IDC: 'Domo Arigato, Mr Roboto'

The PC might have what it makes to become a home user's digital entertainment platform, said IDC in its latest report.

A report titled, ‘Australia Digital Home Consumer Usage Survey 2006: Domo Arigato, Mr Roboto!’ conducted in March, found the majority of survey respondents had digital photos (70.3 percent) and music files (69.2 percent) stored on their PCs.

“About 44.1 percent of respondents play music on their PCs at least once a week, indicating that music playback on the PC is an activity most consumers are accustomed to," said Sophie Lo, research analyst, consumer digital markets.

Compared with digital photos and music, relatively few respondents stored video content of any type on PCs, said Lo.

“Generation Y consumers however, are more likely to have video content on their PCs. Respondents aged from 18 to 24 were found to be almost twice as likely to store video content on their PCs than the average respondent.”

Just over 70 percent of respondents indicated they never watch or record TV shows on their PCs, yet a significant portion of the respondents play back DVDs (23.9 percent).

IDC found respondents across all age segments (except for 60+) were equally likely to use the PC for this purpose.

“This implies some consumers are generally comfortable watching videos on their PCs as long as was an easy process for them to obtain and play back the content,” said Lo.

The increased number of online video services and higher residential broadband penetration was the key in attracting an additional wave of consumers.

Lo said: “This will lead to PCs becoming optimised for entertainment purposes. Broadband Internet access will also make it relatively seamless for consumers to obtain the content, further establishing the PC as an important platform for digital entertainment.”

On average, broadband households were almost twice as likely to have any type of digital media stored on their PCs when compared with dial-up households or households without Internet access, IDC said.

Lo claims IT vendors need to be warned about the threats that local telcos can impose.

“As overseas examples demonstrate, the telco-delivered ‘intelligent’ set top box can become the single point of entry for communications and home entertainment.”

IDC randomly telephoned 836 Australian households to conduct 15 minute interviews to gather information for this report.