Digital Lifescapes

To be totally honest, the introduction of 3D television was an anticlimax. Moreover, the initial forecasts for the upcoming adoption of 4K or Ultra-HD video were overly optimistic. While 4K will ultimately reach the mainstream consumer, it will remain a small niche market for at least another five years, with widespread viewing of 4K content arriving around 2019, according to the latest market study by TDG Research.. TDG says that short-term viewership of 4K video will be mostly driven by consumer purchases of new smart TVs with 4K functionality. However, the adoption of 4K televisions will occur more slowly than many believe due to poor consumer awareness, high prices, and lack of 4K video content. That being said, the emergence of 4K-enabled devices will help to fill this gap, over time. For example, TDG predicts that set top boxes (iSTBs) from companies like Amazon, Apple, and Roku will join smart TVs in supporting 4K streaming from over-the-top (OTT) streaming video servi...

Worldwide video on demand (VOD) rentals from over the top (OTT) and pay TV operators, electronic sell-through (EST), and DVD or Blu-ray disc sales are expected to increase by 40 percent from 2013 to 2019 -- growing from $30.6 billion in 2013 to over $43 billion by 2019. Physical media sales will continue its decline, while OTT VOD services and ad-based viewing take significant market share from combined physical purchases and EST, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. "New content windowing strategies, such as early VOD and EST release dates, will continue to push consumers to these distribution channels. In addition as pay-TV operators increasingly pursue OTT initiatives the consumers will further migrate to digital distribution," said Michael Inouye, senior analyst at ABI Research . Despite this trend, physical media will continue to play a significant role for many consumers, particularly for those who have extensive DVD or Blu-ray libraries, purchase...

It's estimated that there are 425 million devices connected to the Internet in U.S. homes, according to the latest market study by The NPD Group. They found that while personal computers are still the primary connected device, numerous others are diminishing the PC’s relevance to the broadband content marketplace. This trend is being fueled by devices such as gaming consoles and blu-ray disc players adding to the number of Internet connected HDTVs -- and direct IP connectivity to a Smart TV set. Strong consumer retail sales in developing categories -- such as tablets and smartphones -- are also impacting the traditional PC’s share of Internet connected devices. By the end of 2013, a shift towards more screen-sharing across devices is expected. Smaller screens such as the smartphone have the greatest reach now with an estimated 133 million users -- with tablets contributing another 31.8 million screens. The development of the shared screen experience, by diverting conte...

I can remember a time when the typical U.S. pay-TV subscriber encountered a reasonable monthly fee for access to the standard tier of channels, and when there were only a couple of additional premium channel options – such as HBO and Showtime. This was before the sports networks gained exclusive access to live sporting events, and before the American sport team owners started to demand huge payments for the broadcast rights to their video entertainment content. I never watched these sports channels and didn’t like the fact that I was being told (by default) to subsidize those pay-TV subscribers that did want to pay the high price. Therefore, I became one of the cable TV cord-cutters – a lost customer to the U.S. pay-TV industry, because a-la-carte channel selection was not an option. So, instead I subscribed to Netflix disc-by-mail service and quickly embraced over-the-top (OTT) video content when it was offered. I’ve since added Vudu to my short list of paid video streaming se...

Despite a seven percent year-over-year dip in global TV shipments, retail sales in North America have been steady and unit shipments were up by almost 3 percent in the third quarter of 2012 -- after posting small declines in the first half of 2012. The trend in the U.S. market has been toward bigger and less expensive TVs, which is expected to be the focus during the holiday season. "Inventory has been building overtime to a level that will satisfy the demand," said Paul Gagnon, director of global TV research at NPD DisplaySearch . The following is a summary of the findings from the latest NPD DisplaySearch market study. Worldwide TV shipments fell on a Y/Y basis for the fourth straight quarter, as demand in Japan and Western Europe fell sharply. TV shipments in Japan were down over 70 percent Y/Y for the second quarter in a row, while Western Europe shipments fell more than 15 percent. Flat panel TV growth in emerging regions were lower than expected, especially in...

Connected TV penetration in North America and Western Europe will surge from just over 10 percent in 2011 to over 50 percent by 2017, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. Blu-ray disc player penetration is expected to have a similar progression, increasing from about 25 percent in Western Europe and North America in 2011 to over 76 percent by 2017 (standalone and game consoles included). Meanwhile, game console penetration rates by 2017 are only expected to pass 61 percent in North America and 46 percent in Western Europe -- with adoption rates significantly lower in other regions. There are four major connected video CE devices: Connected TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and Smart set-top boxes (STBs). Most CE manufacturers (notably, Samsung and LG) use a common platform for Connected TVs and Blu-ray players. Microsoft and Nintendo play only in the game console market, while Smart STB leaders Apple and Roku don’t compete in the other connected categories. ...

