"You know I have a ton of old tapes that I'm really scared to play because I think the tape's going to break. So hopefully I can get them onto the DVD. And I wish this had been earlier because after this year, I'm not really going to need to watch myself. I'm going to be done"
Clemens won't need to study those pitching performances after this season. Panasonic says a relatively small number of consumers have purchased DVD recorders since they were introduced two and a half years ago... but VP Reid Sullivan says...
"It's transitioning quickly from the early adaptor phase into one of more mass appeal. We expect the industry will ship the millionth unit by the fall of this year, by the fall of 2003, and grow to around 12 million units by 2005. That's just for the U.S. market. So we have huge expectations for growth in this category."
Starting prices have come down to about five hundred dollars... but one of the drawbacks continues to be competing DVD recordable formats. Consumers don't want to invest in technology that might become outdated once a standard is finally settled upon. There are advantages to different standards being used by Panasonic and Philips. As for Roger Clemens... he's just glad to be playing with the high tech toys...
"I love gadgets, man. I've got everything. I've got a computer system that runs my house."
Bloomberg Boot Camp, I'm Fred Fishkin.