DVD Posts Impressive Gains During First Year On Market, Far Outpacing Early Sales Of VCRs And CD Players
Business Wire - March 31, 1998 09:36
ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 1998--The new video playback technology of choice, Digital Video Disc (DVD), celebrates its first anniversary this week amid signs that it has made a strong first impression, especially among "early adopters" and home theater households. According to the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), first-year DVD player sales to U.S. dealers topped 437,000 units.
"Not even the videocassette recorder or the compact disc player -- two of our industry's greatest success stories -- came close to these kinds of numbers when they were introduced," said CEMA President Gary Shapiro. "First-year sales of DVD players are more than twice what VCRs were during 1975-77, and more than twelve times those of CD players when they hit the market in 1983!"
Shapiro noted that "these twelve-month results clearly suggest that DVD has been embraced by 'early adopters,' those consumers who want and are prepared to pay first-generation prices for the very latest products. Add to that the fact that home theater systems now can be found in 15 percent of U.S. television households, and you begin to understand why DVD's takeoff has been successful. Our next challenge will be to take DVD to the mass market."
Central to the success of DVD has been the steady proliferation of software titles, more than 800 of which now are offered by approximately 30 labels, including the home video divisions of nearly all the Hollywood studios.
With its vastly improved picture quality and six-channel surround sound, DVD provides a host of advantages over existing video playback systems. DVD technology uses as many as 500 lines of horizontal resolution, as compared with the VHS format's 240 lines, and can store up to 133 minutes of full-motion video on a single-layer, CD-size disc (and more than four hours on dual-layer discs).
In addition to its stunning digital images and surround sound, DVD gives consumers the ability to modify the aspect ratio from the squarish (4:3) measurements of today's TV sets to the widescreen (16:9) dimensions of a movie theater screen. Capable of storing, on one side of a disc, more digital information than seven audio CDs, DVD's unequaled flexibility allows the consumer to select from as many as eight different soundtracks and 32 subtitle tracks, choose preferred camera angles, and access background information, for example, on the film's actors and director.
At a time of rising concern over whether certain movies are suitable for children, DVD gives parents the option to view a mature version of a particular film while limiting their children to a version edited for younger audiences. Another compelling feature is that DVD players are fully compatible with music CDs.
Today nearly two dozen companies manufacture or market DVD players at prices ranging from as little as $399, for a basic model, to as much as $10,000, for models offering such advanced features as a 200-disc DVD changer.
CEMA is a sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), the 74-year-old Arlington, Virginia-based trade organization representing all facets of electronics manufacturing. CEMA represents U.S. manufacturers of audio, video, accessories, mobile electronics, communication, information and multimedia products which are sold through consumer channels.
SELECTED DVD PLAYER MANUFACTURERS
(PR contacts where noted)
Faroudja Laboratories Jack Guedj 408-735-1492
Hitachi 770-279-5600
JVC Nancy Bird 201-703-4054
LG Electronics Daniel Lee 201-816-2052
Matsushita (Panasonic) Bill Pritchard 201-348-7182
Mitsubishi Max Wassinger 770-734-5300
Philips Jill Greenman 423-521-3274
Pioneer Joni Saphir 310-952-2507
Sanyo Fisher David Claus 818-998-7322 ext. 247
Sony Rick Clancy 201-930-6909
Thomson Frank McCann 317-587-3669
Toshiba Susan Shelby 201-628-8000 ext.3280
Zenith John Taylor 847-391-8181
CONTACT: CEMA
Lisa Fasold, 703/907-7669
email: lfasold@eia.org
or
Allan Schlosser, 703/684-8900
email: potomacpr@msn.com
cemacity.org |
