A survey conducted recently indicates that consumers in Japan are showing less interest in buying DVD recorders with built-in hard disk drives (HDD), compared to consumer interest levels recorded earlier.

According to a survey conducted by Nikkei Market Access (Nikkei MA) in December 2004, when consumers were asked: "Do you intend to buy an HDD DVD recorder?" 71.4% of the respondents answered either "Yes, certainly" or "Yes." This represents a decline of 1.8 points, compared to the responses given to the same question in a previous survey conducted in July 2004.

Based on a numerical scale, with "Yes, certainly" replaced with 100, "Yes" with 50, "Yes, perhaps" with 25, "Probably not" with -25, "Not" with -50 and "Certainly not" with -100, the value of intentions in the latest survey was 59.15 points, 1.34 points lower than the value in the previous survey. Purchase intentions are said to have dropped only for HDD DVD recorders, among the so-called "New Three Sacred Treasures": HDD DVD recorders, thin-panel TVs and digital cameras.

Of those who answered "Certainly not," 43.2% stated the reason was: "I have already had an HDD DVD recorder." According to research by Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA), 2004 HDD DVD recorder shipments posted the largest growth in the consumer electronics segment, having risen 141.9% compared to the previous year, to 3.178 million units.