Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), which were heralded as a revolutionary innovation in the media marketplace, have failed to win over the American public, according to a new report from The Yankee Group.
Research shows that only 1.8 million US households will have DVRs by the end of the year although this is set to increase to 19.1 million by 2006. DVR technology is now being built into set-top boxes, televisions and games consoles and these figures take into account both standalone and integrated DVR units.
The players are most popular with satellite TV subscribers. The study found that more than half of the American households with a DVR were signed up to at least one non-terrestrial service.
However, DVDs have been the real success story, selling 15 to 20 million units this year alone. The DVD player has eclipsed the DVR and is the fastest selling consumer electronics product in history.
The latest findings echo those of an earlier study carried out by the Leichtman Research Group which stated that cable operators were in the best position to encourage uptake of DVRs (see DVRs Yet To Capture The Public Imagination).
