Video is one of the most common household items used in many applications in our lives today. It simply refers to a moving image watched on a screen. Technically, video is the process of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing these images.



The United States provides some of the biggest markets for consumer and professional video equipment. Most of the video equipment are manufactured, sold, and used in combination with necessary audio component. The audio and video equipment manufacturing and selling is a multi-billion dollar industry.

Consumer electronic products are developed and manufactured to provide equipment to be used for the different stages in capturing, recording, and reviewing images as video.

The leading manufacturers of these video equipments, in most cases, themselves sell their products or appoint dealers and distributors in strategic locations all over the United States. Many other independent business enterprises are engaged in the marketing and sales of these video equipments and accessories, carrying different brand names.

Manufacture and sale of audio and video equipment are included in one single industry category. Audio cannot be separated from video, since audio is a necessity in video recording and playback.

The audio and video equipment industry was on the decline when the new millennium came in. From a total shipment value of $8.2 billion in 1999, it declined to $7.7 billion for the calendar year 2000. The household audio and video equipment industry was worth in 2000 only $7.2 billion.

The market for the sale of video equipment has a 95 percent penetration in United States households. Aside from a slower rate of obsolescence compared to the other electronic equipment, another reason for a wide patronage of video equipment products is the love of Americans for digital products like DVD players and digital television.

Zenith Electronic Corporation is now a subsidiary of the South Korean business giant LG Electronics. Until 1999, Zenith was a manufacturer of consumer electronic products such as TVs, DVD players, VCRs, home audio systems, home theater systems, and set-top boxes. Zenith had total sales as of December 2007 of about $109.4 million.

The MEI, an abbreviation for the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer and marketer of home audio and video equipment products. Panasonic, Quasar, Technics, and JVC are among the most famous brands of the corporation. Among the audio and video equipment made and sold by the MEI are TVs, VCRs, CD, and DVD players, PCs, cellular phones, and fax machines.

The business enterprise also sells components, devices, and accessories such as batteries, electric motors, displays, and semiconductors; home appliances like washing machines and vacuum cleaners; and factory automation equipment including industrial robots and welding equipment. Matsushita's sales as of March 2007 are $77,419.4 million with an estimated net income of $1,846.1 million.

Philips Electronics North America is one of the largest producer and seller of video equipment in the United States. It is a subsidiary of the Dutch Royal Philips Electronics. Included in the company's products among a wide array of consumer electronics are televisions, CD and DVD players, and PC peripherals.

Sony Corporation of America is subsidiary of Sony Corporation of Japan. Its line of products includes almost all kinds of consumer electronics devices and equipment. It also sells its own products through a nationwide set-up of dealers and distributors. The video equipment products of Sony include TVs, PDAs, DVD and MP3 players, digital cameras, camcorders, computers, CD players and car audio products.

Sanyo North America Corporation is one of the largest manufacturing and selling enterprise of video equipment in the United States. It is a subsidiary of the giant electronics-producing conglomerate Sanyo Electric. The consumer electronics video products include TVs, VCRs, DVD players; and audio systems, MP3 players, wireless phones, and digital cameras too. The March 2007 sales level of the Sanyo stood at $25.2 million.

The video equipment consumer products of these manufacturers and at the same time sellers are available in different shops throughout the entire United States. The worldwide web is also a venue to select and purchase a video equipment consumer product, the easier way.