Los Angeles — Sales of DVD players dropped slightly in the second quarter of 2005, but were up for the first half, according to figures released this week by the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG).
The DEG figures, which reflect reports from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), retailers and manufacturers, show that 13.8 million DVD players were sold to consumers in the United States in the first half of 2005, up more than 6 percent from the same period last year. However, second-quarter DVD player sales dropped to 6.01 million, from 6.06 million, in the same period last year.
Since the format launch, more than 140 million DVD players, including set-top and portable DVD players, DVD recorders, home theater in a box systems (HTiB), TV/DVD and DVD/VCR combination players, have sold to consumers, the group said. Total DVD households now top 75 million (adjusting for households with more than one player).
The DEG said approximately 47 percent of DVD owners have more than one player, which is attributed to the growing popularity of HTiB systems and other lifestyle products.
Portable DVD player sales are projected to grow 57 percent over last year, according to CEA numbers.
DVD recorders also continue to show strong growth, with shipments more than doubling in the first half 2005 vs. the same period in 2004, according to the CEA. In addition, car DVD systems are on the rise, with 22 new vehicle models now offering DVD players as standard features.
In software, 772 million DVDs were sold in the first half of 2005, up 19 percent from the first period last year, according to figures compiled by Kaplan, Swicker and Simha for the DEG. Since the format’s launch, nearly 4.7 billion discs (47,000 titles) have been sold to consumers.
Approximately 369 million discs shipped to retail in second quarter, following first-quarter shipments of 403 million.
