SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – In just seven years since their original introduction, personal video recorders have gone from "niche" to mainstream, according to research firm In-Stat.
2005 was another banner year for PVR products with worldwide unit shipments reaching 19 million, a 60% increase over the 11.9 million units shipped in 2004. The company projects that worldwide unit shipment totals will reach 42 million by 2010.
"TV viewers like the PVRs ability to record programming with the push of a button," said Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst. "Pay-TV service providers like PVRs for their ability to create new revenue streams, while at the same time providing bandwidth-constrained service providers with an on-demand service option."
The research also found:
* There are currently 12.3 million U.S. households with installed PVR products. This raises the PVR penetration rate of total US TV households to 11%.
* Based on end-user totals, TiVo, EchoStar, and Time Warner Cable are the top three PVR service providers.
* End-user satisfaction with PVR service remains extremely high. Based on an In-Stat consumer survey, 86% of PVR users are either extremely satisfied or very satisfied with the PVR service.
* Worldwide PVR product revenues reached US$6.6 billion in 2005, up from US$4.5 billion in 2004.
* In 2005, North America and Japan accounted for 82% of all worldwide PVR product unit shipments.
