UltraViolet awareness hits 44% in the US

Awareness of UltraViolet is “on the rise” among US consumers, with 44% now claiming to have heard of UV or to recognise the UV logo, according to NPD Group. 

The research firm’s Digital Adoption Monitor claims that the 44% figure is a nine-percentage point increase over last year, with about one-third of consumers claiming to know what UV is while others cited the outside packaging of DVD and Blu-ray products as the most influential source for facilitating awareness.

Among consumers that do use UV, 91% said they are satisfied with the service – up eight percentage points. Some 83% said that UV activation was “easy” – a five percentage point increase from 2013.

However, NPD acknowledged there are “opportunities for further growth” and that aspects of the service “could be improved” – with the need to visit multiple websites to redeem different disc-based codes and the necessity of multiple logins cited as one area of difficulty.

“Among those who found the disc code redemption process challenging, more are reporting a lack of clarity in how to link their libraries to the various redemption sites,” said NPD, claiming that a enhancements like a universal redemption site could help in the near-term.

“UV usage is still in its early stages, and, as with any new technology, there are challenges, but there is also opportunity to grow and improve the service. Content providers and retailers can work together to facilitate awareness around what UV offers. This will drive further trial and heighten satisfaction among current UltraViolet users, many of whom are video super-fans and have been buying and streaming more video lately,” said Christopher Coby, senior industry analyst of entertainment for The NPD Group.

The UV initiative is designed to give viewers access digital copies of physical media such as DVDs and Blu-rays they have bought from an online ‘cloud locker’.