Consumer Electronics
From AlacraWiki
| Editors' Picks |
|---|
| Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Dealerscope This Week In Consumer Electronics (TWICE) |
The consumer electronics industry, for the purposes of this spotlight, includes home audio/video, home networking, home theater, mobile automotive and wireless gadgets. Computers (desktop and portable), computer games, software, storage devices and media are not included here.
There are so many acronyms, initialisms, and technical terms in the consumer electronics industry that one can easily get bogged down trying, for example, to determine the difference between the likes of HDTV (high definition television) and LPTV (low power television). Several online glossaries can help. The Consumer Electronics Association's site offers an A to Z dictionary complete with 'see also' references. Panasonic's Web site offers a glossary of HDTV terms. Learn the difference between 2-2 pulldown, 2-3 pulldown, 3-2 pulldown, and 16:9 aspect ratio with this DVD glossary sponsored by the DVD Association. Home Theater magazine provides definitions on everything from acoustic suspension to unity grain in this glossary of home theater-related terms. The UK's Digital Television Group provides this excellent list of digital TV terms and definitions. Hyperlinked cross-references as well as tutorials are available for many terms and phrases. Digital Audio Guide's glossary of digital audio terms also contains many hyperlinked cross-references as well as 'see also' references and examples (see hexidecimal). Lastly, What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazine provides a searchable as well as a browsable (A-Z) dictionary of hi-fi terms and phrases.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is a US organization with more than 1000 member companies. The site provides access to CE Vision Magazine - a bi-monthly - which contains consumer electronics statistics (e.g., most recent CE purchase by online consumers, factors that influence CE product purchase decisions, factors that could decrease product returns, etc.), selected full-text articles, policy info, interviews with industry executives, international news and more. A CEA publication entitled, 'Digital America' offers an industry outlook, a chronology of CE products, CE standards data, and detailed industry trends. Additional highlights include downloadable reports, industry event details, and association press releases.
The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) is a US organization, unifying several electronics associations under one alliance. Members include the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), and the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA) to name just a few. The site includes policy information, news releases, standards' details, past and future industry events, and links to other industry organizations.
Electro-Federation Canada (EFC) serves over 250 member companies in the Canadian electronics sector. The site includes links and information on other electronics organizations, including the Consumer Electronics Marketers of Canada (CEMC). Also look for association press releases, government policy data, annual reports, and industry events' information. The Canadian Electronic and Appliance Service Association (CEASA) represents members in the service area of the sector. The site features three newsletters - Service Contracts, Service Tune-Up and Electro-Facts, as well as environmental information as it relates to the industry, downloadable CEASA forms, and a list of members.
The Hong Kong Electronic Industries Association (HKEIA) offers news briefs, an association bulletin, an electronics industry preview for the coming year, brief market research reports from Global Resources.com, and events' information. JEITA or The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association represents members in the electronics and IT industries in Japan. Look for monthly production statistics for the Japanese electronics industry as well as exports of electronics from Japan and Imports of electronics into Japan. Reports are a few months behind. JEITA standards' data is available for purchase.
The Korean Electronics Association has an excellent statistics section with monthly data for production, exports, imports, and demand. There are also some nice bar and pie charts representing production and market, by country. Exports and imports, by classification (e.g., digital household electronic products), are presented as well. The European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Association (EICTA) represents more than 10,000 companies throughout 22 countries in Europe. Highlights of the site include position papers for the past 5 years, several editions of the association's newsletter - the Wire, and an alphabetical list of members.
The Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association (CESA) is an Australian industry organization offering some free downloadable documents (e.g., Digital TV Marketing Code), an online discussion forum, and member company links. The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) is an international organization of companies specializing in planning and installing home theater systems. The site provides some public policy information as well as certification details, and a CEDIA annual report.
HAVI is an organization comprised of leading consumer electronics companies, including the likes of Sony Corporation and Hitachi, dedicated to standards for home electronic interoperability. In layman's terms, a software program which connects consumer electronic products in the home via a network. Look for a FAQ section as well as a product gallery, downloadable white papers, and a glossary of technical terms.
There are many sub-sectors within the consumer electronics industry (e.g., digital TV, audio, video, accessories, etc.), many of which have organizations for member companies. A few of these associations are included below. Digital television seems to be the hot topic right now and there are several good sites on the Web pertaining to this segment of the market. Digital Video Broadcast Project (DVB) is a global consortium interested in developing standards for the delivery of digital television. The site offers free access to DVB Scene - a quarterly magazine - as well as downloadable white papers, digital video standards' information, press releases, and events. The Digital Television Group (DTG) is a UK-based standards organization concerned with all forms of digital television (e.g., terrestrial, satellite and cable). Many of DTG's publications are available for download free of charge. Look for presentations, books, and papers. Also look in the 'Reference' section of the site. Here you'll find 50+ countries and information regarding their current state of preparedness for digital television. There is also an excellent directory of member companies along with contact information and company descriptions.
