New Research Reveals The Implications Of Hard-Disk Video Recording

SRI Consulting's Business Intelligence Center (B-I-C) today released a study revealing the implications of hard-disk video recording for the future of entertainment and consumer electronics industries. According to B-I-C's Media Futures Group, hard-disk recording technology will change not only audience viewing habits, but also the way advertisers and program providers conduct their business in the next ten years.More than just a new product idea, hard-disk video recording is a far-reaching technology, affecting all participants in the consumer electronics industry: hardware makers, consumers, and programmers.Hard-Disk Recorders Meet The Competition: VCRs And Optical DiscsAlthough hard-disk video recorders will not unseat disc and tape products as the main replacements for the now 20-year-old videocassette recorder (VCR), the introduction of hard-disk recorders has raised the performance bar for next-generation home-recording platforms. Despite the DVD and D-VHS overall competitive advantage in the market for home recording, hard disks will assume an enduring role in the entertainment electronics marketplace in the next five years - not as the dominant solution but as a permanent feature of the home-recording landscape.According to the study, most player/recorder platforms will still rely on optical discs (that is, recordable DVD) or videotape for the next ten years while beginning to incorporate the benefits of hard disks. For instance, when combined with an online electronic program guide (EPG), hard disks promise a graphical user interface to replace the ordeal of programming a VCR. D-VHS already incorporates an EPG and could offer viewer-controlled instant replay in the future. Makers of recordable DVD will likely go even further, including in upcoming products such features as pause during live broadcast and instant commercial skip (with no waiting for tape to shuttle in fast-forward mode).Hard-Disk Recording Will Alter The Worlds Of Entertainment And Advertising Besides shaking up the entertainment electronics marketplace, hard-disk video recording will also influence the way studios create and distribute content and advertising. As high-bandwidth Internet services continue to saturate the home, studios are prone to discover that hard disks make it harder for people to trade unauthorized copies, discouraging casual copying of copyrighted content. In addition, advertisers are likely to realize that hard disks connected to high-bandwidth Internet services offer a vehicle for insertion of selected commercials that aim to attract an individual household's attention, rather than intruding upon it.Hard-disk video recorders could also change the entertainment landscape by:- Enabling a transition from broadcast TV to a mix of broadcasting plus Internet-delivered video- Accelerating the advent of studio-provided pay TV and pay-per-record services, creating a new distribution medium for major motion pictures and potentially threatening some cable or satellite broadcasters' position as intermediaries between content owners and consumers- Eroding the value of advertising by making it easier for consumers to skip unwanted commercials.Consumer-Electronics Vendors Must Navigate New Market Challenges In the Next DecadeDuring the next five to ten years, hard-disk recorders costing the same as today's VCRs will be able to store hundreds of hours of programming. Entertainment electronics companies may even find that they cannot beat hard disks but can join them. In other words, hard-disk video recording may become a built-in feature of many entertainment appliances, including satellite, cable, and other receivers, as well as TVs, VCRs, and DVD platforms.Makers of recordable DVD and other platforms must evangelize the value proposition they planned to deliver, now that hard disks are raising audiences' expectations of what the video recorder of the future should do for them. At the very least, makers of future VCRs and recordable DVD must enable electronic program guides or risk unfavorable comparisons with hard disks. Instant commercial skipping features may also transfer to recordable DVD and digital VCRs. Simply emulating the benefits of hard-disk recorders may not be enough - DVD and digital VCR platforms must include some exclusive benefits of their own.About The Media Futures ProgramSRI Consulting's Media Futures Program helps businesses worldwide plan for the digital future, providing companies with technical, competitive, and demand insights into the emerging world of digital information, communications, and entertainment.About The Business Intelligence CenterSRI Consulting's Business Intelligence Center provides clients with a system of integrated research intelligence and customized services to help define new market opportunities, identify and communicate future challenges, formulate and implement business strategy, and develop innovative products, processes, and services.About SRI ConsultingSRI Consulting (http://www.sriconsulting.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Valley-based SRI International, works with companies worldwide to identify market opportunities and develop strategies for competing in today's technology-driven marketplace. SRI Consulting combines strategic business consulting with technology expertise to help companies develop and commercialize new products and leverage new technologies into competitive advantages. These consulting services are backed by SRI International's 50-year heritage as a pioneer in developing new products and markets.

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