Audio Video News

We've all read the stories about DVD piracy, and how horrible it is, blah, blah, blah. No one we know is illegally copying DVDs, right? Wrong! A new report called the Consumer Home Piracy survey done by Futuresource Consulting had rather shocking results. A similar study was done in 2007 which allows for easy comparison of the trend.

If you and I aren't copying DVDs, who is?

The study surveyed 3,613 people in the US and 1,718 folks in the UK. A surprising one third of the sample admitted to making copies of pre-recorded DVDs, including major blockbuster motion picture titles. The report isn't entirely surprising.

Who is most likely to copy DVDs? You guessed it: 18-24 year old males. Same group that were most likely to copy last year. Shocker. Even more depressing: folks who copied used both digital and analog methods equally. Who cares about quality when you're a pirate. Arrrrrr.

Another interesting observation in their report is that the standard def DVD market peaked in 2007 and will only decline. Hopefully, Blu-ray will replace DVD in the market, so studios will continue to thrive.

77% of respondents in the US and 63% in the UK indicated that they would have purchased the DVD if they hadn't been able to make a copy. That is a serious amount of lost revenue. However you may feel about piracy, this fact was disturbing.  -Leslie Shapiro

Futuresource Consulting