Digital Networked Entertainment Homes Could Have Mass Appeal
The enticing combination of entertainment content and networking technologies could provide a huge boost to internet service and content providers, as well as to electronics manufacturers, as consumers seek to create ‘networked digital entertainment homes’.
Early indications from the survey show that more than 50% of US internet-connected households are interested in networking entertainment content across PCs, televisions, stereos and DVD players.
Michael Greeson, senior analyst and director of broadband research at Parks Associates, says that consumers naturally gravitate towards entertainment services, including music, video and gaming; networking adds new capabilities to these ‘already compelling’ applications.
“If vendors and service providers can tap into this market and provide a simple, user-friendly and inexpensive solution that enables consumers to network entertainment content, they could help propel broadband and home networking into the mass market,” claims Greeson.
Broadband internet access platforms are proving popular in both the US (see Broadband Gathering Momentum In US) and the UK (see Britons Latching Onto The Benefits Of Broadband).
The full Digital Entertainment in the Internet Home report will be available in mid-September 2002.