The report predicts that Microsoft's second generation Windows XP Media Center Edition (XP MCE 2004) will become the standard operating system for mid-level PCs and some desktop replacement notebooks over the next 12 to 18 months, as it offers better ways for consumers to leverage their media collections.
Based on a July 2003 Jupiter Research online consumer survey, the new report "Consumer PCs and Digital Entertainment" states that 34% of online users want to record TV on their PC to watch on the PC's monitor, but that number increases to 51% if they can watch the content on their TV.
According to Avi Greengart, Senior Analyst at Jupiter Research, "While in most cases the PC and the television are not actually converging into a single box, there is ample evidence that consumers see their PCs as the entertainment hub of the home - for gaming, music, and, increasingly, even DVDs and TV."
According to the Jupiter Research report, in the past, consumers bought PCs for connectivity and productivity applications - e-mail, Web browsing, word processing, preparing tax returns, etc. Productivity has been joined by entertainment as a primary use for personal computers, with price drops on CD-ROM and CD-R/W drives, the spread of MP3, the rise of low cost online games, affordable digital cameras and DVD-enabled consumer notebooks. Results of the report indicate that consumers are presenting PC hardware and networking OEMs with the opportunity to broaden their entertainment reach into passive video entertainment - DVD, television and personal video recorder. Going forward, consumers will be purchasing multiple PCs for the home and the entertainment share of use will increase, with some PCs dedicated solely to entertainment purposes.
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