Home-theater systems take to the outdoors

SunBriteTV, Sima among brands capitalizing on trend

By Danny King -- Video Business, 7/22/2008 8:17:00 PM

JULY 22 | A broadening choice of weatherproofed TVs and inflatable movie screens suggest that U.S. consumers are spending more money this summer on outdoor home-theater systems, according to a trade group report last week.

SunBriteTV and Aquatic AV are among closely held companies that have boosted the number of TVs made especially for outdoor viewing, according to a report by trade group Home Theater Specialists of America. Meanwhile, companies such as Sima, which started in the '70s making lead-lined film-protection bags, are now making inflatable movie-screen systems that include speakers.

“It’s a natural evolution, especially as fuel costs soar and people take less vacations,” said David Berman, director of training and public relations at Chester Springs, Penn.-based HTSA. “People are adding more technology to their homes as part of their lifestyle.”

While no statistics are kept on how much of the $173 billion in annual U.S. consumer-electronics spending is from outdoor home-theater systems, such systems appear to be growing in popularity as U.S. consumers growing more accustomed to ubiquitous media access with items such as iPhones and portable DVD players look to bring their theater systems outdoors, said Tim Herbert, senior director, market research at the Consumer Electronics Assn.

Although few of the larger manufacturers are making TVs specifically for outdoor viewing, smaller companies like Aquatic AV and SunBriteTV are looking to gain share of this niche market with weatherproofed flat-screen TVs that are made with an industrial strength chassis, thicker gaskets and a system used by air-conditioning units that lets heat escape without letting water in, Berman said. Of SunBriteTV’s three models, two have been released since February.

Still, such systems can appeal to a broad economic stratum, Herbert said. Entry-level customers might spend little $300 on a second-hand projector that can be used to show images on a blank outdoor wall to $1,700 for an inflatable screen-and-speaker system – projector not included – from Sima. Or they can spend as much as $5,500 for a 46-inch watertight SunBriteTV.

“Once customers get a taste of being able to be entertained anywhere and anytime, the next logical step is to extend it to the backyard,” said Herbert, who added that customers are looking for progressively larger TVs that are outgrowing many of their living rooms. “If you have a projector and speakers, you’re ready to go.”