DVD+RW and dual format DVD recorders dominate PC market

June 16, 2003

While most users think DVD-RAM is outdated, the format is currently big on the consumer electronics (CE) market, while DVD+RW and dual format recorders are currently dominating the PC market. This according to a research performed by the NDP group, a research company from Port Washington.Earlier we predicted this result in our article The DVD Format War: Should you go plus or minus?

On
stand-alone DVD recorders DVD-RAM is with a market share of about 50% very strong. On the PC the format has about 1% of market share, but according to the article has Panasonic not given up the battle for the PC, altough the company admits that it's highly unlikely DVD-RAM will be succesfull on the PC again.

The plus and dual-drive (offering +RW/-RW burning capability) formats are the clear winner at this point on the PC side of the market. According to NPD data for April, +R/RW drives controlled 56.4 percent of the market and dual drives 38.5 percent. In comparison -R/RW drives had 3.8 percent with RAM at less than 1 percent for that month. Steve Baker, IT research director for NPD, said the dual drives, first introduced last October, have performed quite well, gaining a 20 percent share of the business almost immediately.