There’s no doubt that the audio visual industry has proven its ability to survive and thrive in trying times. Global events have facilitated the rapid evolution of audio visual technologies, and these only continue to advance. Here are some audio visual trends for 2022 collected from many sources (click the link colored to text to get to the information source):
Growing consumer demand for audio content: People are listening to all forms of audio content: news, music, podcasts and books. Nielsen reports 75 per cent of people working from home are streaming music every week, with 40 per cent tuning in daily.
Rapid smart speaker adoption: Smart speakers and voice assistants are becoming common home appliances. One-third of U.S. households are equipped with smart speakers and 44 per cent of U.S. adults use voice assistants. Smart speakers let listeners to respond to ads using voice commands. Consumers are rapidly embracing voice to access information, entertain themselves and shop. The ability to instantly answer consumers’ questions and help them solve problems is becoming a key advantage for marketers who lean into audio.
Digital Audio is becoming multi-devices: Historically, digital audio has been widely consumed via mobile devices; it can now also be launched from a variety of new technologies including tablets, connected speakers, TVs and even smart watches.
Prosumer audio: Prosumer audio gear has remained on a steady upward curve over the last few years. With podcasting, live streaming, and at-home work solutions more popular than ever, it’s been a fantastic few years for prosumer audio sales. Their need for reliable, slightly elevated gear to take their content to the next level is proving highly profitable for certain companies.
Content Still Rules: Audiophiles are fiercely loyal to their favorite DJs, hosts, podcasters, artists and stations. As a result, they’re spending more time than ever listening to audio daily. Listeners consume programming on their own terms.
TikTok has caused a seismic shift in the world of content creation, skewing it ever further into a mobile-first industry. To capitalise on the market, more and more mobile-friendly gear is being created, forgoing the need for hundreds of adaptors and plugging straight into AUX, USB-C, or iPhone ports (or working wirelessly).
Many amplifier technologies in use: While classic class AB amplifiers are more and more often replaced with class D amplifier technology, there is still special audiophile markets for class A amplifiers and tube based amplifiers. New technology just coming to the class D amplifiers are GaN-based audio amplifier powered with switch mode power supply. They promise premium audio systems with good sound quality in a small and light format.
Vinyl records: Vinyl is here to stay, it seems, despite all technological advances that would have seemed to threaten it. Vinyl records (and coincidentally, cassette tapes) are selling like hot cakes again. Vinyl sales have been steadily rising for some time, but in 2020 for the first time in 34 years, vinyl has surpassed CD sales.
Streaming has killed CD: CDs sales are continuously and quickly declining thanks to streaming and music flash drives.
The race to wireless zero latency: Companies around the world are racing to find a solution that all but eliminates latency from wireless audio, removing the need for cables in an increasingly space, waste, and aesthetically-conscious world.
Green screens: As events become more hybrid, green screens will play a significant role, enabling speakers to be placed directly in the content becoming part of the message. Green screens are a great cost-effective way to insert branding and infographics, which works perfectly for online events and we will see them become adopted further for conferences. There are also cameras with depth sense features and software that can use pretty many background for green screen type effects without building a real green screen.
Hybrid events: Events have had to embrace the constant mix of who can attend, who can possibly attend and who is not afraid to attend and as such have flipped to hybrid. Although not necessarily an AV trend, hybrid events are unsurprisingly on the increase as people work from home and corporate travel is halted. In those events content needs to be clear and targeted to get the information across efficiently. There is demand for standalone apps that can enhance hybrid events such as Slack, Slido and Survey Monkey.
Touchless Environments: COVID-19 has accelerated the desire for automation and touchless environments from a nice-to-have to a must-have. They minimize the amount that people come into contact with shared surfaces. Following the throes of COVID-19, it appears that touchless building controls are here to stay.
Remote Control And Remote Management: We’re seeing an increase in demand for remote management software that allows one person, or a small group of people, to log into a remote system and review the status of a set of classrooms or meeting spaces. Increasingly in 2022, companies can implement remote monitoring and maintenance for audio visual systems to support the advancement of technology. Whether your organization is expansive or small, remote audio visual support teams can significantly reduce operating costs for your business.
Live Streaming: As more people look to tune into events from home, we’re seeing an increased need for equipment that supports live streaming.
Video Walls: In many commercial spaces, there’s often a need for a large video display. In past years, many spaces have opted for projection screens as opposed to large LCD displays or video walls, solely because the cost was much lower. The price of video walls getting close to similar to a projection screen, and the benefits almost always outweigh the slightly higher cost.
Service And Maintenance: As more commercial spaces look for ways to save, there’s been an increasing demand for AV integrators to handle service and maintenance in order to maximize the lifespan of AV products. Businesses are focussing on reducing the overhead costs associated with maintaining and installing the equipment. Companies having expertise in sectors other than AV cannot have a dedicated team to manage and monitor their AV equipment.
