The Microsoft/Echostar digital VCR/settop box..............
newsbytes.com
Digital Video Recorders - Coming Soon To Living Rooms
08 Jun 1999, 5:02 PM CST
By Laura Randall, Newsbytes.
FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A.,
Digital video recorders, with their individualized programming
features and memory capabilities, are poised to do well
when they become available in the commercial consumer
electronics market this fall, according to new market
research data.
Known as DVRs, digital video recorders are a sort of
enhanced alternative to VCRs and DVD players, offering
viewers constant individualized programming service and a
hard drive instead of a cassette. Say a television viewer gets
a phone call while he's watching a football game. He can
start taping the game immediately by pressing a button on
the DVR. When he gets off the phone, he can resume
watching the game right away without having to wait for the
game to end and rewind a tape. DVRs also have the
capability to record shows and automatically reset the
programming if the time or date of the show is changed.
"Consumers are very excited about these products," said
Kevin Hause, a consumer devices analyst at market
research firm International Data Corp. IDC is predicting that
digital video recorders will explode onto the market when
they debut in the fall, based in part on preliminary orders for
the products and the buzz surrounding them when they
made the rounds at trade shows this winter and spring.
RePlay Networks, TiVo and Microsoft all have developed
technology for digital video recorders. Microsoft plans to
start shipping its EchoStar dish player, a high-end setup box
with limited DVR capabilities, this summer, Hause said.
Panasonic and Philips Consumer Electronics plan to debut
products using RePlay and TiVo technology, respectively, in
the fall, Hause said.
Prices for DVRs are currently at $499 and $999, depending
on the storage capacity, Hause said. But the analyst told
Newsbytes he expects the prices for DVRs to drop
significantly once they hit the retail market.
IDC is predicting that about 1 million DVR-enabled products
will be shipped in 2000, and that the number of shipments
will reach 10 million in 2004. "DVR products will mirror the
rapid adoption of DVD players," Hause said, citing broad
consumer interest and a simple infrastructure as the main
reasons for the explosive growth.
Hause also said a key factor in the digital video recorder's
growth will be the integration of DVR functions into other
devices, such as set-top boxes and digital TV converters.
Reported by Newsbytes.com,
newsbytes.com17:02 CST
Reposted 17:58 CST
(19990608/WIRES PC, ONLINE, BUSINESS,
TELECOM/DVR/PHOTO)
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