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Consumers Will Spark 200% Rise in Recordable DVD
Sales in 2003
Major Inflection Points Will Prove Digital Darwinism
- Evolution Not Revolution
-- Is As Valid in Technology As in Nature Peddie Warns DVD
Hardware, Software
Producers
LAS VEGAS, NV (November 17, 2002) - Recordable DVD drives,
media and applications
will experience dramatic growth next year and through at least
2006, Jon Peddie,
president of Jon Peddie Research, told attendees of the Recordable
DVD Council
(RDVC) ISV meeting here today. Speaking to more than 100 executives
from hardware,
software and solutions firms prior to the beginning of Comdex,
he emphasized
that sophisticated consumers and digital Darwinism or the
laws of nature should
guide firm's product plans, not bold new experiments.
"When the computer industry stalled this year, IT manufacturers
and suppliers
finally told the marketplace that the majority of technology
they bought to do
everything was actually too complicated, too impractical and
too expensive,"
he said. "Many in the industry are now approaching video
and DVD with the same
philosophy, saying they will succeed by delivering the all-in-one
box that incorporates
TV, DVD, MP3, PVR, game console, home RF and more.
"These new life forms will appear and disappear because
they are based on what
the company can do, rather than on what the consumer wants,"
he emphasized.
Peddie, a leading digital media market researcher and consultant,
pointed out
that people are buying digital cameras and camcorders because
they want to preserve
memories, share them later with others and simply for pure
enjoyment. "Photography
is an almost universal pursuit," he said. "Regardless
of a person's life stage,
education or profession, they like to create their own video
content and share
it. This will provide the momentum for triple-digit sales
at least through 2006
for cameras, camcorders, DVD writers and creation software."
During his presentation, Peddie said DVD Forum-standard DVD
drives had overcome
the price and compatibility hurdles to stimulate consumer
demand. He pointed
out that multifunction drives - supporting DVD-R, -RW and/or
-RAM as well as
CD-R/RW - have street prices as low as $249 and write-once
media can be purchased
for as little as $.60 a disc. In addition, the new DVD recorders
that incorporate
both a hard drive and DVD drive are priced under $500, making
them affordable
for people to capture, edit and watch television programs
on their own terms.
While he acknowledged that there is a CE and PC convergence
taking place, he
emphasized that consumers - the business environment mediators
-- determine which
products survive or fail, and their decisions are usually
based on widely accepted
standards.
The Recordable DVD Council sponsored the ISV Meeting as part
of its commitment
to assist software and hardware vendors by promoting a better
understanding of
the three DVD Forum-approved recordable DVD formats - DVD-RAM,
DVD-R and DVD-RW.
The rapidly growing international organization was formed
in April 2001 to
help businesses and consumers understand the benefits of the
proven standards
and their use in audio, video and computer devices such as
DVD recorders, DVD
drives, DVD cameras and other applications.
During the afternoon event, Executive Members of the Council
discussed the current
state of recordable DVD technologies and products, new consumer
and business
applications and the industry's international product certification/verification
program.
For more information on Jon Peddie Research or a copy of
Peddie's presentation,
call JPR at 415.435.9368; fax 435.8214 or jon@ jonpeddie.com.
The DVD Forum is an industry association whose more than
200 members include
all major DVD manufacturers as well as major DVD software
developers and DVD
media producers around the world. For more information, visit
www.dvdforum.org.
The Recordable DVD Council (RDVDC) is dedicated to advancing
DVD Forum-standard
recordable DVD technologies and products worldwide. It provides
education, fosters
the exchange of information and stimulates new applications.
For more information
on the RDVDC, contact Tony Jasionowski, North American Director,
at 201.348.7777
or jasionowskit@rdvdc.org. Visit the Council's website at
http://www.rdvdc.org/english.