Snake oil: Many audiophiles are infected by the snake oil curse, which causes them to chase endlessly after what is supposedly better sound reproduction. Audio interconnect and speaker cables have become a profitable business built on imaginative marketing and misinformation. This market now extends into power cords, HDMI, and optical cables. Untold sums of money have been wasted on the fanciful claims of cable vendors. There is lots of ridiculous pieces of pseudo-audiophile nonsense out there. Try to avoid this bullshit in 2022. Try to to restore peace of mind, and the enjoyment of music.
Hybrid environment: Although some employees are returning to the office, it is doubtful that society will return to an entirely on-site work environment. Remote workspaces from 2020-21 on will now be ‘Hybrid’ (home and office). AV technologies are playing a crucial role in creating a modern working environment. Hybrid technologies are changing their form, we had just a Skype call before the pandemic and now we have Zoom, Microsoft Team Rooms, Google Meet, etc with more advanced features allowing space for seamless collaboration and communication. Hybrid environments are expected to go beyond that with continuous innovation and development. Remote employees, distant customers, healthcare providers, and educational institutions can utilize unified communication solutions. It is now increasingly important to adopt technologies that make collaboration easier. At one time, frequent video communications, online learning, and compact hardware design were ambitious audio visual innovations that were hard for people to imagine. Today, they’re top priorities for business, educational, and religious spaces of all types, and are critical to how people interact in those spaces.
Silent Video Gains Momentum: It’s estimated that 85% of short videos viewed on Facebook are watched without sound. Yet as much as 41% of video would be incomprehensible to viewers without sound. Video marketers are using captions, context and other “no-audio” tactics to convey information.
Social Media Goes Video-First: video content is one of the internet’s main attractions. Users are being drawn to video-first platforms. One of the most common reasons people use social media is to view video. But with video streaming set to be as much as 82% of total web traffic by 2022, the importance of video content to marketing strategy is massive and still growing.
Digital audio: Digital audio consumption accelerated in 2021 and commercial engagement followed the audiences. In 2022 we foresee three key commercial trends in the digital audio space: Data-led targeting capabilities provide a powerful way to get advertising cut through, Creativity is a constant rather than a ‘trend’ in advertising and Audience Growth is attracting new advertisers. Programmatic audio is divided into three main supply sources – music streaming (through suppliers like Spotify), podcasts (the biggest opportunity for brands), and online broadcast radio (now more attractive with the addition of data overlay opportunities). Amongst these audio heavyweights we can see emerging innovation in the form of conversational and actionable audio ads.
Virtual and Augmented Reality: Although virtual and augmented reality first entered the public consciousness via video games or social media filters, they are now infiltrating every aspect of our lives. Given the rapid evolution of technology, it is inevitable that these advancements will impact the audio visual industry. Companies specializing in the development of VR and AR technologies are noticing an increase in interest from educational institutions wishing to create an enhanced learning experience. Within the healthcare sector, VR solutions are assisting healthcare professionals with socializing medically isolated patients. Virtual reality has been in development within the audio visual industry for many years. In 2022, virtual reality is becoming mainstream. Or at least tries.
Shift from linear TV to streaming: Video streaming goes beyond traditional TV viewing for people under 45. The lion’s share of viewing by those over 45 is still grabbed by linear television.
662 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://community.element14.com/learn/learning-center/essentials/w/documents/27957/an-introductory-guide-to-microphone-operation
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Look At Zweikanalton Stereo Audio And Comparison With NICAM
https://hackaday.com/2023/03/19/a-look-at-zweikanalton-stereo-audio-and-comparison-with-nicam/
With how we take stereo sound for granted, there was a very long period where broadcast audio and television with accompanying audio track were in mono. Over the decades, multiple standards were developed that provide a way to transmit and receive two mono tracks, as a proper stereo transmission. In a recent video, [Matt] over at [Matt’s Tech Barn] takes a look at the German Zweikanalton (also known as A2 Stereo) standard, and compares it with the NICAM standard that was used elsewhere in the world.
Zweikanalton is quite simple compared to NICAM (which we covered previously), being purely analog with a second channel transmitted alongside the first.
Remembering NICAM: Deep-Dive Into A Broadcasting Legacy
https://hackaday.com/2022/07/10/remembering-nicam-deep-dive-into-a-broadcasting-legacy/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Vinyl finally overtakes CD
https://www.topbuckets.com/2023/03/vinyl-finally-overtakes-cd.html?m=1
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) released an official report titled “RIAA Revenue Statistics at the End of 2022″ showing that record sales in 2022 have finally surpassed CD sales. Such a pathetic figure was reached for the first time in the last 35 years.
In the US, recorded music revenues have been growing for seven consecutive years. In 2022, revenue climbed another 6% to a record $15.9 billion, with net income exceeding the psychological limit of $10 billion. If we take revenues from vinyl records alone, they increased by 17% to $1.2 billion. Vinyl sales growth continues for the 16th year in a row.
Moreover, in its “weight category”, that is, among physical media, vinyl has taken the place of the absolute champion – it brings 71% of revenues. In absolute terms, CDs, even being cheaper than vinyl discs, also lost out: in 2022, 41 million records were sold against 33 million CDs.
