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America's "Digital Den:" The Future of Converged Home Entertainment (7/7/2004)

Despite low awareness of media hub concept, consumer interest in Internet-friendly home entertainment products is high, reveals Ipsos-Insight survey

Nearly three out of four (72%) U.S. consumers say they are interested in a product that would easily connect their home entertainment systems to the Internet - commonly referred to as a "Digital Den" - according to results from a survey among 1,000 American adults by Ipsos-Insight, the global market research firm and member of the Ipsos Group. However, the company also found that most consumers are concerned about the time and knowledge required to set up a Digital Den system, as well as compatibility issues with equipment they already own.

Digital Den-type products are typically referred to generically as media hubs, wired-Ethernet media players, and wireless digital media players, with product names like Fireball, Soundblaster, Macsense HomePod and Turtle Beach AudioTron At-100, just to name a few. Some products connect stereos with Internet music files, other products link TVs to Internet movie files, and a few do both.

Survey findings suggest that the lack of big consumer and technology brands behind such products creates uncertainty in the minds of consumers.

"Low familiarity and confusion are not surprising given that we are still in the early adoption phase of Digital Den-type products," said Todd Board, Senior Vice President and head of Ipsos-Insight's Technology & Communications practice.

The Ipsos-Insight findings show that two out of three (64%) U.S. consumers say they are not familiar with home entertainment products that act as a central hub for sharing music, movies, games, and other digital content between home electronic devices and the Internet.

However, among the large bulk of people who expressed an interest in connecting their home entertainment devices to one central media hub, the majority (64%) said they anticipate purchasing a Digital Den type product within the next year, if one is available for a reasonable price.

www.ipsos-na.com