(US numbers only)The DVD player market keeps growing and growing and growing......................................
variety.com
DVD demand plays in consumer market
By MARC GRASER, April 6, 1999
DVD continues to play as a consumer must-have, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Assn. on Monday.
CEMA reported that manufacturers shipped more than 360,000 DVD players to retailers during the first quarter of 1999, the three-month period that ended March 26, continuing the phenomenal growth that DVD experienced over the holiday period.
DVD Video Group, a Los Angeles-based industry watcher, said that an additional 30,000 units were shipped during the last week in March, bringing the quarter's total shipment to 390,000.
About 1.6 million players are expected to be in consumers' homes, with the number expected to reach 3.3 million by the end of 1999. Lower prices by the end of the year are expected to push more players.
But industry observers say sales could have been greater had retailers not experienced a hardware shortage.
Manufacturers are shipping their third- and fourth-generation machines and are thinning out older models.
“Had there been a greater hardware inventory, we would have sold more players and sold more software, as well,” said Paul Culberg, prexy of the DVD Video Group and executive veep of Columbia TriStar Home Video.
DVD's numbers far surpass struggling pay-per-view rival Divx. Comparably, its developer Digital Video Express, an offshoot of electronics retailer Circuit City, has sold more than 100,000 Divx-equipped players in the U.S.
From 1997 to 1998, hardware manufacturers shipped 1.4 million DVD units and the DVD Video Group projects the number to exceed 2 million units in 1999.
DVD software sales are also strong, with 10 million titles selling during the quarter.
Since the format's launch, studios and music labels have shipped nearly 30 million DVD discs, according to VideoScan, which tracks nearly 70% of the market.
DVD sales are expected to remain strong, now that studios are releasing more than 200 new titles each month. The number of available titles for rental or sell-through is expected to rise from the current 2,500 to 4,500 by the end of the year.
Comparably, Divx sold its 1 millionth disc in February. A possible distribution deal with Blockbuster would give the technology a much-needed boost. Currently, consumers can only choose from 350 available Divx titles, released by every major studio except for Sony and Warner Bros.
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