News and Reviews....

DVD Recorders Hit Home !! .......    September 2003

    This year has seen a 21% increase, year to date in DVD player sales since last year. Some experts are suggesting that the set top DVD recorder will be one of the retail stars of the fourth quarter 2003.

    Stand alone DVD recorders record and edit digital video from VHS devices and TV. Most recorders accept the usual recording formats, including DVD-R (record once), DVD-RW (multiple record and write), DVD+R and DVD+RW (alternative record and write formats), and DVD-RAM, which only plays on a RAM-compatible player.

    Manufacturers selling DVD recorders include Panasonic, Phillips, Pioneer, Samsung, Toshiba, Apex, Sony and TDK, among others. Experts say fourth quarter and holiday pressures will drop DVD recorder prices below $500 for the first time, maybe closer to $350.

    While interest for DVD recorders among retailers and manufacturers is rising, sales of DVD players continue to out perform analyst projections. More then 8.8 million DVD players were sold through July 2003, compared to 7.3 million units during the same period last year. It still does not have the penetration (98%) of homes that VCR had at peak, but has a faster rate of penetration into households. It took DVD players five years to reach 20%, while it took VHS 10 years to reach the same. The change over is slowed by a combination of, the select buyer's understanding of the products' features and capabilities balanced with the willingness to pay the expense of changeover.

    Less then 100,000 set-top DVD Recorders have been sold to date of which 80,000 were sold through July 2003 representing 6% of home DVD deck sales (players and recorders).

    DVD burners bundled with computers are thriving. The total number of installed burners in PCs is expected to reach 15 million by year end. Sony's Dual RW DVD burner this month emerged as the top internal drive, with 39% of sales in retail and reseller markets. Not to be outdone, Pioneer Electronics announced that it would ship its' 5 millionth DVD-R/DVD-RW drive later this month. 

Thus far, attempts by manufacturers to replicate, value-added editing features to DVD recorders remains a work in progress. In an attempt to separate its DVD recorders from the pack, Pioneer next month will debut two High End DVD Recorders that feature TiVo. The alliance will give consumers the ability to transfer, and not just store, TV content from TiVo's hard Drive onto DVD. Up to now, content on TiVo could not be downloaded.