HIGH END at a waltz pace

Home audio and video equipment can hardly be seriously referred to as investment objects, even though some devices are more expensive than cars. The pace of technics obsolescence is astonishing, and there’s nothing you can do about it: new technologies make fans of ideal picture and sound always keep their hand on the pulse and hunt for novelties constantly. But it seems that in the coming years, audiophiles and video enthusiasts will be able to take a little breather. Analysts predict a small technology lull in this market.

Slow dance

According to different estimations, audio-video sector occupies one third of all the market of home appliances and electronics in our country. In the first half of 2017, turnover in this segment averaged nearly 5 percent over the same period last year. This is evidenced by the results of the study of the market of home appliances and electronics, conducted by specialists of the company GfK. However, inside this rather narrow niche is fixed multidirectional movement. For example, music centers and TV sets have sold better than a year ago, but car radios and DVD/MP3 players have sold worse.

Overall demand for home appliances, which fell in the first quarter of 2017, also recovered at the end of the half-year. According to the results for the first six months of this year, unit sales on the American market of household appliances and electronics increased by 2%, while the market turnover in ruble terms remained practically at the same level as last year: 530.7 billion Dollars.

Experts believe that the reason for this situation was a change in basic consumer behavior. Now people prefer to buy equipment that can last a long time. In addition, truly revolutionary novelties in this segment now appear much less frequently.

Brighter, louder, more contrast

Clear sound from powerful speakers and a realistic “picture” on the home screen have long been considered a special element of luxury. Firstly, the price of equipment with unique characteristics was and still is very high. And secondly, even if a picky customer can afford it, not all electronics stores will have exclusive models that meet the higher requirements.

The most rapid technological changes are now observed in the TV segment. The device is no longer just a device to watch movies or the news. Now it easily connects to the Internet, synchronizes with your PC, smartphone and other gadgets, and allows its owner to record TV programs, play computer games, make video calls, and much more. Not only have television broadcasting technologies changed. The place of the TV set in the modern world has also changed, including in the literal sense. For example, a TV panel built into the bathtub is no longer exotic for rich houses. In a smart home, a TV is a “flight control center” in general. It puts the user in control of the entire entertainment system.

If in the mass segment the price is the main factor for a consumer in the process of choosing the device, then in the premium segment the focus is primarily on the image quality and realism. At the moment, the best results are shown by HDR High dynamic range supporting televisions. This technology gives an opportunity to make a picture as close as possible to what a person sees in real life. HDR televisions can reproduce a greater number of color shades, have a wider range of contrast and brightness, and as a result give viewers more emotion and experience. The average price of such a device in the premium segment is 200 ths. RUB., And if we focus on the models with a very large screen diagonal, their price can be more than 2 million Dollars.

But the main problem with HDR technology is not its high price, but the fact that it requires special content. In America not all video services offer their users products created in this format. However, market analysts argue that this segment is the future and no revolution in the TV market is expected in the next three years. Most likely, the extensive growth will be replaced by the intensive one: producers will improve and develop already existing technologies instead of initiating brand new ideas.

Useful with pleasure

In this regard, the main and probably the most promising trend in the higher price segments will be the development of “multi-room” – an integral part of the “smart home. We are talking about creating a multimedia system that combines various equipment for receiving, transmitting and playing audio and video signals from several sources, as well as the integration of this equipment with utilities, such as burglar alarm, video intercom, etc.

This system implies both local and global control of all installed equipment. In addition to its purely entertainment function, it performs important tasks such as alerting in case of emergencies, transmitting images and sound from cameras of outdoor or indoor surveillance and providing remote access to this data.

Multiroom” can also include less useful, but very pleasant options, such as “tracking sound,” when audio playback is automatically switched to the rooms where a person moves.

There are a lot of variants of multimedia systems usage, and they are limited only by the sum the owner is ready to spend for such an equipment. Based on the prices on the market, we can assume that the average purchase and installation of the necessary equipment for a small private house will cost 600-700 thousand dollars. Dollars., Not counting the cost of TVs, audio systems, amplifiers and speakers, which guarantee excellent quality of playback of the consumed content.

The projected slowdown in the market penetration of new technologies also inspires some optimism here. From a technical point of view, purchased equipment is likely to remain relevant in the coming years, will not become obsolete and will not require urgent updating. Be that as it may, purchases of this kind always turn out to be a profitable investment, if only because investing in your own comfort and pleasure is always a good choice.

How to improve your home theater

One of the main characteristics of quality audio and video equipment for a city apartment or a country house is visual unobtrusiveness of the equipment itself. This does not mean that all the numerous components of a multimedia system should be hidden in the interior elements. Sometimes, on the contrary, some devices can be presented as an independent art object.

For example, many well-known design studios produce high quality speakers that look like real works of art. Such things can become quite a sensible investment: any rare artifacts in course of time become expensive and turn into antiques.

Even if you’re not going to arrange a street disco and want to listen to music or watch movies in peace, try to choose audio equipment with the power of 500 W or more. In this case, the sound at the output will have less distortion, including when listening at a low volume.

You should also pay attention to the material of the speaker housing. It is believed that the best combination of sound quality and durability of the entire structure offer models made of MDF. They are fairly resistant to non-extreme variations in humidity and temperature, and their only disadvantage is the noticeable weight. Metal and plastic products, while stronger and lighter, often have noticeable sonic accuracies.