DVD-RAM RECORDERS CAPTURE 70% MARKETSHARE IN FIRST QTR '03.

As sales of recordable DVD products continue to skyrocket, feature-rich, stand-alone consumer recorders based on the DVD-RAM format are leading the way, having captured 70.2 percent of the U.S. DVD consumer recorder market in the first three months of 2003, according to leading market information company The NPD Group.

In the past year, sales of consumer DVD recorders have grown almost ten-fold and DVD-RAM recorders accounted for 62.8 percent of stand-alone consumer recorders sold between October 2001 and March 2003. According to the Recordable DVD Council, such figures confirm that DVD-RAM continues to be the format of choice for consumer DVD recorders.

"We knew that for consumers to embrace this new technology, they would demand features they couldn't find on existing VCRs," said Tony Jasionowski, director of North America - Recordable DVD Council and group manager for Panasonic Technologies Company. "So, it was no surprise that features such as worry-free recording, simultaneous playback while recording, and advanced functions like Time-Slip and Chasing Playback would lead consumers to overwhelmingly choose DVD-RAM format recorders."

DVD-RAM technology makes a wide variety of unique features possible, such as on-disc editing and "Chasing Playback", that allows users to begin recording an entire movie or TV show and then later start watching the program from the beginning, as the balance of the program is being recorded. Equally as important, the format's robust defect management and error correction system allows users to more readily record on and read discs with scratches and fingerprints. The format's high-speed, random access read and write capabilities similarly allow the recorders to expertly manage the vast amounts of data required by today's digital applications. In short, DVD-RAM makes it easy to store, access, and manipulate almost any type of digital data -- from moving pictures to still images and PC data.

"In only a few short years, products that adhere to RDVDC-promoted formats have dominated the worldwide consumer recordable DVD market three-to-one over competing formats," said RDVDC Chairman, Bon-Guk Koo, Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd. "As consumers continue to learn about the benefits of this technology, we expect its popularity will continue to grow and match or exceed the tremendous mainstream success of DVD players."

At present, a wide variety of stand-alone and PC-attached DVD recorders and camcorders supporting the DVD-RAM format are being marketed by such leading companies as Hitachi, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba and others.

About Recordable DVD Council

Established in April 2001, the RDVDC has quickly grown to nearly 100 technology developers and manufacturers whose products comply with the DVD Forum-approved recordable DVD formats. The Council, which encourages information exchange among members, the business community, technology developers and the public, has launched outreach campaigns featuring educational and informational programs and demonstrations of cutting-edge recordable DVD products at major trade shows throughout the world, including CES.

For more information, call 201/348-7777 or visit http://www.rdvdc.org/english.

About DVD Forum

The DVD Forum is an industry association whose 210+ members include all major DVD device manufacturers as well as the leading DVD software developers and DVD media producers around the world. The DVD Forum has established global DVD formats including DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, and DVD Video Recording.

For more information, visit http://www.dvdforum.org.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

Since 1967 The NPD Group has provided reliable and comprehensive sales and marketing information for a wide range of industries. NPD provides critical knowledge on what is selling, where, to whom and why to help our clients make more successful, fact-based business decisions. Today more than 1,300 manufacturers and retailers rely on NPD to help them better understand their customers, product categories, distribution channels and competition in order to help guide their business and positively impact sales and revenues. Information from The NPD Group is available for the following major vertical sectors: apparel, appliances, automotive, beauty, cellular, consumer electronics, food and beverage, foodservice, footwear, home improvement, housewares, imaging, information technology, music, software, travel, toys and video games.

For more information, visit http://www.npd.com or call 415/438-9823.

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