Scottsdale, Ariz. – Worldwide shipments of Personal Video Recorder (PVR) products tripled in the past year, according to the market research firm In-Stat/MDR.
Mike Paxton, In-Stat/MDR senior analyst, attributed the recent growth in the category to “the integration of PVR capabilities into DVD players and recorders,” which is a popular trend particularly in Japan, and “rising demand from satellite and cable TV operators for PVR-enabled set top boxes.”
“Many pay-TV service providers, especially in North America, are rolling out PVR products to increase subscriber revenues and to keep their current customers from defecting to competitive service providers,” Paxton said.
In-Stat/MDR expects that these two market drivers will continue to spur growth for PVR products over the next several years.
In-Stat reported unit shipments of PVR products grew from 1.5 million in 2002 to 4.6 million in 2003. In 2004, In-Stat/MDR projects that unit shipments will top 11 million.
Combination DVD-PVR products and PVR-enabled satellite set top boxes will continue to drive growth in 2004, accounting for almost 80 percent of total unit shipments.
PVR-enabled cable set top boxes are growing in North America, where cable TV operators report installations of PVR equipment in over half a million households.