Automotive Mobile Audio Video

The buzz among electronics retailers and dealers is rear-seat multimedia entertainment products.

At the mobile electronics exhibits of the 2001 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last month, digital radio was getting plenty of play. So was hands-free cell phone docking. But the real buzz among retailers and dealers was rear-seat multimedia entertainment products. Almost every mobile electronics vendor, whether in the security or audio system business, was presenting car-video entertainment products. DVD players were especially hot, particularly those with wireless infra-red-linked headsets. The IR headset allows back-seat passengers to listen to movie soundtracks without bothering front-seat passengers. Of special interest to kids -- the target audience for rear-seat entertainment products -- is that most video systems feature auxiliary connections for video games.

Aftermarket suppliers are delighted that they are finally on to a hot new product category, especially since carmakers have co-opted hi-fi audio and security products for factory installation. Still in its infancy, aftermarket sales in North America of car video -- rear-seat entertainment--grew at 250 percent in 1999 and 66.5 percent in 2000 to $208 million, according to a new study by Frost & Sullivan. For the home, DVD players have been the fastest selling product in the history of consumer electronics, according to the Consumer Electronics Association, reaching 8.2 million units in 2000.

That enthusiasm for DVD players in the home appears to be extending to the vehicle, which is why Clarion's newest version of AutoPC -- now called Joyride -- includes a DVD player for movies. The new name is meant to emphasize the entertainment aspects of the product, instead of the information and personal computing aspects. The in-dash unit can play DVD movies for the backseat audience using IR-headsets, while those in the front seat simultaneously listen to audio programming. The audio source can be either an MP3 file from a 32MB flashcard inserted in the in-dash unit, or from a separate CD changer installed in the trunk. Like AutoPC, Joyride is based on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system.

# posted by Medical Information : 5:15 AM