COMFORT, SAVINGS, EMPOWERMENT DRIVE HOME THEATER BOOM—SURVEY
The comforts of home, savings on movie tickets and control over the entertainment environment are paramount among reasons consumers invest in DVD home theater systems. Those were among the findings released Wed. of a Philips survey that polled consumers in the U.S. and 12 other nations on changing patterns in entertainment consumption.
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Although technology has enabled the boom in home theater viewing, so have social and cultural desires to stay home and enjoy entertainment in the company of friends and family, the Philips’ Global Home Entertainment Survey conducted by Harris Interactive found. The March-April survey questioned TV owners aged 20-55 in Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the U.K. and U.S. Besides trends related to entertainment consumption, the survey uncovered tidbits about buying habits and how home entertainment systems are valued.
Movies are the most popular choice when people invite family and friends over to watch TV, regardless of country, the survey found. Among U.S. respondents, comedies, documentaries and romance movies tied as the genres best experienced at home. In Italy and the Netherlands, where 53% and 50% of respondents respectively said they invite family and friends over to watch TV -- among the highest percentages in the study -- 94% and 92% said movies topped the list of viewing choices. France registered the highest percentage of “movie lovers” overall with 96% of respondents screening movies for their guests.
Globally, 68-90% of respondents said viewing movies at home was “as enjoyable” as or “more enjoyable” than going to the theater, the Philips survey found. At least 1/3 of respondents globally, including those in Brazil, India, Italy, Mexico and the U.S., also said they find watching movies at home is “more sociable” than going to a theater. In the U.S., 43% of respondents said the experience is also “more fun” or “much more fun” than the theater, followed by Mexicans at 42%.
The comfort of the couch and living room was the single most popular reason cited for watching movies at home (30% of all respondents), followed closely by saving money on theater tickets (27%). Respondents in Spain, Russia, China, India, Mexico and Brazil in that order were most motivated by living room comforts in choosing to view movies at home, the survey found. Americans (29%) and Germans (32%) were the most motivated by saving money. Respondents also said control over the viewing experience, such as being able to pause, rewind and fast forward was a key motivation for using home theater. So was being able “to be themselves” at home -- the top reason given by Italian respondents.
Respondents worldwide said the home theater experience is “more or much more intimate” than going to the movies, with French respondents having the highest level of agreement (88%) followed by Belgium and Spain (84%) and the U.S. (81%). That may be due in part to being able to control the lighting, Philips said.
Whereas residents in most countries prefer watching movies with some lights on -- as was the case with 67% of U.S. respondents -- Brazilian and Mexican respondents reported wanting “complete darkness” most often (57% and 46%, respectively). Russia had the highest percentage of candlelight viewing at nearly 28% of respondents -- more than 10 points higher than 2nd place Germany (17%). Respondents in India were most likely to want all the lights on (32%). Philips said research showed some ambient lighting in a room makes TV viewing easier on the eyes, compared with bright light or no light. The company recently introduced a line of Ambilight TVs with a back-lighting system that dynamically varies the illumination around the set to complement the color, brightness and intensity of the scene onscreen.
Home theater is becoming serious business. Asked what they would give up for a month for the chance to get a new home theater system for free, 47% of Americans were most willing to give up leisure shopping. Another 45% would give up chocolate, 39% would give up drinking and 32% would give up smoking. Doing without sex was the least popular choice among Americans: Only 21% said they'd be willing to give it up, but that was far more than Spain, where 2% percent said they would be willing to choose celibacy. Russians said they would sacrifice chocolate (52%), drinking (48%) or sex (23%).
Respondents also indicated that buying a home theater system is a personal matter, and one they wouldn’t want their spouse or significant-other to make without them. In the U.S., 28% of respondents said they would have to “be in a coma” before letting their partner buy an expensive home entertainment system without them -- and 44% said there’s “no reason good enough” to give in. Reactions were similar elsewhere. In Spain, 74% said they found no reason good enough to let a spouse or significant-other buy an expensive piece of home entertainment gear without them. Mexicans, Brazilians and Germans (33%, 29% and 22%, respectively) said they would allow it only if the TV broke while they were away.