Three Quarters of Australians With DVR Can’t Live Without It

Two thirds of Australians say that they can’t live without a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), according to a new survey of DVR owners commissioned by NDS Group plc, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV and a majority owned subsidiary of News Corporation.

A DVR or personal video recorder (PVR) lets you record TV shows in digital format to a disk drive within the TV set-top box. NDS technology allows digital TV subscribers to pause live TV, record, play back, rewind and fast forward their TV programs for viewing when they choose.

Other than the washing machine (94% of respondents) and the microwave oven (86%), no other household item is deemed more essential than the DVR (67%) in today’s Australian homes. And when it comes to essential technology gadgets, the DVR (75%) is pipped to the post only by the mobile phone (88%), as the item they can’t live without. Intriguingly, the vast majority of respondents would rather give up their landline phone, dishwasher, hairdryer, radio and MP3 player than their DVR.

The survey also reveals that owning a DVR can make for a happier, less stressful home life. 76% of respondents with families believe that having a DVR has improved family life – which might help to explain why the DVR is ranked so favourably against other household items. Having a DVR also seems to improve relations between the sexes, with respondents who have partners saying that using a DVR has improved their relationship with their partner (78%). One respondent commented: "The DVR has finally bought peace and harmony to my family, amen!"

Other report highlights
The statistics and trends detailed in the NDS DVR Report demonstrate how important a role DVRs now play in the lives of Australian consumers. NDS is the world leader in DVR technology. Over 18 pay-TV operators located all over the world have chosen NDS solutions to bring the unique capabilities and flexibility of the DVR to their subscribers, and there are more than 13.1 million NDS-powered DVRs in households around the world today. NDS wanted to know how DVRs are changing people’s lives.

Other key findings from the Australian survey include:

• DVR owners watch on average a total of 3.8 hours of television a day, made up of 2.3 hours of broadcast TV and 1.5 hours of recorded TV
• 57% find that they are watching more interesting TV programmes since getting a DVR
• 72% agree that since getting a DVR they are more likely to find something to watch, when they want to watch TV
• 58% of people with a DVR think that it is a good idea because you never have to miss your favourite show
• 80% of DVR owners think that having a DVR has improved how much they enjoy watching TV
• 49% of respondents who have only one DVR at the moment are so pleased with it that they would like to get a second one

Commenting on the survey results, Nigel Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of NDS, said: "The results show how fast the DVR has become an indispensable part of many people’s lives in Australia. It’s one of those technologies that, once tried, has you wondering how you coped before. Other than the washing machine, the mobile phone and the microwave over, the DVR is now seen as the household item people would least like to give up, which means they would rather wash up their dishes and manage without a hairdryer than be parted from their DVR! And if having a DVR also makes relationships with partners and immediate family less stressful and happier, it’s got to be a good thing."

Highlights: UK, US, Australia and Italy comparisons

• Comparisons with the results from the same survey that was conducted simultaneously in the US, Italy and Australia also make for interesting reading. A few highlights are:
• British DVR owners reportedly watch the least TV per day (3.7 hours), while the Americans watch the most at 4.7 hours a day
• Italian DVR owners care more about their hair than their DVR: British (70%), American (62%) and Australian (67%) DVR owners all rank the DVR as the third most important household item, while the Italians ranked the DVR in fourth place (59%) after the washing machine, the microwave and the hairdryer
• DVR owners with families in the US and Australia also place great emphasis on the power of the DVR to improve relationships between family members: 81% of Americans and 76% of Australians felt that this was the case, while only 64% of British respondents agreed
• Around half of Italian (57%), American (52%) and Australian (49%) DVR owners with only one DVR are keen to get a second, compared to just 30% of British DVR owners.

The survey was carried out by Consumer Analysis Group in July 2008. The survey involved 1,012 people aged 18-70 years old who have a DVR at home. Consumers in the UK (256), US (252), Italy (251) and Australia (253), were questioned using a mix of phone, street and online interviews.

For a copy of the complete NDS DVR Survey (81 pages)