DVD Set To Become Most Popular Form Of Recorded Home Entertainment

British public believe DVD will replace VHS as source of entertainment in the home

Creative Labs, has revealed that more than a third of the British population will be buying DVD media instead of VHS format in the future, making it one of the fastest growing media for home entertainment. These findings are the results of a MORI survey, commissioned by Creative Labs to establish the British public's view on the future of home entertainment.

More than half of respondents in the 15-34 age bracket indicate they will be buying DVD instead of VHS in future. On the contrary, only one in ten people surveyed don't see DVD becoming the most popular medium for watching/listening to recorded media over the next ten years.

The results indicate that digital technologies and specifically DVD, are set to dominate home entertainment, overtaking traditional home activities such as watching terrestrial television, VHS videos, listening to music on stereos and radios or reading. Of the general public surveyed (across all age brackets), more than a third believe they will be buying DVD discs instead of VHS video cassettes.

Franco de Bonis, European product manager at Creative Labs points out that the increase in available DVD titles will further advance this trend. "At the moment there is a good level of title support for DVD, however the number of DVD titles is set to dramatically rise as are gaming titles. This will ensure that the trend towards DVD and away from traditional formats such as VHS and tape will increase. "

De Bonis continues, "There are a number of lifestyle and technological factors that will further advance this trend. Reasons for home PCs being used more for entertainment than business are numerous: today's PCs are of higher quality than ever before; leading-edge graphics and sound cards are able to make PCs into high performance multimedia machines. Title support for DVD and gaming is ever increasing and the Internet has of course had a major impact on home users' PC habits.

"Another interesting result that the research has identified is that the majority of home PCs are not situated in home offices - 36% in the bedroom, 18% in the front room and a further 20% around the house. This illustrates a lifestyle change that makes it more common for people to use their PC as a form of entertainment, not purely as a functional piece of office equipment."

DVD is the technology of the next generation:

Key survey results

• More than half 15-34 yr olds believe that they will be buying DVD discs instead of VHS in the future.
• 11% of the British public believes that DVD is the fastest growing media for home entertainment.
• Only one in ten of the British public don't think that in ten years, DVD will be the most popular medium for watching/listening to recorded media

Digital media is the fastest growing medium for home entertainment:

Key survey results

• 41% of British public believe that PCs are the fastest growing medium for home entertainment
• Half of 15-24 year olds believe that PCs are an essential part of home entertainment
• Half of home PC owners use their PC for entertainment
• One in five people purchase home PCs for entertainment purposes
• Around 70% of home PCs are not situated in a home office/study, with the most popular situation being the bedroom

About Creative LabsCreative Labs Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets a wide array of advanced multimedia solutions for the PC, entertainment, education, music and productivity tools markets. Creative's products are marketed through the OEM, systems integrator and retail channels under a variety of trademarks, including the "Blaster" family name. With the new Sound Blaster? PCI standard, Creative has produced a solution that utilises a combination of hardware and software for near-perfect compatibility with existing DOS and Windows titles. Creative's corporate headquarters and primary manufacturing are based in Singapore, with sales, distribution and research and development being carried out through an extensive, global network of subsidiaries located in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Video Blaster is a registered trade-unionsmark of Creative Technology, Ltd.

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 2,098 adults aged 15+ across 167 sampling points in Great Britain between 23-26 July 1999.Interviews were conducted using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing), face-to-face, in respondents' homes.Data have been weighted to reflect the GB national population.