Parks Associates: Entertainment-Centric Home PCs and Networks to Reach $12 Billion in Sales

Business Wire, May 11, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2004

"Media-PCs" To Account for 40% of U.S. Home Computer Sales in Five Years; Sales of Multimedia Networking Receivers and Adapters to Exceed

20 Million Units in Same Time Period

Home computers specifically designed for entertainment applications -- so-called "Media-PCs" -- will account for 40% of home computer sales by the end of 2008, according to Parks Associates' The PC as a Multimedia Platform. This new report indicates that net additions of media-PC hardware units and software packages will reach seven million U.S. households, approximately 20% of all U.S. households, in five years. Sales of specialized home networking equipment for PC-to-CE connectivity will similarly grow, surpassing 21 million units shipped by the end of 2008.

"Entertainment-specific PC platforms, software packages, and home networking equipment provide clear benefits to consumers and industries alike," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. "With widespread use of 'content peripherals' such as digital cameras and portable MP3 players, the home computer is gravitating toward a more central multimedia role for the average household. We expect that home networking solutions -- including Digital Media Receivers and Adapters -- will be purchased in growing numbers, especially as the service provider community adapts its existing customer premise equipment to receive IP-based digital entertainment content."

Parks Associates' The PC as a Multimedia Platform addresses the prospects for PC-based entertainment by examining hardware and software solutions designed to enhance the multimedia experience. It also includes consumer analysis, providing primary research on how end users interact with their home computers now for entertainment purposes and how they view emerging PC-based "entertainment-centric" solutions. For more information on this or other Parks Associates' research, please contact Parks Associates at 972-490-1113 or at sales@parksassociates.com.

For more information about the home networking market, download the white paper The Home Network Market: Data and Multimedia Connectivity at www.parksassociates.com.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm focused on all product and service segments that are "digital" or provide connectivity within the home. The company's expertise includes home networks, digital entertainment, consumer electronics, broadband and Internet services, and home systems.

Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, multiclient studies, consumer research, workshops, and custom-tailored client solutions. Parks Associates also Fall Focus and co-hosts CONNECTIONS(TM) (in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association) each year. www.parksassociates.com.