DVD in the US.........................................
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DVD players
US DVD industry poised for takeoff
WHILE SALES of DVD players in the United States have failed to take off as much as retailers would like, advocates of the technology have almost blind faith in the success of the line.
They base their optimism on the growing awareness among US consumers of the technological advantages DVD players have over LD players or VCRs, the most obvious of which are the better picture and sound quality.
Most retailers remain confident that DVD players will boost the consumer electronic market, and dismiss the early lack of soft-ware as a teething problem that will resolve itself in time.
Organizations like the DVD Video Group (DVG), a nonprofit trade association comprised of major DVD hardware manufacturers and software producers, have come out expressly to promote the line. And more companies are responding by producing titles for DVD. By the end of 1997, DVG estimated more than 600 DVD titles would be available on the market.
Software blues
Most retailers agree that the more titles there are in the DVD format, the more popular the players will become. Hardware is not a problem, they say, with the big brand names driving the market.
"The industry has been preoccupied with hardware, but [the hardware] is fine right now," said Ken Findlay, owner of All Brands Electronics, a retail store in Little Falls, New Jersey.
DVD consumers are looking for state-of-the-art features and finding them, Findlay said. "Sony and Pioneer models are in constant back order," he explained. "There are shortages in the higher end."
Consumer profile
Most of the current crop of consumers are electronically aware individuals who like to be first on the block with the new technology. But while mainstream consumers have yet to buy into DVD, Findlay believes it is only a matter of time before they do so.
For one, prices are coming down, so affordability will no longer be a problem. "And as long as software is available, consumers will be willing to purchase DVDs," he stressed.
Like Findlay, Richard Stanton, owner of DVD City, also finds demand is outstripping supply for Sony models. DVD City is a supplier that does 90 percent of its business on the Internet and the rest through a small retail store.
The higher-end Sony models top out at around $1,000, but they have a lot of different jacks on the back allowing them to be more compatible with other technology.
Stanton is also finding success promoting the Toshiba brand name. Models SD2107 and SD3107 feature a picture zoom option that enlarges up to four times. These models also have a color stream feature that provides high clarity as well as built-in karaoke.
Stanton thinks the problem of insufficient software will soon be solved as Hollywood appears to have bought into DVD. "The software market is finally catching up with the hardware market," he said.
Taking the CD path
DVG spokesman Rob Williams estimated that there were more than 275 titles on DVD in October, and that there will be more than 600 by the end of 1997. "It does take time," he said, pointing to the fact that DVDs were just introduced at the beginning of 1997.
When CDs were first introduced, All Brand Electronic's Findlay explained, few people bought the players until their favorite album was available in that format. Once consumers realized they could purchase all their favorite albums on CD, CD player sales skyrocketed.
Similarly, while the DVD market is growing, many consumers are holding off on their decision to buy. Findlay believes people are questioning if DVD technology will stick around or be replaced by another technology.
However, in recent months, more movie studios have developed movies for DVD and more music videos are available in the format. Many video stores are also now offering DVD discs in addition to VHS cassettes.
"Once every major title is on DVD disc, consumers will have no reason not to purchase DVD hardware," Findlay said. "As soon as the consumer realizes that he will be able to view his favorite movie in an absolutely better format than he has ever seen before, there will be no stopping him from buying a DVD player."
And once the software can be rented, why would anyone want to buy videotape again? Findlay predicts DVD will take over many of the other markets. Consumers will have them in computers, video/audio central units, cars, planes and portables. "It will become the common source from which we will receive all our information," he said.
DVD City's Stanton is equally optimistic. He believes that in a very short time, possibly by the year 2000, there will be a DVD player in every American household. The DVD provides a better picture, with better sound quality and many more choices as far as programming goes. The only drawback is that one is not able to record on to it, he said.
VCR and DVD complementary
Findlay doesn't foresee nonrecordability as being a long-term problem, either. He estimates that the technology will be here in just a couple of years, and then the LD, CD and DVD war will be similar to the VHS versus Beta wars, with the losers becoming obsolete. Findlay is banking on DVD winning that war.
DVG's Williams believes that for the time being, the market will be similar to the tape cassette/CD market. CDs are nonrecordable, so cassettes still exist. "It's not necessarily an either/or market. It might be VCRs and DVDs," Williams stated.
He is also optimistic about recordable technology emerging for DVDs in approximately three to five years.
"Laser disc consumers were some of the very first people to jump onto the bandwagon," he explained. "But overtaking the VCR market is something that you look at in the long term." |
