Black Friday Favorites: How Smart TVs, Streaming Devices, and Home Theatre Systems Rely on Efficient Flash and DRAM Solutions

With the holiday season kicking off, consumers and retailers are preparing for the biggest sale event of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The holiday season has long been a time for consumers to invest in home entertainment technology, from TVs to gaming consoles to audio equipment. Electronics are projected to account for nearly half of Black Friday sales in 2024, reflecting the high consumer demand for cutting-edge home entertainment solutions. In fact, electronics captured a massive 53% of online retail visits, making it the biggest driver of e-commerce traffic during the 2023 holiday season. During Cyber Week, 71% of online shoppers plan to buy electronics, an increase over previous years. Home entertainment products like Bluetooth headphones, smart speakers, and TVs are among the most sought-after items, drawing in consumers with attractive discounts. 

Bigger and Better

The spike in home entertainment purchases illustrates a growing trend in upgrading or expanding in-home experiences, with streaming services, immersive sound, and high-resolution visuals increasingly defining modern home entertainment​. Retailers have responded with significant discounts in this category, with expected price cuts averaging 31% for electronics and up to 23% specifically on televisions.

The home entertainment industry is experiencing a major transformation, driven by rapid advancements in smart TVs, streaming devices, and home theatre systems. These devices are pushing the boundaries of how we experience media at home, demanding ever-increasing memory capacity and efficient performance. For engineers and procurement specialists, this evolution raises significant opportunities—and challenges—in sourcing components that balance high capacity, durability, and energy efficiency.

More Than Just Screens

Smart TVs are at the forefront of home entertainment, projected to grow from a $67.5 billion market in 2023 to a staggering $205 billion by 2032. Today’s smart TVs are far more than traditional television screens; they function as all-in-one media hubs, offering access to streaming and gaming platforms, apps, and internet browsing. To support high-quality content streaming, enhanced visual graphics, and smooth user interfaces, these devices typically require 1.4 to 4GB of DRAM and 8 to 32GB of Flash storage for operating systems and apps.

Streaming devices are also seeing remarkable growth, expected to triple from $2 billion to $6 billion by 2028. Despite their compact size, these devices need between 512MB to 2GB of DRAM and up to 64GB of Flash memory to handle content buffering, app storage, and operating systems. As users demand seamless access to 4K and 8K content, memory components must support higher processing loads while maintaining low latency.

Efficiency Meets Performance

Home theatre systems are also evolving, with premium setups now offering high-quality audio, advanced control systems, and immersive experiences that rival movie theatres. This sector is expected to surpass $30 billion by 2032. These systems often require DRAM for seamless audio and video streaming, as well as Flash memory for storing settings, firmware, and media content. Memory solutions must offer reliable, high-performance capabilities while fitting into compact, low-power designs, supporting the longevity of these systems. Home theatre systems generally require between 256MB and 1GB of DRAM for streaming buffering, as well as 128GB to 512MB of Flash memory for operating systems, firmware, and user settings.

A unique challenge for memory solutions in home theatre systems is the need to balance performance with energy efficiency. Home theatre setups are often on standby or running continuously, so memory components must operate within low power budgets without sacrificing performance. This has led to an increasing demand for low-power DRAM and Flash memory solutions that can withstand long operating hours while maintaining reliability and longevity.

Engineering Memory for High-Quality Streaming and Low Power

The evolution of these devices has created a clear trend: Memory and storage capacities are rising, but space and power requirements are becoming more constrained. Smart TVs, streaming devices, and home theatre systems require components that can handle high data loads while fitting into compact form factors and adhering to energy efficiency standards. This demand is shaping the market demand for DRAM and Flash:

1. Higher Data Transfer Rates: As more consumers embrace 4K and 8K streaming, the demand for memory solutions with high data transfer rates has surged. Advanced DRAM configurations with low latency are critical in ensuring smooth playback, while Flash memory needs to support fast read and write speeds to reduce buffering times.
2. Durability and Longevity: These entertainment devices are often expected to last for years, and memory components must be able to support long operational lifespans. High-quality DRAM and Flash memory solutions are needed to withstand frequent read/write cycles without degradation, particularly in devices like home theatre systems, which may be used daily for hours on end.
3. Energy Efficiency in Small Packages: Compact devices like streaming sticks and some home theatre systems have stringent power limits. Memory components must operate efficiently in these environments to prevent overheating and excessive energy consumption. Low-power DRAM, optimized eMMC storage, and energy-efficient NAND Flash solutions are critical to achieving this balance.

Looking Forward: Memory Innovations for the Future of Home Entertainment

As the demand for memory capacity continues to grow in smart TVs, streaming devices, and home theatre systems, engineers are exploring new innovations to meet these needs. Emerging technologies, such as 3D NAND Flash, offer higher capacities in smaller form factors, making them ideal for these applications. Similarly, low-power DRAM is enabling devices to maintain performance while reducing energy consumption, supporting the industry-wide shift toward sustainability.

By developing memory solutions that balance high performance, low power, and durability, companies can ensure that consumers enjoy the high-quality entertainment experiences they demand.