Digitag is a European organization advancing digital terrestrial television (DTT) - digital signals transmitted through the air to an antenna. Highlights of the site include color-coded maps (Europe and world) and country-specific reports about the progress of DTT. Digital Broadcasting Australia (DBA) promotes hardware and software standards for digital receivers. The site includes information bulletins for the past 4 years. You'll find some good industry data here, such as the number of units (digital receivers and TVs) sold to date, as well as forecasts for the coming year. Rounding out the DTV sub-sector is the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) - an international organization dedicated to developing standards for all products and services comprising the digital television market. An excellent guide to DTV standards is available free of charge. Also have a look at the committee's newsletter - The Standard - as well as technical papers regarding DTV.
Two organizations dedicated to the audio end of the consumer electronics market, worthy of a look are: The International Loud Speaker Association (ILSA) and the British Audio Dealers Association (BADA). ALMA's site offers an association newsletter - ALMANews, a members' directory, and ALMA standards' reports. BADA provides an online marketplace, searchable by product, manufacturer, and dealer. A directory of members, searchable by UK regions, is available as well.
The DVD Forum is an international association, based in Tokyo, serving member companies who manufacture DVD hardware and software products. Members include Toshiba Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Hitachi, Ltd., and Sony Corporation. Look for antitrust guidelines, a DVD primer, a DVD news digest, press releases, and a technical FAQ. DEG or The Digital Entertainment Group brings together hardware and software manufacturers in order to promote DVD audio and video products as well as emerging digital technologies. Click on the 'Highlights' link to find statistical data on DVD hardware sales and trends in the US and overseas. The 'News' area contains additional statistics with respect to monthly, quarterly, and year-end numbers for DVD players. There is also a nice list of DVD players, broken down by member company, with model number, a short description and suggested retail price for each.
The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association of America (SBCA) represents all facets (manufacturers, service providers, etc.) of the market. The site offers some satellite industry facts and figures as well as an industry history, public affairs data, from the FCC, an overview of consumer satellite services and products, a list of member companies, and industry events information. SIA or the Satellite Industry Organization provides satellite industry statistics (2002), industry news, press releases, a list of members, and recent SIA filings.
Government sites are where you'll find the bulk of quantitative consumer electronics industry data. The US Census site is a good starting point. The Current Industrial Reports section includes the value of shipments by selected products as well as imports and exports of audio and video electronics. The Bureau's Facts for Features series highlights television set statistics. Figures include the number of television sets in US households (2001), the projected number of hours that adults will watch television in 2004, the number of people employed in the manufacture of televisions, radios, and wireless equipment (2001), and a lot more. The same data can be downloaded as a pdf document. Retail sales data and inventories can be found here as well. The 1997 census site also offers SIC and NAIC data with respect retail sales and consumer electronics, in what the site refers to as the Bridge between NAICS and SIC. Look for the total number of electronics and appliance stores (establishments), as well as total sales, paid employees, and annual payroll. The sector is further broken down, with identical data, for radio, television, and other electronics stores.
The US Department of Commerce has some good import and export data for audio and video products. Export.gov, the U.S. government's export portal, provides global patterns of a state's exports, as well as state-by-state exports to a selected market, and export product profiles to a selected market (e.g., electronic equipment from Texas to the UK). This is an impressive tool, which returns color-coded maps along with statistical data in the form of tables.
Canadian Industry Statistics can be found on the Industry Canada Web site. Here you'll find employment data, industry salaries and wages, production figures, manufacturing costs, industry performance, capital investment, and international trade. The EU Statistics UK site, which aggregates quantitative data from the official statistical office of the EU - Eurostat - also offers some good statistics in this 8-page pdf document entitled, The Manufacture of Electrical and Electronic Equipment in the EU. Highlights, covering all EU countries, include employment, trade and production figures for radio, television and communication equipment. The report is dated February, 2005.
The Statistics Bureau of Japan offers Microsoft excel documents with figures on exports, by commodity and country. Look for video tape recorders and audio apparatus. In order to find this data click on 'exports by commodity and country' and then click on tab number 1093 in the excel worksheet. The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has some good data on audio products including a brief outline with 2003 import statatics for car stereos, radios, radio cassettes and ordinary tape recorders. The Japan Ministry of Finance site offers a trade statistics database, searchable by commodity and country.
