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London, United Kingdom, 03/25/2009 – “In 2008 we saw the development of a pure non-tape pro camcorder segment at the lower end of the market – a significant milestone for the industry and a core driver for last year’s phenomenal growth,” says Adam Cox, Senior Market Analyst, Futuresource Consulting. “But last year’s success cannot be sustained in the current economic climate and our projections show investment will decelerate across all four quarters this year. However, the future outlook is far from disastrous, with unit shipments for 2009 on track to exceed those of 2007. Longer term, we’re going to see modest year-on-year growth from 2010 through to 2013 and beyond.”
The huge success of the low cost Sony HVR-HD1000E - as well as several other entry-level products - contributed to pro camcorder sector growth in 2008. With new products from Panasonic and JVC due for release in the first half of 2009, further market activity is ensured.
“As the price of broadcast quality hardware continues to decrease, professional video production has become available to a wider audience,” says Cox. “In particular, the prosumer segment has grown significantly over recent years and accounts for almost 30% of market volumes; however, the comparatively low cost of products sold into this vertical translates to less than 25% of the market in value terms.”
The UK continues to be the largest pro camcorder market in the EMEA region, followed by Russia, France and Germany. As a whole, Western Europe commands 65% of the EMEA marketplace, with the remainder shared almost equally between Eastern Europe and Middle East / Africa.
“HD functionality dominates the market across all these territories, with more than 75% of pro camcorders shipped in 2008 capable of shooting in HDV or better. However, the versatility of many of these products means that much footage is still shot in SD.
“Moving forward, HD and non-tape segments will continue to drive the market, and as more programmes are broadcast in HD the demand for full-HD camcorders for use as backup will grow, allowing HD to fuel market growth for a second time.”
About Futuresource Consulting
Futuresource Consulting (futuresource-consulting.com) is a specialist research and knowledge-based consulting company. With more than 30 years' heritage, Futuresource provides its clients with expertise in consumer electronics, digital imaging, entertainment media, broadcast, optical manufacturing, storage media and IT.
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andy.watson[.]futuresource-hq.com 
