Home PC role evolve towards entertainment

Not long ago, personal computers in the home were seen as devices to balance

checkbooks, write letters and store recipes.

Today's home computers are quickly changing the role they play in consumers'

lives. Increasingly they become devices to deliver entertainment applications.

More than three quarters (76 per cent) of households with broadband access

reported that they used their computer to play audio CDs, according to the

Yankee Group's Digital Home Entertainment Survey poll of 1,400 consumers. An

additional 60per cent of broadband households used their PC in the prior three

months to play online games, and 49per cent say they use their PC to download

music.

Video applications lagged in comparison, with only 33 per cent of broadband

subscribers saying that they used their PC to watch video streamed over the

Internet in the prior three months, followed by downloading movies (23 per cent)

and watching DVDs (23 per cent).

"Broadband opens new doors for the delivery of entertainment content to

the PC," said Michael Goodman, senior analyst with the Yankee Group's Media

& Entertainment Strategies research and consulting practice. He added,

"While audio applications and gaming are well positioned to capitalize on

high-speed access in the home today, video still must improve before it becomes

a reliable consumer product."