Buoyant Portable Player Market Pressuring Movie Distribution Model, Finds ABI Research.

OYSTER BAY, N.Y. -- In the Beginning was the Walkman, and it started a revolution. Since then we've seen the CD "Diskman", and recently, floods of portable MP3 players.

Now a similar revolution is gathering steam behind the portable video player, which, according to ABI Research's director of broadband research, Vamsi Sistla, "is entering the mainstream portable market."

"As price points fall, screens get bigger and form factors shrink," he says, "the market for portable video players is increasing." He notes, however, that because of their higher cost, personal video player market growth is not as explosive as that for MP3 players was in its initial stages.

Portable audio and video players are just one of four new equipment categories examined in the latest edition of ABI Research's "Residential Entertainment Technologies Quarterly Service". (Also covered in depth are LCD/Plasma/DLP TVs; digital cameras/camcorders; DVD Players/Recorders, DVRs, stationary audio devices, and other video and audio host devices. Segmented market breakdowns and forecasts are included.)

Unlike portable DVD players, portable video players often contain hard disk drives, allowing recording and storage of multiple movies. Therein lies a problem for the film industry, which is understandably frightened of piracy. In Sistla's view, "The industry has to figure out a way to deal with changes in technology and to make sure the consumer's rights to minimum copying for personal use are met, while at the same time protecting copyright holders' interests."

Can studios find inspiration in the success of online music retailing on the model of Apple's groundbreaking 99 cent song downloads? Given satisfactory solutions to the intellectual property issues, Sistla thinks so: "Make it legal," he says. "Motion picture industry players and regulators should jump in much sooner to realize the potential of this opportunity and start generating revenue. Maybe we need another Steve Jobs, to take the portable video player sales to the next level."

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations that support annual research programs, quarterly intelligence services and market reports in wireless, automotive, semiconductors, broadband, and energy. Their market research products can be found on the Web at www.abiresearch.com, or by calling 516.624.3113.