Digital Video Recorders Are Ready For Explosive Growth

A new study just published by TechTrends, Inc. reveals healthy growth prospects for the emerging digital video recorder (DVR) market. Consumer research findings underscore the demand for user-friendly features, interactive services and lower retail prices.The study, entitled ""The Digital Television Revolution: Success Factors for the Emerging Digital Video Recorder Market,"" predicts that dollar sales of stand-alone DVRs will rise at a compounded annual growth rate of 173 percent through 2002, resulting in approximately 5 million DVR units being installed across the US. TechTrends expects strong market growth, despite continuous pricing declines.""Consumers are ready to buy, and vendors are jockeying for position,"" said Laurence J. Bloom, Director of Research And Consulting. ""Our research shows that demand for personal television devices will be driven by a combination of factors, such as satellite TV service, bundled Internet applications, removable storage, greater hard drive capacity and effective consumer education.""The substantial attention that first generation DVRs have received has invited numerous competing products, including PC-based and network-based solutions. As a result, consumers find it more difficult to differentiate products.""One of the most critical findings is that only 9 percent of our consumer sample were aware of companies who offer DVR products,"" said Bloom. ""Even large, well-known market participants like Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Philips (NYSE: PHG) need to focus on cultivating consumers awareness of this new product category, or they risk getting lost in the crowd.""""The Digital Television Revolution: Success Factors for the Emerging Digital Video Recorder Market"" is the most comprehensive market study to date on the DVR market. It investigates and analyzes the competitive landscape, technology trends and consumer demand for current and next generation DVR devices. The study provides a detailed discussion of DVR hardware, software, services and features. In addition, it analyzes the network operator, broadcaster and content provider segments, evaluating the present and future role of these companies in the DVR marketplace.The study includes three-year revenue and unit sales forecasts of stand-alone devices, as well as a discussion of competing technologies, such as video-on-demand and PC-based DVR hardware. Profiles of many leading market participants, including TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO), ReplayTV, WebTV (NASDAQ: MSFT) and EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH), provide an in-depth view of each companyís products, business and revenue models, strategic alliances and future initiatives.In this report, TechTrends also presents several strategies and recommendations concerning product and service features, pricing, marketing and distribution, technology licensing and partnerships.For more information about TechTrends, please visit http://www.techtrends.net.About TechTrends, Inc.TechTrends, Inc. is a global provider of market intelligence and strategic solutions to companies in the consumer electronics, interactive entertainment and toy industries. The companyís goals are to identify key technology trends, understand their effects on existing markets, and provide valuable information to satisfy our clients marketing and product development needs.TechTrends has three separate research practices: Consumer Electronics, Interactive Entertainment and High-Tech Toys. The Consumer Electronics practice continuously monitors and investigates critical issues for market participants, including competitive factors, new technology applications, and consumer opinions and buying behavior. Research areas include interactive television, smart home technologies, and Internet appliances such as mobile PCs and Web phones.