There are some excellent industry-specific trade publications on the Web pertaining to the consumer electronics market. This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE) is a Reed Business Information publication, distributed 30 times per year. The online version includes the most current edition as well as a 'by the numbers' feature, offering some great statistical and demographic data. An archive of previous editions is available for the past 5 years. Reed also offers Electronic News, which is devoted to all things electronics. The consumer electronics section contains daily news headlines.
Market News is a Canadian monthly magazine geared towards consumer electronics retailers, worldwide. Look for breaking news stories, new product information, and updates from various industry trade shows. Sections include: satellite and wireless, marketing and promotions, personal electronics, home entertainment, and accessories. Dealerscope, E-Gear, and Custom Retailer, published by North American Publishing Company (NAPCO), are aimed at the consumer electronics retail market. Dealerscope's site offers detailed industry statistics (e.g., rankings of the top 50 retailers by sales and number of stores), as well as biographies of top industry executives (look for the 40 under 40 series and Dealerscope's Hall of Fame), excellence awards, and an industry calendar of events, with full address information. Articles and features focus on new products, supply chains, e-tailing, back office tips, high profile people in the industry (look for movers and shakers), and vendor views. An additional feature is Ka-Ching! - a monthly statistical release - packed with charts, graphs, and numbers of all kinds. Ka-Ching! Is a few months behind on the Web. An archive dates back 2 years.
NAPCO's Custom Retailer focuses on the niche group of custom installers (C-business), within the consumer electronics market. This would include a business that designs and installs a home theater or a media room in a private home. The most current edition is available here free of charge and includes business news, industry buzz, in-depth advice and 'how to' guides (look for Hooked-up), marketing information, auto electronics, and a lot more. The last of NAPCO's publications, focusing on the consumer electronics market, is E-Gear, published, in print, 7 times per year. The magazine features detailed product reviews as well as industry news, culled from various news organizations on the Web, and three discussion forums - audio, video, and gadgets. An e-gear glossary is available as well. Interestingly, the most current stories cannot be accessed via the home page, however, if you go to E-gear's past issues section you can search by title and date to see the full-text of these articles. Check out page 14 of the media guide and you'll find a survey of what consumers intend to buy over the next 12 months as well as first time buyer and upgrade/replacement info.
Like Custom Retailer, CE-Pro focuses on custom electronics installers. The site includes the full-text of the most current issue, along with industry news, product news, special reports, industry statistics, and a buyer's guide. Connected Home magazine, a Penton Media publication, features nine regular sections aimed at the consumer: networking, home controls, mobile, home office, audio, visual, home theater, Xbox, and N-gage. Each section contains product reviews, news, and 'how to' advice on connecting electronic products. Each article/review is followed by user comments. Several online forums (arranged by topic) are available as well.
Home Theater magazine is distributed monthly in print and on the Web by Primedia Inc. The site covers the whole spectrum of the home theater market - audio, video, accessories, installation, and more. In-depth product reviews are accompanied by photographs and are rated by such criteria as build quality, value, features, performance, and ergonomics. Stereophile is another Primedia publication, focusing on the audio end of the market. None of the articles or features from the most current edition are available free of charge, however, the full-text of selected stories, from past editions, are provided. There is an archive dating back 2 years. Also look for industry news and an audio/video marketplace, both of which are free.
Wide Screen Review (WSR), like Home Theater magazine, mentioned above, caters to the home media segment of the market. WSR focuses on DVD and/or laserdisc technology - both hardware and software. The site features industry news, new product reviews, manufacturers' comments and analyses, and an online message board. The last of the publication sites is Mobile Electronics Magazine, focusing specifically on the aftermarket segment (e.g., car audio). The site provides industry news, feature articles, concise product reviews, including photographs, laws and regulations affecting the industry (e.g., mobile video laws), and several industry directories for companies, associations, and educational facilities.
Two final sites worthy of inclusion here are the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Reed Electronics Group's In-Stat/MDR. The former includes detailed conference information, exhibitor directories, consumer electronics trends' data, CES press releases, new product information, and exhibitor news and press kits for every company involved in the show. There are 8 sites that make up CES Web - International, English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Each site contains unique content. In-Stat/MDR is a market research firm, which covers a variety of industries including the multimedia entertainment industry. While none of the reports (the full-text that is) are available free of charge, there is, nevertheless, some good free data to be had here. Click on any of the featured reports and you will see a concise summary, with statistical data, including bar charts and forecasts for various consumer electronics' products.
