James Delahunty
29 Aug 2007 20:29
Research firm In-Stat has published research that shows that as worldwide DVD player shipments started to decline in 2006, shipments of DVD recorders continued to rise steadily. DVD player sales were at 124.8 million in 2006, down from 126.4 million in 2005. In 2005, 14 million DVD recorders were reportedly sold, and that figure has risen to 16 million in 2006.
As for sales of next-generation disc formats, In-Stat reports no end to the "war" in sight just yet. "Currently, there is no clear-cut winner in the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray format war," says Alice Zhang, In-Stat analyst. "In-Stat believes that the universal combination player, which plays both HD-DVD and Blu-ray technologies, will not be a sustainable solution as it exists today, as its current price is higher than the price to purchase the two players separately."
Sales of DVD recorders and DVD players combined worldwide reached 141.2 million units in 2006. North American and European DVD player shipments peaked in 2005, while Japan peaked earlier in 2003. Those territories will continue to see shipment declines this year.
Source:
In-Stat