世論 What Japan Thinks

This look with MyVoice at DVD (and other media) recorder usage, their fifth survey on the topic, revealed a few interesting statistics such as the one in the headline and that the now defunct-for-over-a-year HD DVD format still outranks Blu-Ray recorders, although as noted last time I reported such a number, one wonders if there is a degree of misidentification by users. I wonder if HD DVD suggested Hard Disk plus DVD to some respondents?

Demographics

Over the first five days or March 2009 15,482 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

I got hit by a rather irritating feature between my cable box and my DVD recorder. Despite both being made by the same company, you cannot get a digital out into the DVD recorder that will allow me to record two channels at once. The support line said the only option was to rent their high-end set-top box that has a built-in hard disk recorder, but that seemed rather unsatisfactory, especially as we only took their cheapest package of converting our existing analog service to digital but no high vision, so we’ve ended up paying them an extra 300 yen plus we get a thinner paper program guide for the privilege.

Research results

Q1: Do you know the term “Blu-ray”? (Sample size=15,482)

Know the details of it	59.9%
Just heard the name	38.8%
Don’t know it	1.3%

Q2: What kind of video recording device is used the most at your home? Playback-only devices are excluded. (Sample size=15,482)

VHS recorder	30.8%
DVD recorder	6.3%
Hard disk + DVD recorder	34.5%
3 in 1 hard disk, DVD, VHS recorder	4.4%
HD DVD recorder	5.6%
Blu-Ray recorder	4.6%
Other	5.5%
Don’t have any video recording devices	8.2%

Q3: Do you want to buy a Blu-ray recorder? If you already have one, do you want to upgrade? (Sample size=those who know “Blu-ray”)

Want to buy within three months	2.3%
Want to buy within six months	2.8%
Want to buy within nine months	0.3%
Want to buy within a year	9.2%
Want to buy within three years	8.5%
Want to buy, but no definite plans	57.6%
Don’t want to buy	14.2%
No answer	5.0%

Q4: When buying a DVD recorder, etc, what points are important? (Sample size=15,482, multiple answer)

Price	76.5%
Picture quality	51.8%
Hard disk capacity	50.1%
Usability	45.2%
Maker, brand	44.0%
Sound quality	27.2%
High-vision support	24.5%
Design	17.5%
Built-in BS satellite tuner	16.6%
Input and output ports (expandability)	14.8%
EPG support	13.6%
Additional features	13.1%
Picture adjustment features	11.9%
Digital camera, movie camera import	10.3%
Remote access from PC, mobile phone	4.4%
Other	2.5%
Don’t know	5.7%

Q5: When buying a DVD recorder, etc, what point from your answer in Q4 is most important? (Sample size=15,482)

Price	41.4%
Picture quality	14.4%
Usability	11.0%
Maker, brand	9.8%
Hard disk capacity	7.9%
Additional features	1.8%
High-vision support	1.8%
Design	1.5%
Input and output ports (expandability)	0.7%
Built-in BS satellite tuner	0.7%
Picture adjustment features	0.5%
Sound quality	0.4%
Digital camera, movie camera import	0.4%
EPG support	0.2%
Remote access from PC, mobile phone	0.2%
Other	0.7%
Nothing in particular, don’t know	0.8%
No answer	5.6%

Q6: If you were to buy a Blu-ray recorder, which manufacturer would you choose? (Sample size=15,482, multiple answer)

Panasonic	24.4%
Sony	16.1%
Sharp	10.9%
Hitachi	1.6%
Pioneer	1.3%
Victor, JVC	0.7%
Mitsubishi	0.7%
Other	0.8%
None of the above, don’t know	42.8%
No answer	5.0%