CEA: Demand Increasing for Multi-Room Audio/Video

Owners of multi-room audio video (MRAV) systems assign high value to their home entertainment experience, according to a new study from the Consumer Electronics Association. The study, "Trends in Multi-room Audio Video Usage," indicates that 82 percent of MRAV owners would recommend their system to friends. Eighty-five percent of homeowners who currently own an MRAV system said they would again install a system in a new home. Multi-room audio video systems allow homeowners to play and control audio/video distributed from a centralized system to at least three different rooms of the home.

The study indicates that MRAV owners are music and entertainment enthusiasts who view the systems as lifestyle enhancements. Fifty-five percent use their system daily, with entertainment ranking as the most common usage, followed by owners stating they use the system "when they want" with no special occasion necessary. Daily users’ main reason for purchasing a system is to enhance the home entertainment experience (63 percent), enjoy listening (61 percent) and entertaining (48 percent).

The study concludes that after-market MRAV solutions are capturing a large portion of the home entertainment marketplace. Sixty-three percent of systems were installed after the home was built. The majority of homeowners added stand-alone, aftermarket solutions with multi-room audio stations to meet their needs.