DVD is unequivocally, the most successful consumer electronics product of all time. In six short years, DVD players are in over 40% of U.S. homes (some of which now have more than one player), and from the U.S. to Afghanistan, millions of DVD players are also in use around the world.
DVD players have taken over the spot once held by the VCR as the workhorse of home entertainment. DVD players can not only play movies, but can also play standard music CDs. They also come in various form factors: single play, 5 or 6-disc changers, and even jukeboxe units that have the ability to store and play hundreds of DVD and/or CDs. However, it doesn't stop there...
DVD has been incorporated into just about every possible configuration. There are DVD player/VCR combinations, DVD player/AV receiver combinations, DVD home-theater-in-a-box systems, TV/DVD player combinations, DVD players that can play MP3-CDs, HDCDs, JPEG CDs. There are also high-end DVD/SACD/DVD-Audio players and, now, DVD recorders and DVD recorder/Hard Disk Drive combinations. Of course, we can't forget that most home PCs and Macs have either a DVD-Rom Drive or DVD-PC writer.
With the price of a basic DVD player down to VCR prices, and DVD players with the above configurations also continuing a steady downward price trend, DVD has become an affordable one-component solution to home entertainment for both movies and music.
However, the evolution of DVD isn't stopping. At the recent CES 2004 in Las Vegas, several new DVD incarnations were displayed that, I predict, will make a large impact on the consumer electronics market.
DVD Recorder/VCR Combos
Consumers have been asking for them and the manufacturers are responding. Late last year (2003) Sansui began selling a DVD Recorder/VCR combination unit through Sears. Soon after, GoVideo, the well-known inventor of the Dual Deck VCR, also announced a similar unit, which should now also be on store shelves as this article is posted. However, these two entries have opened the door for other manufacturers, such as Zenith, Panasonic, Samsung, Daewoo, JVC, and Toshiba to bring more DVD recorder/VCR combinations to market in the coming year.
The impact of this product in the marketplace could be bigger than many expect. While the CE industry is putting more resources into DVD-related development, the VCR has been shoved into the back corner. Meanwhile, millions of VCRs are still in use around the world, and there are, perhaps, millions of hours of VHS tape recordings that still need to be played. Although, the consumer can buy a DVD player/VCR combo at a very reasonable price, you can't use a DVD player to copy VHS tapes to DVD, and buying a separate DVD recorder takes up more shelf space. However, with a DVD recorder/VCR combination unit, the consumer can not only replace that old VCR, but aquire a DVD recorder housed in the same chassis. What a better way to not only play old VHS tapes and new DVDs, but now the consumer can easily copy or transfer (non-copyguarded) VHS tapes to DVD or non-copyguarded DVDs to VHS.
Although these units may seem a little expensive ($400 and up), the convenience they offer are worth the price. Of course, prices will go down as the years progress. Watch for more of these units on store shelves, starting this Spring. I predict they will be big movers, once brought to the consumers' attention.
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