purple motes

In a sample of 275 U.S. public library systems in 2005, the circulation of audio books recorded on cassette tape was 1.3 times the circulation of audio books recorded on CDs.[1] As late as 2005, many audio book borrowers apparently owned audio cassette players. For music albums, the last year that cassette tape sales exceeded CD sales was 1991.[2]

In 2006, the ratio of DVD rentals to video cassette rentals was 115. In 2006, 86% of TV households had a DVD player, and 84% had a VCR.[3]

Many persons apparently keep media technology long after new technology has superseded it. That's not a good omen for the U.S. digital television (DTV) transition.

Notes:

[1] Calculated from data in Molyneux, Robert E. (2007) "Transitions: Library Circulation and Digital Formats," in The Bowker Annual 2007: Library and Book Trade Almanac, pp.402-6.

[2] See data in 2000 10-year Music Consumer Trends Chart, RIAA 2000 Consumer Profile.

[3] See U.S. Entertainment Industry: 2006 Market Statistics, pp. 27-28.

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