Consumer uptake of the personal video recorder was overestimated and will remain slow until the introduction of integrated PVR technology, according to a new report from Screen Digest.
The number of European homes with a PVR system is set to increase from 100,000 to 5 million in the next five years. However, this is equivalent to just 3% of all the households with televisions. The new technology is already more popular in the American market, and Screen Digest predicts that there will be an installed PVR base of 15 million by 2006. This amounts to 14% of US TV homes.
The report’s author, Arash Amel blames the sluggish take-up in Europe on consumer ignorance but believes that awareness will be raised by the integration of PVR technology into existing devices.
“Although the current consensus is that satellite operators will be the driving force behind consumer take-up of the PVR in Europe, our research suggests that the consumer electronics industry will be one of the most significant long-term drivers in this market,” said Amel.
By 2006, it is estimated that some 2 million homes across Europe will own an electronic device such as a television set or DVD player with some PVR functionality. The report concludes that PVR companies will have to licence their technology to the makers of integrated digital set-top boxes and consumer electronics in order to thrive in the European market.