In 2011, the global market for household consumer electronics (CE) continued its rapid shift toward connected devices. These are devices that are enabled with digital communications and have the ability to connect directly to the Internet -- or to a home network. Some of these devices are optimized for the delivery of IP-based streaming video content. This device category is being driven primarily by the success and adoption of low-cost streaming media players, digital TVs, satellite STBs, video game consoles, and Blu-ray disc players or recorders. According to the latest market study by NPD In-Stat, they now forecast that the connected device installed base will grow from 256.8 million units in 2011 to 1.34 billion units in 2016. "CE is no longer about dumb devices that exist at the edge of the network to provide specific functions, but rather about intelligent devices at the edge of the network that can connect consumers to new stores of content and engage them in new di...

In a bygone era, live TV programming was the top television content source. Now, the availability of digital video recorders (DVRs), Pay-TV on-demand services, and online streaming video options has changed the viewer's preferences. According to the latest market study by TDG , a growing number of TV viewers fall into segments inclined to first select a source other than live broadcast TV. The impact on the traditional broadcast television ecosystem has been significant. To better understand this shifting behavior, TDG developed a quantitative framework based on consumer First Glance TV preferences among different television content sources, including live broadcast, DVR-recorded, on-demand, and online shows -- as well as physical discs such as DVD or Blu-ray. Based on this analysis, TDG identified five key segments -- non-overlapping groups that exhibit unique TV source preferences. The dominant characteristics of each segment are as follows: Black-Box Baulkers - strongl...

Internet-enabled consumer electronics (CE) in the home -- including Smart TVs, Blu-Ray disc players, game consoles, and streaming media players -- continue to grow their market share and now benefit from increased adoption by Americans. Already about 17 million U.S. households currently own a connected TV, and ownership of streaming media players has nearly doubled since the end of 2010. Yet only a fraction of consumers that own an Internet-capable TV device actually connects it to the Internet to become over-the-top (OTT) video consumers. Despite this hurdle, the growing base of OTT video-capable U.S. households is propelling the revenue for online video-on-demand (VoD) and electronic sell through (EST) to double by 2015, according to the latest market study by NPD In-Stat . "OTT video is continuing to grow, overcoming the barriers of low device connect rates and cumbersome user interfaces," says Keith Nissen, Research Director at NPD In-Stat. Even stronger growth ...

In a few years from now, the perceived need for physical media formats could become a mere novelty, as more multimedia consumption moves online. Until then, there's the continued debate about the future of the Blu-ray Disc format. The name Blu-ray Disc (BD) refers to the blue laser used to read the disc, which allows information to be stored at a greater density than possible with red laser technology used for DVDs. It's not new technology. The first prototype Blu-ray Discs debuted in October 2000, and the first prototype player was released in Japan in April 2003. Its evolution and development continued until it was officially released in June 2006. According to the latest market study by In-Stat, they now forecast that the number of Blu-ray player units shipped will reach 105 million in 2015. “DVD players and recorder shipments will decline over the next five years for most regions. By 2015, DVD recorders will be essentially phased out entirely, with only negl...

ABI Research surveyed 2024 people in the United States about the consumer electronic (CE) products already in their households (device types and quantity), home networking, and purchase intent (device type, brand, and features critical to the purchase decision). The results of their latest market study are insightful -- regarding the key trends that are shaping the evolving CE marketplace in America. Among the significant top-line results, 24 percent of the respondents indicated that their highest-priority purchases over the next six months would likely be of HDTVs (24 percent) and Blu-ray players (17 percent). About 60 percent of the households surveyed said they already have one HDTV. According to ABI senior analyst Michael Inouye, "As consumers replace older TVs, there really isn't much choice now but to buy an HDTV, so even if the consumer doesn't necessarily want to view HDTV content, that's usually what they end up with. Prices for HDTVs have fallen quite...

3D television continues to gain traction in key markets, with nearly 15 million U.S. homes forecast to own a 3DTV set by the end of next year, according to the latest market study by Futuresource Consulting . 3DTV emerged early in 2010 with manufacturers quickly engaging in a battle for market supremacy. The price premium for the 3D feature has already reduced quite sharply and the well known-brands are now incorporating 3D in more and more of their TV and BD model ranges. The year finished on a positive note for manufacturers, with strong sales during the final quarter. However, 3D content was unable to keep pace with consumer expectations, creating a lack of packaged 3D content at retail. "Limited retail content availability has placed greater importance on the role of the broadcast segment as a key 3D content source," says Fiona Hoy, Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. Although early broadcast services struggled to provide the breadth and quality of viewing ...

While streaming video from the cloud is gaining momentum, when it comes to consumers managing and storing their own home video libraries, downloading and viewing digital video on their PC is still the preferred method. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , nearly 50 percent of U.S. broadband households report that they store their digital video home library on their desktop PC. A full 30 percent use their notebook PCs. Smaller percentages store digital video on their gaming devices, portable media players, Flash devices, and mobile handsets. "The digital entertainment industry is pushing U.S. consumers to shift to electronic sell-through (EST) and to build home video libraries." says Keith Nissen, Principal Analyst at In-Sat. However, digital video usage models are now a mix of physical discs, free content, video on demand, streaming and rental models, in addition to outright purchases. Nevertheless, downloading and storing video is a growing and import...

