CENTRIS Study Examines The Growth Of DVD As A Multi-Device Medium

28-Oct-03

For years, ""DVD"" referred to just DVD console players, the hardware, which has been cited as one of the most rapidly adopted consumer electronics devices in history. However, after reviewing CENTRIS' comprehensive 140 pages of historical consumer DVD activity data, collected over the past six years, it is evident that the term ""DVD"" should primarily refer to DVD as a software medium. Nearly one-third of the 60+ million homes capable of viewing DVDs don't even have that original console DVD player. ""The players are becoming ubiquitous in many hardware formats and at very low cost; it is the medium and, most importantly, the content it carries that is critical,"" according to Jerilyn Kessel, co-founder of CENTRIS. Looking at this wealth of historical data from both the hardware and software perspectives, the shifts, more so than any trends, show people adopting the technology in distinct waves. There were the very early adopters, the first million or so, who profile very ""uniquely,"" as one would expect. The first two-and-a-half million, at the 5 percent level of current adoption, are a group we could recognize. As prices came down through mass distribution at Wal-Mart and Target, more titles became available, there was more advertising of titles, and soon, everyone's neighbor got one, and growth shot up dramatically. Then it started to slow. The report, ""The Definitive History Of The Consumer Adoption of DVD,"" pays special attention to the non-traditional segments, such as DVD-ROM-only households and those DVD-enabled video game households that use their devices to watch DVDs, profiling who these households are and what other activities they are engaged in. ""This has tremendous implications for cross-promotions, the types of special features to be placed on the DVDs and the growing import that non-console households are contributing to the overall software market,"" according to Kessel. Key Observations: - Awareness of DVD consoles reached a high of 80 percent in March 2003, compared to just 55 percent for DVD-ROMs. - There are an increasing number of multi-DVD device households, including multi-DVD console households. Nearly half, 45 percent, of the expanded DVD installed base have at least two different device-types capable of playing DVDs. - An increasing number of DVD-ROM households are watching DVDs on their PCs--not for just the special ROM features, but for viewing the entire movie as well. - Nearly one million DVD-ROM-only (no console) households rent at least one DVD a month; nearly another million purchase at least one DVD each month. Given the average frequency, this generates a not insignificant share of total transactions. To see the full specs of this study, as well as a detailed table of contents, visit www.centris.com/substudies.htm.For more information about CENTRIS, visit www.centris.com.

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