Video-on-Demand and DVRs are here to stay, say several researchers at yesterday's presentation at the Home Media Expo. DVD retailers have to find a way to exist next to its newest competitors in this decade's growing 'media pie'.
After one day of presentations the expo shows to focus not only on Blu-ray, but also on other new, growing media like VoD and DVR. Although we're seeing more and more competitors entering the market, DVD still tops the home entertainment industry with a total of 90 million households in the U.S. alone.
A total of 28 million households have access to VoD in the United States and in the last year we've a 59% increase in Video-on-Demand playtime to 185 million hours. These numbers definitely show that DVD is vulnerable to VoD, since a trip to the store takes more time than a quick click on the famous 'red button'.
Besides 28 million VoD households the United States has 27 million DVR households and 57 million are able to receive broadband-delivered content. These growing markets are a thread for the DVD format, but it still isn't giving DVD a hard time to continue its sales. Formats like Blu-ray will have a harder time getting past these two (VoD/DVR) since Sony's format doesn't have a strong slice of the 'entertainment pie' yet.
“The overall problem with Blu-ray is that the consumer still needs to be educated,” said Roberts to Video Business. “I’ve gone to Circuit City and Best Buy and asked clerks about Blu-ray, and about half of them understand the technology.”