During 2010, there was significant growth of new consumer electronics (CE) devices with networking and web content presentation capabilities. Network-enabled CE devices have the ability to connect directly to the Internet or to a home network. Web-enabled or Smart devices deliver IP-based video content for viewing either on the device itself or on a separate screen, such as a connected TV set. Both types of devices are expected to grow exponentially over the next five years. According to the latest market study by In-Stat , by 2015 there will be 1 billion web-enabled, stationary CE devices in operation worldwide. "Smart TVs and Blu-ray players (that support online apps) will constitute over 50 percent of all web-enabled CE device shipments worldwide in 2015," says Keith Nissen, Principal Analyst at In-Stat. North America and Europe will remain the primary regional markets for web-enabled, stationary CE devices. Over the next five years, both the North American and E...

The global adoption of web-enabled consumer electronics (CE) devices is growing rapidly and includes a wide variety of new products. Typically, web-enabled CE devices can execute app widgets, small software application programs that directly access an online content site -- such as Netflix, Amazon VOD or YouTube. Smart TV applications, from a multitude of independent software developers, are expected to proliferate over the next five years. As a result, web-enabled CE device shipments are forecast to grow six fold -- surpassing 230 million installed units by 2014, with the majority of these in North America and Europe, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . "Consumer adoption of online applications, using web-enabled CE devices, will be regionalized, or in some cases, country-specific," says Keith Nissen, Principal Analyst at In-Stat. For example, in China, there is very little licensed video entertainment content available for delivery over the Internet. In ...

Worldwide pre-recorded Blu-ray video disc production is on track to exceed 400 million units in 2010, an increase of nearly 60 percent compared with 2009, according to the latest market study by Futuresource Consulting . When factoring in PS3 titles, overall BD production volumes are somewhat higher. "Moving forward we expect to see continued expansion in BD video production volumes, with our forecasts indicating that annual global output will reach two billion discs by 2014," says Michael Boreham, Senior Consultant at Futuresource Consulting. The BD replication industry has seen capacity utilization improve markedly during 2010. As a result of this output expansion, BD capacity utilisation will hit nearly 80 percent in the U.S. market during Q4 of this year and 75 percent in Europe. This is about as high as it can comfortably get, and given the continued market expansion expected over the next few years, which is being driven by growing player ownership and falling d...

American home video retail revenue has fallen consistently over the past five years, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . Moreover, double-digit declines in annual retail sales of DVDs are expected, resulting in a total reduction of $4.6 billion from 2009 to 2014. Clearly, the U.S. home video entertainment market is in a transition. The progressive media content producers will adapt to the shift in consumer demand. This is now the accepted market reality. Meanwhile, to replace retail DVD revenue losses, the online digital paid video download and streaming segment -- which includes both purchase and rental -- is expected to show high revenue growth. Annual revenue of video streaming and download is forecast to grow from $2.3 billion to $6.3 billion within five years, says In-Stat. The battle lines for online offerings are continuing to be drawn and are intensely competitive. Online à la carte rental of TV episodes will directly compete with online subscription TV se...

Interest in connected TVs and Blu-ray players has been slow to develop, predominantly due to minimal consumer electronics (CE) industry promotion, and a glut of competing solutions which already provide swift and easy access to digital media. Pay-TV, PCs, smartphones and the Apple iPad are all enabling consumers to access information however, wherever and whenever they want it. "Despite the initial low level of interest in connected TVs, we are now reaching a point of critical mass," says David Watkins at Futuresource Consulting . "Our analysis shows consumer usage growing as connected TV devices become increasingly versatile and the range of content, applications and major web brands available on CE platforms increases." There is a current surge of industry interest in TV application development, closely following the mobile phone model, and in some instances this will also allow a micropayments business model to be put in place. In the mobile market, only...

Sales of Blu-ray disc (BD) players, excluding PS3, are expected to total nearly 24 million units this year across the three key growth regions -- USA, Europe and Japan -- according to the latest market study by Futuresource Consulting . "Last year's crucial Q4 period accounted for nearly half of all BD players that were sold globally in 2009, and the upward trend is continuing, with our projections showing in excess of 80 percent unit growth across this year," says Jack Wetherill, Research Consultant at Futuresource. This view is based on inputs from a wide range of companies operating in the global Blu-ray hardware business, including vendors, retailers and component suppliers, and forms part of their ongoing research in this area. All attention will once again be on the holiday season, with Futuresource predicting sales in excess of 11 million units in that quarter alone, a healthy year-on-year growth that will continue to drive BD adoption into the mass market. ...

According to the latest market study by In-Stat , there are significant price and performance issues that need to be overcome before device manufacturers fully adopt wireless high-definition (HD) technology. In fact, these technologies are likely several years away from reaching the mainstream consumer electronics (CE) and PC markets. But that doesn't mean you can't experience it today, says In-Stat. Consumer electronics manufacturers like LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Sharp, and Sony are already offering devices that are including wireless HD. "Although slow progress best describes the fate of wireless HD chip vendors in 2010, the five-year outlook is for a robust triple-digit annual growth rate," says Brian O'Rourke, Principal Analyst at In-Stat. Most semiconductor players pursuing this space apparently plan to move out from HDTV to other CE devices -- such as TV set-top boxes, blu-ray players and recorders, or digital cameras. In-stat's...