Professional audiovisual industry

The professional audiovisual industry is a multibillion-dollar industry, consisting of the manufacturers, dealers, systems integrators, consultants, programmers, presentations professionals and technology managers of audio-visual products and services.

Overview

The proliferation of audiovisual communications technologies, including sound, video, lighting, display and projection systems, is evident in every sector of society such as these:

• business
• education
• government
• the military
• healthcare
• retail environments
• worship

The application of audio-visual systems is found in:

• collaborative conferencing presentation rooms
• auditoriums and lecture halls
• command and control centers
• digital signage, and more

Concerts and corporate events are among the most obvious venues where audio-visual equipment is used in a staged environment. Providers of this type of service are known as rental and staging companies, although they may also be served by an in-house technology team (e.g., in a hotel or conference center).

2006 is the fourth consecutive year that significant growth is projected for the industry. Revenue for surveyed North American companies is expected to grow by 40% in 2006, and by 10.7% for European audiovisual companies. The single biggest factor for this increase is the increased demand for networked audiovisual products due to the integration of audiovisual and IT technology. The two leading markets for AV equipment in North America and Europe continue to be business/IT and education.

Audiovisual Products

• Projectors
• Video Switchers
• Video Scalers
• Video Distribution
• Displays

Audiovisual Industry Associations

• InfoComm

Audiovisual Manufacturers

• Crestron
• Extron
• Hall Research Technologies

Audiovisual consultants

• Sight N Sound Design

References

• AV Technology Use Growing, February 10, 2006