Tuesday, January 23, 2001

Media & Streaming Media Players on 99% of Computers

Media Metrix, a leader in Internet and Digital Media measurement worldwide, today reports that media players now are installed on 99 percent of U.S. home PCs, enabling these computers to deliver both online and offline digital-audio and video to consumers. Streaming-media players, the subset of media players that enable real-time access of digital-audio and video over the Internet, also are now installed on 99 percent of U.S. home PCs. In November 2000, 47 percent of U.S. home computer users (both PC and Mac) used a media player, while 40 percent used a streaming-media player.

"As a result of aggressive bundling campaigns, media players and streaming media players are now installed on nearly every home PC in the United States, but growth of consumers' usage of them is flattening," said Steve Coffey, Executive Vice President, Media Metrix. "To close the gap between what people can do and what they actually do, the industry must continue to develop content and better delivery systems that encourage users to take advantage of the digital video and audio capabilities they have."

In the streaming-media category, RealNetworks' RealPlayer maintains the largest share of users. In November 2000, 28 percent of all U.S. home computer users used RealPlayer, 22 percent used Windows Media Player (versions 6 and 7) and four percent used Quicktime (version 4). In contrast, 22 percent of these same users used RealPlayer in January 2000, 17 percent used Windows Media Player (versions 6 and 7) and three percent used Quicktime (version 4).

NAPM and Forrester's Report on eBusiness
The National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) and Forrester Research, Inc. announce the release of the NAPM/Forrester Research Report On eBusiness, a first-of-its-kind report that tracks online activity for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing organizations.

"There's a significant incoming wave of online B2B activities. Almost half of the corporate purchasers surveyed report being in the earliest stage of adopting the Net. At the same time, an overwhelming number of these respondents see the Net as an important part of their plans," said Bruce D. Temkin, group director at Forrester. "With this report, we'll be able to provide an ongoing tracking mechanism for this upcoming eBusiness surge."

The Report On eBusiness also revealed that during the past three months, 61% of organizations have bought indirect materials online and nearly 40% of manufacturers have purchased direct materials online. More than 15% of companies did some purchasing via an online auction, with manufacturers having used them more than twice as often as nonmanufacturers.

"Relationships with suppliers are changing. While organizations aren't yet buying a large portion of their goods online, there's significant momentum to use the Net for things like identifying new suppliers and collaborating with suppliers. But suppliers have a lot of work to do. For every purchaser that was pleased with the online capabilities of their suppliers, four others felt that these offerings weren't very good," added Temkin.

"Comments made by respondents, such as 'deciding on appropriate initiative,' 'problems with implementation,' 'resistance to change,' and 'funding,' point out some of the issues facing organizations in implementing or deciding upon an eBusiness solution," added Kelly-Green.

News Tidbits (appears every day on the front page)
- A new technology called "Eye Vision" which produces Matrix-like effects for instant replays will be used in this Sunday's Super Bowl. The advanced technology, which will only be used on a small handful of replays, produces a 3D effect of a play that the camera can "pan" around. The technology will be shown off on the Internet, after the Super Bowl at SuperBowl.com.

Return to January 2001 News Archive