This report presents the findings of the Wing Impact study for impact analysis Commission in the IST domain of NAVS (Networked Audiovisual Systems). The purpose of the study was to carry out an analysis of the impacts originating from research activities in the domain of NAVS and funded under the Information Society Technologies (IST) Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development during the period 1999-2004; included in the analysis were also those projects in the Domain funded under the Sixth Framework Programme that had concluded their activities by end 2006. The study was based upon the methodological framework that was developed for all studies under the WING Framework Contract. This methodology is briefly presented in the introduction to this report. To set the framework for the impact analysis, the report begins with an introduction to the IST domain of Networked AudioVisual Systems (Section 1), describing the research objectives and planned impacts, outlining the domain activities, providing a brief composition analysis, and presenting a comparison of domain activities against domain objectives. In Sections 2 and 3, the contexts for the scientific and technological and socio-economic objectives areas are described, and the specific place of FP5 IST research in this Domain is assessed. The detailed impact analysis is presented in Sections 4 to 7. Finally, in Section 8, a concluding overview of the impact analysis is provided. The projects in this Domain covered a broad range of technologies such as displays, simulation, virtual reality technologies, etc. A very important part of the work was dedicated to the development of Rich Media (audiovisual development on Internet), home networks and a whole set of digital media development for audio and video, including the move to digital broadcast TV. The projects in this Domain mainly responded to the IST Key Action IV “Essential Information Society Technologies and Infrastructures". Key Action 4 had as specific objective “To drive the development, enhance the applicability and accelerate the take-up in Europe of the essential technologies and infrastructures that form the building blocks of the information society.”
