Demand for projectors, plasma television screens and ultra-thin video displays is expected to increase, according to organisers of Asia's top industry conference and exhibition, InfoComm Asia, to be held here next month.

The audio visual equipment can be used for a wide array of purposes, from company data presentation and video conferencing, to military command and control facilities and churches and schools.

A growing market in the entertainment industry and demand for home theatre systems should also help power the expansion, they said.

"Infocommunications (information and communications) has grown as an industry, in terms of the revenues it generates," said Nat Wong, managing director of InfoCommAsia, which is organising the exhibition.

For example, revenue from large screen displays for big venues and public viewing is expected to increase to seven billion US dollars in 2008 from three billion dollars in 2001, Wong told a news briefing here.

Plasma display panel sales are seen rising to 12 million units by 2005 from 4.7 million units in 2001, while home projector sales are expected to soar to 5.9 million units in 2005 from just 98,000.

Sales of data projectors, used for audio visual presentations, are forecast to surge more than 200 percent to 510,000 by the end of next year from 159,000 in 2000.

No overall sales or revenue figures are currently available for the industry.

But data from industry manufacturers show Asia currently accounts for 30 percent of the global market for audio visual equipment.

This could further increase and overtake Europe's 35 percent share in the next 10-12 years, Wong said.

"The demand, the population and the growth potential is here. I can only see Asia growing because the opportunities are great," he said.

Randal Lemke, executive director of the US-based International Industries Association, which is sponsoring the exhibition, said requirements by the world's top companies for video conferencing and presentations should drive global growth.

But for Asia, Wong said a growing market is in the education sector, which is increasingly using projectors, large screens and sound systems in the teaching and learning process.

Singapore is a key market because of its bid to become a regional hub for education by 2012.

The government is to build 40 private commercial and specialty schools, while the Singapore Management University will construct 12 more buildings by 2005 all equipped with state-of-the art audio visual equipment.

Malaysia is also building top notch audio visual facilities for its convention and exhibition centre, as well as hotels.

Thailand expects to make its cinemas fully digitalised and is building a modern opera house which will require top level projection systems.

Hong Kong's Disneyland project and China's hosting of the 2008 Olympics should fuel demand for audio visual technology.

India is a potential market for cable, video, DVD and home theatre systems because of its burgeoning entertainment industry.

Next month's InfoCommAsia conference and exhibition is expected to shift the focus from products to integrated systems solutions.

Among the displays will be wireless network and large format projectors, inflatable outdoor screens and ultra thin video cubes.

Companies expected to attend include top brands like Barco, Canon, Epson, Hitachi, Jupiter, Kramer, Hewlett Packard, NEC, Panasonic and Pioneer.

SPACE.WIRE