3-type music compression to home audio devices, and the delivery of digital audio via satellite and terrestrial AM and FM radio stations. Here’s how these trends will develop in 2006. Tapping into Home Networks More hard-disc-drive (HDD) music jukeboxes, or servers, will turn up with wired Ethernet or wireless-Ethernet home-network technologies to distribute music throughout the house. Servers offer efficient storage of thousands of songs and near-instantaneous access to each song in a compact device that replaces a bulky CD megachanger, which delivers slower access to as many as 400 stored CDs. Some servers are designed for use with custom-installed distributed-audio systems, which distribute music throughout the house through in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. Other servers are sold with small “clients” that plug into existing audio systems in multiple rooms. The clients use wired or wireless Ethernet connections or other network technologies to select server-stored songs remotely and play them back through the connected audio system, in many cases allowing different audio systems in different rooms to stream different songs simultaneously. Some music servers also store digital pictures for display on a connected TV. Several models available this year store DVD movies as well as music on their HDD servers. In 2004, the first home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) system turned up with a built-in networked music server, first using proprietary wired connections, then later offering a wireless option, to stream music throughout the house. In late 2005, one company began shipping the industry’s first compact stereo system with a built-in networked server to distribute music wirelessly to compact stereo systems in other rooms. Some adapters simply connect existing stereo systems to the network, but other adapters feature a built-in amplifier, so all you have to do is add speakers, not an entire stereo system. Others adapters include amplifiers and speakers to offer a complete solution. In 2006, a growing number of adapters and players were expected to access digital images and videos stored on a remote PC or NAS device at prices starting at less than $100 for a model without amplifier and speakers. The product trends underscore “a fundamental industry shift” toward networked (Internet Protocol-enabled) consumer electronics products, a 2006 report by Strategy Analytics concludes. The research company found that seven percent of digital consumer electronics sold in the U.S. in 2005 was network-enabled, up from one percent in 2004. In 2010, the company expects U.S. households will own more than 330 million networked products. These battery-powered portables, whose sales have been dominated by Apple’s iPod brand, use solid-state flash memory or miniature hard disk drives (HDDs) to store music for playback through lightweight headphones. Their sales have grown rapidly in recent years because flash memory and HDD prices have fallen, storage capacity has grown, and consumers have grown enamored of their newfound ability to store their entire music library on a pocket-size device, then pick out individual songs to play back by title, artist or genre. Growth also has been driven by a major pick-up in consumer advertising and a proliferating number of authorized download services that make it easier to download songs legally on an a la carte basis. In 2005, worldwide music sales (CDs and other physical media combined with authorized music downloads and cellular-phone ringtones) were flat or down, but legal sales of downloaded music tripled to $1.1 billion as consumers downloaded 420 million songs worldwide, according to the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Compressed-music portables were solely responsible for three consecutive years of factory-level portable-audio sales gains from 2003-2005. In fact, during this period, factory-level sales of “legacy” portable audio platforms (CD- and cassette-based headphone stereos and boomboxes) slid dramatically. In 2005, sales of legacy portables dropped 22 percent to $774 million. That decline, coupled with explosive MP3 player growth, led MP3 players to account for the majority of portable audio dollar volume for the second consecutive year in 2005. And it was a wide majority: 85 percent in 2005 compared to 57 percent in 2004, CEA statistics show. MP3’s influence, meantime, is growing beyond headphone stereos. In 2006, consumers will enjoy the first boomboxes that store compressed music in flash memory, and a growing selection of cellular phones will double as MP3 players, storing and playing back compressed music transferred from a PC. Select phones will download music over a cellular network directly to embedded or removable flash memory. Although satellite radio debuted initially in car stereo systems back in 2001, satellite radio companies are dishing out an expanded assortment of products that let subscribers hear satellite programs at home, outdoors and in the car without paying for more than one subscription. (Separate satellite-radio subscription fees must otherwise be paid for multiple satellite tuners owned by a consumer.) By the end of 2005, one analyst estimated, about 25 percent of the installed base of satellite tuners were used in the home. With more than 100 channels each, the two satellite services expose radio listeners to a wider variety of musical genres, sports and information programming than is currently offered by local AM and FM stations in a given geographic market. It’s like tuning into Internet radio without being stuck in front of a PC. And, because the services deliver the programs nationwide, you can hear them without interruption when you’re driving through multiple metropolitan areas. Digital FM stations sound “statistically indistinguishable” from CDs, and digital AM stations sound as good or better than analog FM stations, according to iBiquity Digital, which developed the digital HD Radio format. The technology also virtually eliminates FM multipath distortion and the familiar static, hiss, pops and fades associated with analog radio. In late 2005, major radio-station groups banded together to form the HD Digital Radio Alliance, which began this year to promote consumer adoption of digital radios and coordinate the rollout of digital FM multicasting. By the end of 2005, 624 radio stations were broadcasting digital signals alongside their analog signal, and 70 offered multicast channels. By early 2006, 264 stations clustered in 28 major markets were to begin multicasting. During the next few years, major radio groups have committed to expanding the number of digital stations to 2,500. For a select clientele, the multi-channel-music formats deliver a resolution and clarity that captures the subtlest nuances of a live performance. Even more compelling is the formats’ ability to deliver multiple music channels through a surround-sound speaker system to create a sense of realism lacking in two-channel recordings. Some DVD-Video players play music discs in the DVD-Audio and SACD formats, qualifying them as so-called “universal” players. Some DVD-Video players, however, play only one multi-channel music format or the other. In 2006, at least one authorized download service planned to offer multi-channel music downloads to PCs and to HDD music servers. In the drive for simplicity, suppliers have aggressively marketed small, aesthetically pleasing all-in-one compact stereo systems and home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) systems. Compact stereo systems, often called mini and micro systems depending on their size, are compact devices that combine all of the elements of a bulkier hi-fi component system – AM/FM tuner, CD player, amplifier, speakers and sometimes a DVD player – into a single, less-intimidating purchase. They deliver everything you need to play back prerecorded music. In a nod to changing times, some include HDD music servers, satellite-radio compatibility, control of headphone MP3 players, and the ability to rip CDs and transfer their contents to a connected MP3 player. HTiBs, usually larger than compact stereos, package all of the audio pieces needed to create a home theater surround-sound experience. That includes five or more speakers, surround-sound decoder, amplification, and more often than not, an AM/FM tuner. Today, most HTiBs also include a DVD-Video player, thus providing all of the components of a home theater system except for the TV. To further simplify set-up, and to appeal to the décor-conscious, a growing number of HTiBs will feature wireless surround speakers in 2006. By wirelessly broadcasting surround-channel content to surround speakers, the systems eliminate the need to run speaker wires around a room. A growing number of HTiBs will also use virtual surround technologies to eliminate the need for surround speakers, freeing up valuable living room space, reducing visual clutter, and delivering surround sound in rooms where surround speakers can’t be optimally placed. Virtual surround technologies use sophisticated digital signal processing and speaker-design techniques to deliver surround effects without the surround speakers. They’re like high-tech ventriloquists, “throwing” voices and other sounds to your left and right. Music Everywhere Custom Options |
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