However, the development goes in a spiral, and who knows, maybe in 35 years the world will be overwhelmed by the “CD renaissance”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CD vs. 24-bit streaming – Sound of the past vs. sound of the future (Turntable tips)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dirITnwJG6k
Would you rather have 16-bit CD audio, or 24-bit streaming which is 256x better? Will you hear any difference?
Viewer comments:
Clive
Clive
11 days ago
I used to be an audio designer. I designed some of the best commercial digital to analogue converters, amplifiers and speakers I or my customers had ever encountered. I hold 3 international patents on different aspects of audio reproduction technology.
As you rightly say, CD is good enough. Not only because 16 bits is sufficient to store enough levels for even 20 year old ears, let alone 60 year old ears, but also because the magic of D/A upsampling actually gives you more virtual headroom than the original signal contains, due to the fact that musical instruments only produce smooth waveforms when viewed above about 6 KHz or so, most of them much lower than that. So 20 bit D/A is actually quite standard from a 16-bit signal.
So, you are absolutely right. CD is not only good enough, if you (as a human) are listening to the very best audio equipment (everything through to the speakers, very important) you will not be able to hear the difference between a CD reproduction and 24-bit streaming reproduction of the same original audio master.
As a comment below from “tweaker man” says, the mastering (and recording) is much more important than the medium.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Dual-Layer LCD monitor – can it match OLED??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibEN9FTLdkI
Dual-layer LCD monitors aren’t hard to make, but can they perform?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jaron Schneider / PetaPixel:
Digital photography site DPReview, owned by Amazon, is closing April 10; people can request downloads of photos or texts they uploaded to the site until April 6 — DPReview, easily one of the most beloved publications among photography enthusiasts, will shut down and its content will be deleted.
DPReview is Shutting Down
https://petapixel.com/2023/03/21/dpreview-is-shutting-down/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazon layoffs will shut down camera review site DPReview.com after 25 years
Updates stop on April 10, site will be available for “a limited period” after.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/03/amazon-layoffs-will-shut-down-camera-review-site-dpreview-com-after-25-years/?utm_medium=social&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=facebook&utm_brand=ars
Amazon has plans to lay off at least 27,000 workers this year, including 9,000 that were announced in an internal email Monday morning. One unexpected casualty: Digital Photography Review, also known as DPReview, is losing its entire editorial staff, and the site will stop publishing on April 10.
The announcement post, written by DPReview General Manager Scott Everett, says that new pieces will continue to be posted through April 10, and “the site will be locked” afterward. It’s unclear what will happen to the site’s content afterward—the post promises only that the site’s articles “will be available in read-only mode for a limited period afterwards.” Any photos and text that readers have uploaded to their accounts can be requested and downloaded until April 6, “after which we will not be able to complete the request.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/03/21/vinyl-sales-ran-circles-around-cds-in-2022/
Tomi Engdahl says:
In 2022, sales of albums on cassette tape in the U.S. increased by 28% to 440,000 (up from 343,000 in 2021), according to the U.S. 2022 Luminate Year-End Music Report
U.S. Cassette Tape Album Sales Grew 28% in 2022
https://www.billboard.com/pro/cassette-tape-album-sales-grew-taylor-swift-guardians/
Albums from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles were the year’s top-sellers in the niche format.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HDMI Distribution over your Home Network? Low-Cost HDMI Matrix using IP-Based Hardware
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-PxmQn8Xr8
So, you want to send HDMI video around your house? Maybe you want to use your office computer on your living room TV without a proprietary streaming solution like AirPlay or Chromecast? Share a cable or satellite box between your living room and bedroom? Or you’re crazy like me and you want to put all of your computers into the basement, and connect to any of them from any desk in the house?
Traditional video distribution methods which support many-to-many configurations usually require expensive matrix switches, either for HDMI or HDBaseT. With lower cost IP-based equipment, we can use the network infrastructure we already have in our home networks to send HDMI video across the network, at the cost of video compression. If you can tolerate 1080P/60 video for your application, this is far cheaper than other alternatives in a many-to-many configuration.
I’ve tried running a thicc HDMI cable through the wall at my house. This will work, but over a limited distance (and the workable distance gets shorter with the higher bitrates of each HDMI spec). You can’t repair an HDMI cable realistically, so if you break it you’re going back in the wall or attic. I have a few places in my house with floating TVs (I absolutely hate cable cluttter) and running HDMI from the TV down to a media cabinet is as far as I’d go with a physical cable.
There are also solutions like active optical cables and HDBaseT which are suitable for higher bitrate uncompressed applications like home theaters, but I’m primarily concerned with workstation tasks which aren’t as demanding of the video stream. These are also point to point solutions, not many-to-many matrices. However, these solutions might be right for you in your application.
Tomi Engdahl says:
$130 Amp vs $900 Amp! How is this Even Close?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol_JNCIyqi8
Tomi Engdahl says:
Did they really fix EVERYTHING on this quirky amp?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b41YCgv-omU
Comparing the new Aiyima T9 Pro to the their original T9 model to determine if they fixed all of the quirky issues!