(1 August 2006 1:25 pm)

MUMBAI: US adults whose households have a digital video recorder (DVR) are more upscale than those that do not and are more likely to be heavy readers of magazines and newspapers and are also heavy users of the Internet.according to the latest data from Mediamark Research Inc.,(MRI).

According to the Fall 2005 MRI data release, 8.6 per cent of US adults reported having a DVR in their household. That percentage rose to 11.2 per cent of adult households in the Spring 2006 release. The survey period for this release was March 2005 to early May 2006.

The spring 2006 data show that 36.8 per cent of adults with DVR’s have a college education and 17.1 per cent have average household income exceeding $150,000. Within the entire adult population, 25.2 per cent graduated college and 8% have an average income exceeding $150,000, states an official release issued by the research firm.

Of adults with DVR’s in the household, 15.7 per cent have home values exceeding $500,000 compared with 9 per cent of the entire adult population.

In terms of media usage, adults in DVR households are 43 per cent more likely to be heavy readers of magazines (defined as the top quintile of users, based on number of magazines read) than the general adult population. They are 40% more likely to be heavy readers of newspapers (defined as the top quintile of readers, based on number of newspapers read) than the general population.

Adults in DVR households also tend to use the Internet more than households without DVR’s, as they are 81 per cent more likely to be heavy Internet users (the top quintile of users based on number of times used in a month) than the general population, the release adds.

On the other hand, adults in DVR households tend to watch less TV than households without DVR’s; they are 23 per cent less likely to be heavy TV viewers (the top quintile of users based on number of one-half hours viewed per week) than is the general adult population.