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To: Maya who wrote (50574)	1/13/2001 7:44:28 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

US DVD player sales top VCR sales in the latest week....... dvdinsider.com According to the Consumer Electronics Association, for the week ending Dec. 29, 2000, DVD player units sales to dealers were 317,033, up 93 percent over this week in 1999, and up from the previous week’s sales of 143,967. Month-to-date sales were 1,303,091, up 101.6 percent over December 1999 sales. Total year-to-date DVD player sales for 2000 are 8,498,545, up 108.7 percent over 1999 sales. VCR deck sales for the week were 205,761, down (-46.1) percent from sales during this week in 1999. It is significant to note that DVD player sales for the week finally outnumbered VCR deck sales for the week! Month-to-date VCR sales were 1,483,072, down (-23.5) percent from December 1999 sales and the total VCR deck sales for 2000 are 23,071,541, only up a mere 1.2 percent from 1999 sales.

To: Maya who wrote (50574)	1/13/2001 7:54:24 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

DVD players in China................................... globalsources.com DVD players support digital video recording, AC-3 output Entry-level units offer more bang for the buck as mainland makers upgrade to meet export standards. DVD players have finally made it out of the exclusive realm of audiophiles' collections to the living rooms of the general public. Now makers are racing to add features and slice prices in hopes of making the DVD player as common as the VCR. Nowhere is price cutting more vicious than in Mainland China, where some firms are edging ever-closer to the $100-level. Makers who prefer not to compete on price are piling on more features to gain that competitive edge, or developing hybrid products that add digital video recording capabilities to standard DVD players. Mainland China's DVD player output mostly goes to the export market, with more than 60 percent of its annual output of 3.5 million units snapped up by overseas buyers. The field is vibrant and is constantly producing innovations. Trends to watch this year: improved resolution, Web browsing functions, satellite broadcast support and other technological surprises from suppliers. "When mainland China enters the WTO, mainland DVD player exports will increase even more," said Mao Xiangrong, export manager of Vtrek Electronics Co. Ltd. Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia absorb 70 percent of Vtrek's output. VCD player makers make the switch More than 120 companies have entered the DVD player line in the mainland, and the influx is expected to push output up to an expected 5 million units in 2001. DVD players already command 20 percent of the video disc player market. In the next six months, suppliers see this percentage rising to at least 35 percent. Buyers can find a full range of DVD players in the mainland, from single-disc and multidisc desktop models to portable units. Desktop DVD players AC-3 decoders and 5.1-channel digital output are becoming standard on even entry-level desktop DVD players. Also, the standard feature set has expanded to include DTS output, enhanced antishock protection and support for SVCD, VCD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 and OKO discs. Sources in the industry say upcoming models will also feature improved error correction and line-by-line scanning for higher resolution. Further breakthroughs may come in system design and software engineering, which are considered core technologies. PDVD: The next generation Power DVD players (PDVDs) have already made it to the mainland. With digital image processing technology, dynamic double-focus laser heads and line-by-line scanning, PDVD players have all the functions of a basic DVD player, but with a 480-line screen resolution. These DVD players also work more smoothly with SDTVs, HDTVs, PDP TVs and projection TVs. Although new, the PDVD player market is fast becoming a crowded field. Industry experts predict PDVD players will account for at least 30 percent of the video disc player market within this year, up from 5 percent in 2000. The next-generation models will completely take over the market by 2003, the experts predict. Almost all PDVD makers in China use specialized IC chips made by the U.S.-based nDSP, which eliminate large area flicker, line flicker and picture serration to reduce user eyestrain. And although quality might not be their forte, mainland makers make up for it in other areas. "While PDVD players made in mainland China still lag Japan-made models in quality, mainland companies usually offer superior error correction, as well as more features," said Zhao Haidong, marketing manager of Shenzhen AKI Digital Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd.