August 19, 2004Trends and StatsPersonal media player market to grow 700% this year 19/08/2004 by Leigh Phillips The first of these devices emerged in 2003, and by the end of that year; consumers were already somewhat familiar with them. In a late 2003 survey from the same research group, nearly 30 per cent of respondents indicated they were familiar with these devices. Also known as personal media players (PMPs) or personal video players (PVPs), most of these handheld devices include audio, video and imaging functionality. Additionally, some also offer the ability to act as a portable personal video recorder (PVR), recording directly from the TV to the device. PMPs support a variety of data formats, although they offer varying levels of native codec support. Recent devices have had high price tags and are most useful to consumers who already have a lot of their own content. One of the critical needs for success in this product segment is the availability of content. Today, consumers have some content of their own, but many in the industry feel that the real value of these products will emerge from widespread use of downloadable video content. This year these products will primarily attract PC-savvy early-adopters. However, most companies are targeting three types of users: the commuter, the traveller, and people wanting to entertain their children. The researchers believe that, overall, this is a viable market segment, but it may take a while to develop to the scale that many electronics manufacturers desire. Most of today's devices are using a 4.6cm or 6.6cm, 20GB drive. Capacity will increase as access to content increases and component prices decrease. The majority of today's products are either based on Microsoft's Portable Media Centre (PMC) platform or on a Linux platform. The analysts expect that PMC devices will represent about 25 per cent of shipments this year. Most current or upcoming products will be priced in the �300 to �500 range. The ASP is not expected to decrease very quickly over the forecasted period. Some PMP products are PC-centric, while others do not require the use of the PC. This differentiation may sway some users in their choice of devices.
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