Early adopters give UV thumbs up
October 30, 2013
By Colin Mann
According to global information company The NPD Group, digital content ecosystem UltraViolet (UV), is having a positive impact on early adopters and meeting several of the initial objectives of the companies who partnered with the service.
In terms of satisfaction with UltraViolet, 82 per cent of users reported they were very or somewhat satisfied with their experiences using the system, and more than 70 per cent of users reported that they would continue to add UV titles to their libraries. The NPD Group noted that these satisfaction levels are comparable to established home video options from Netflix, Redbox, and iTunes.
Based on survey responses from NPD’s report – UltraViolet: Bridge to the Digital Future – 78 per cent of UV users indicated that the registration process was easy, particularly for those who have signed up in the past year, which suggests that the authentication process has improved. “The positive user feedback on UltraViolet is critically important, not only for the obvious reason that the service needs to be competitive with other options for digital home video, but also because the research pointed out that UV needs more evangelists,” said Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for The NPD Group.
UltraViolet remains in an early adopter phase, with only 15 per cent of the population aware of it. Even among the majority of consumers who are not currently aware of UltraViolet, six in 10 home video buyers reported that they would be interested in a service like UltraViolet that allowed them to view purchased video content on all their devices.
As digital options for purchasing and renting home video take hold, one objective of UltraViolet was to extend the lifecycle of DVDs and Blu-ray discs. The study showed that 35 per cent of UV users reported that using the system encouraged them to make more DVD, Blu-ray, and digital movie purchases. “From the perspective of today’s UltraViolet users, the utility provided by physical discs, perhaps for the living room or automobile, combined with access to a digital version usable on a multitude of devices, translates to a hard benefit at retail,” Crupnick concluded.