世論 What Japan Thinks

With Toshiba having thrown in the towel on HD DVD leaving the market for next-generation high-capacity optical storage to the Blu-ray consortium of manufacturers, what will the consumer do? This recent survey reported on by japan.internet.com and conducted by JR Tokai Express Research Inc into Toshiba’s withdrawl of HD DVD tried to find out.

Demographics

On the 11th of March 2008 330 members of the JR Tokai Express Research online monitor group employed in either the public or private sector completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 83.0% of the sample was male, 10.9% in their twenties, 40.3% in their thirties, 35.2% in their forties, 10.9% in their fifties, and 2.7% in their sixties.

I’m surprised in Q1 that almost three times as many in this sample bought an HD DVD rather than a Blu-ray player. Was it only overseas that HD DVD died? I’ll have to look into that…

Research results

Q1: Have you bought an HD DVD player (including computer drives)? (Sample size=330)

Have bought one (to SQs)	8.7%
Have not bought one	88.5%
Have bought Blu-ray instead	2.9%

When these 27 purchasers were asked what they considered important when buying their player, 66.7% said price, 29.6% said being from the same manufacturer, and 29.6% said having next-generation DVD standard features. 92.6% of them had bought a Toshiba HD DVD player.

Q1SQ1: Now that Toshiba have quit the HD DVD business, some electrical retailers are offering to HD DVD customers the chance to exchange their player for a Blu-ray Disc player. Do you think you will exchange your player? (Sample size=27)

Already exchanged	0.0%
Think I will exchange (to end of questionnaire)	11.1%
Don’t think I will exchange	44.4%
Don’t know	40.7%
Other	3.7%

Q1SQ2: Do you think you will buy a Blu-ray Disc player? (Sample size=24)

Already bought one	8.3%
Think I will buy one	16.7%
Will wait for a while then consider buying	45.8%
Don’t think I will buy one	8.3%
Don’t know	20.8%
Other	0.0%

Finally, when asked what they thought about Toshiba dropping HD DVD, some of the comments were that it was a shame but inevitable, it was good that the decision was quick, Sony will now dominate the market, and by repeating the Beta versus VHS war the companies weren’t thinking of the consumer.