According to the results of a recent Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) online survey on consumer interest in home networking, entertainment features of home networks, such as distributed video and Internet video, have grown nearly as popular with consumers as the safety and efficiency applications.

CEA’s survey of 1,100 adults ages 18 to 65 was conducted in March to gauge consumers’ awareness, attitude and opinions toward the emerging applications of home networks.

The survey reported that 53 percent of participants were somewhat to very interested in having the ability to listen to a single source of music from any room in the house. Approximately 58 percent expressed interest in watching a central video source on televisions in other parts of the house, and 36 percent were interested in video conferencing using televisions or computer monitors within the home.

However, the safety, convenience and energy efficiency functions remain most appealing to consumers. The most popular options were: a lighting system to give a house a “lived-in” appearance while out of town (61 percent); a system that automatically sets back a home’s water heater and thermostat controls to save energy (65 percent); and separate thermostat controls for each room in the house (65 percent).

Approximately 33 percent of the survey participants said they had seen or heard something about home networks during the past 12 months.

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