As more Americans experiment with digital media, TV peripherals such as the digital video recorder (DVR) and dedicated game console are beginning to emerge as competitors to the still-dominant PC as the preferred digital entertainment platform in the home, according to new research from Ipsos Insight. Moreover, watching movies and TV content on the PC or portable devices is not yet exciting to mainstream America, Ipsos says.

A survey of online U.S. adults about digital entertainment found that 88 percent of Americans use some form of device (beyond basics such as a TV or dial-up internet) that can display or deliver digital entertainment content. Among that majority of digital platform users, 61 percent prefer their broadband-connected PC for digital entertainment purposes, compared with other devices such as cell phones (13 percent), videogame consoles (10 percent), and DVRs (8 percent).

However, among those who regularly use a DVR, preference for the DVR (37 percent) is on par with the broadband-enabled PC (39 percent. And console gamers also reported high degree of preference for their gaming consoles (31 percent) for personal entertainment, compared with the PC (43 percent).

As digital video and gaming content enter more homes, the PC may not be the "silver bullet" as the medium for trying and adopting emerging digital forms, particularly among early adopters, according to Ipsos.

One scenario is that the markets for games and video could become segmented based on the preferred method of consumption. Content that is preferably consumed in the living room (the "10-foot" experience) may be driven by the set-top box, DVR or game console; on the other hand, less-immersive content with a short shelf-life, such as digital video clips and podcasts, would continue to prosper on PCs (the "2-foot" experience).

The Ipsos study also asked Americans whether they anticipate spending more, less or about the same amount of time a year from now conducting engaging in various entertainment activities. Perhaps surprisingly, established channels did very will in the poll. For example, 24 percent of adults anticipate spending more time watching movies on DVRs they own, while just 6-7 percent say they will increase the amount to time they spend watching movies on the internet or on portable device.

"The data reflect the reality that most consumers don't have some huge appetite for replacing old entertainment options with new ones - rather, at this point a minority of consumers are intrigued by additional options. Watching movies and TV on the PC or portable devices is not exciting to mainstream America yet, as most consumers overwhelmingly prefer the '10-foot' experience for video content. The key to driving the digital medium into the living room hinges on simplicity, and enabling this 10-foot experience for enjoying web-driven video content," according to Todd Board, SVP of the Ipsos Insight Technology & Communications practice.