DVR Still Taxiing for Take-Off

Americans are becoming much more aware of digital video recorders (DVRs) but likelihood to buy one in the near future continues to increase only slowly, according to research by Ipsos-Insight.

Studies were conducted in January 2004 and again earlier this month. 77% of Americans are now aware of DVRs, ie that there are 'video recorders that allow a person to record hours of TV programming without a videotape and surf through it with a remote control' - a rise from 70% a year ago. However, only only 8% of Americans are likely or very likely to purchase one in the next 12 months, compared with 9% last year.

'We typically see purchase intent scores above 20% when technology products are ready to go mainstream' says Lynne Bartos, Senior VP of the agency's Cable, Media & Entertainment Division. 'With purchase intent in the single digits for DVRs, we expect it will be a few more years before this technology is as widely penetrated as DVD players or digital cameras'.

Only around 29% of those intending to purchase believe the initial cost of purchase and monthly fee represent good value for the money. Another barrier to purchase is the perceived difficulty of setting up DVRs: they were seen as 'easy to self-install' by 57% in 2004 but this has dropped to 43% in 2005. This is one possible reason for a growth in the numbers interested in getting a service provider (ie cable or satellite company) to supply the equipment rather than a store - the former will do the installation for them. Aggressive campaigns launched by satellite and cable providers, such as DirecTV and Dish (satellite) and Comcast and Time Warner (cable), have already driven their combined share of purchases from 32 to 55%, while electronics retailers and wholesale stores have seen their share drop from 36% to 25%.

Ipsos-Insight gathered data for these results using Ipsos U.S. Express, a weekly national omnibus survey. 1,000 telephone interviews were conducted between January 9th and 11th, 2004 and January 5th and 9th, 2005, with consumers aged 18+. The agency is online at www.ipsos-insight.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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