News Broadcasting
DVD player base to increase five-fold in Asia-Pacific
LONDON: After having claimed dominance in the US and European markets, the DVD (Digital Video Player) is now poised to sweep the video business in the Asia-Pacific region as well.
In South East Asia, the only competition that the digital format faces is the disc-based video format – Video CD, states a study by Screen Digest.
Screen Digest’s senior home entertainment analyst, Helen Davis Jayalath explains, “In the shorter term, the VCD player will continue to prove popular with many Asia-Pacific consumers due to its low cost and the widespread availability of cheap VCD software. However, DVD is already becoming the format of choice in the mature markets of Japan, Australia and New Zealand. In the longer term, the DVD Video player will become increasingly important throughout the region; our forecasts indicate that by the end of 2006 139m Asia-Pacific homes will have a DVD Video player or recorder – more than five times as many at the end of 2002 and almost 20 per cent of all TV households in the region.”
According to the report, India, South Korea and the Philippines are likely to be of particular interest to the US studios and other video distributors over the next few years. The distributors’ revenues from India, is expected to to increase by almost 130 per cent between 2001 and 2006.
The study however reveals that, new hardware indicates additional software sales and simultaneously total consumer spending on DVD software to increase by 165 per cent over the same period, thus generating an estimated $8.2bn by 2006. This will be fuelled in part by an anticipated fall of 16 per cent in the average retail price of a DVD during the same period.
Interestingly, the expansion of the DVD sector will help boost total consumer spending on all video software (DVD, VCD and VHS) by over 40 per cent, the report says. By the end of the forecast period, DVDs will account for almost 70 per cent of consumer spending, up from just over one-third in 2002.
According to the author of the report, David Scott, the sheer size of the Japanese market means DVD will continue to dominate the Asia-Pacific video business. “Japan remains the world’s second largest single territory video market after the US, and the third largest (after the UK) for Hollywood product. However, China and India boast two of the largest potential consumer markets worldwide and demand for legitimate video product is growing in these territories”.
Piracy, however continues to pose a major threat to the potential of the Asia-Pacific business. The lack of copy protection on VCDs ensures that vast numbers of counterfeit discs flood the market at rock-bottom prices, making it impossible for rights holders to raise the price of legitimate discs. Meanwhile the availability of DVDs offers criminals a perfect digital master for copying, ensuring that the quality of counterfeit products is improving, adds the report.
The bottom line is that ultimately, the DVD will replace both VHS and VCD. The speed at which this occurs in each country will depend on how quickly DVD hardware and software prices decline, combined with the effectiveness of efforts to combat the trade in counterfeit discs.
Equally important, however, will be the rate at which consumers in the region become more discerning in their attitudes toward software quality. As a result, Screen Digest foresees a period of co-existence between both disc-based formats before DVD eventually predominates across the whole Asia-Pacific region.
News Broadcasting
Rising Bharat Summit 2026 spotlights India’s global ascent
PM Modi keynotes two-day event with ministers, diplomats and icons in New Delhi.
MUMBAI: India didn’t just host a summit, it threw a coming-out party for a nation ready to own the global stage. The News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026, held on 27–28 February in New Delhi, emerged as a high-octane platform for ideas, vision and strategic dialogue, uniting national leadership, global policymakers, industry titans, defence strategists and cultural icons under the theme “Strength Within”.
Prime minister Narendra Modi set the tone with a keynote that framed India’s resurgence as a reclaiming of lost potential built over generations. “In previous industrial revolutions, India and the Global South were merely followers,” he said. “But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, India is a partner in decisions and shaping them.” He highlighted the country’s thriving AI startup ecosystem and the recent AI Impact Summit attended by over 100 nations.
Union minister Piyush Goyal (Commerce & Industry) stressed India’s readiness to scale exports and deepen manufacturing, while Ashwini Vaishnaw (Railways, I&B, Electronics & IT) positioned technology and infrastructure as twin engines of growth, especially in AI and digital trust. Jyotiraditya Scindia (Communications & North East Development) revealed India’s ambition to lead in 6G through the Bharat 6G Alliance and partnerships with over 30 countries.
Global voices added depth: former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo called India’s development “self-sustaining” and strategically vital; ex-UK Chief of Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter asserted India deserves a seat at the great powers’ table; and former US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined ambassadors from Norway, Germany and Sweden in discussions on geopolitical realignment, sustainability and defence preparedness.
Other speakers included veteran investor Ramesh Damani, World Gold Council CEO David Tait, Vianai Systems founder Dr Vishal Sikka, DeepTech Bharat Foundation co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, defence experts Rajesh Kumar Singh, Sunil Ambekar, Patrick McGee, Tom Cooper and Adrian Fontanellaz, plus cultural and sporting icons Kangana Ranaut, Saina Nehwal, PR Sreejesh, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mithali Raj, Anil Kapoor and Yami Gautam.
The summit was supported by Jio Financial Services (Presenting Partner), Phonepe and DS Group (Co-Presenting Partners), Pernod Ricard India and Kia Seltos (Powered By & Driven By), state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand (State Partners), and associate partners including NSE, M3M Foundation and Reliance Industries.
Broadcast live across News18 Network, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, the event reinforced India’s image as a confident democracy and emerging global power proving that when strength comes from within, the world can’t help but watch.
