The professional audiovisual industry is a multibillion-dollar industry, comprising the manufacturers, dealers, systems integrators, consultants, programmers, presentations professionals and technology managers of audiovisual products and services.

Overview

The proliferation of audiovisual communications technologies, including sound, video, lighting, display and projection systems, is evident in every sector of society: in business, education, government, the military, healthcare, retail environments, worship, sports and entertainment, hospitality, restaurants, and museums. The application of audiovisual systems is found in collaborative conferencing (which includes video-conferencing, audio-conferencing, web-conferencing and data-conferencing); presentation rooms, auditoria, and lecture halls; command and control centers; digital signage, and more. Concerts and corporate events are among the most obvious venues where audiovisual equipment is used in a staged environment. Providers of this type of service are known as rental and staging companies, although they may also be served by an in-house technology team (e.g., in a hotel or conference center).

According to the 2006 Market Forecast Study conducted by InfoComm International, the trade association representing the audiovisual industry, 2006 was the fourth consecutive year that significant growth was projected for the industry. Revenue for surveyed North American companies was expected to grow by 40% in 2006, and by 10.7% for European audiovisual companies. The single biggest factor for this increase is the increased demand for networked audiovisual products due to the integration of audiovisual and IT technology. The two leading markets for AV equipment in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

continue to be business/IT and education, especially as conference room technologies become more advanced.