As you may recall, I've been closely following the fight between RealDVD and Hollywood.
The fight essentially boils down to this: RealDVD says if you "own" a DVD, you should be able to make a personal copy of it (like you can do with a cd or VHS tape). Hollywood, sadly, has balked on this notion.
But a new survey today, released by the National Consumers League clearly demonstrates Americans are growing tired of not having the freedom to own the DVD's they own. According to the survey:
Nearly all (90 percent; 93 percent with kids in the house) say DVD owners should be able to copy a DVD to their computer in the same way that they save music from a CD.
More than half of respondents (55 percent) said that they are currently purchasing fewer DVDs than they did a year ago.
Four in ten (41 percent) said they expect to purchase fewer DVDs one year from now.
However, 41 percent said the ability to save a copy of their DVDs to their computer or laptop would make their DVD collections more valuable, and 40 percent said it might cause them to buy more DVDs.
Clearly, it would be wise for Hollywood to pay attention to the changing attitudes of American consumers.