Digital Lifescapes

While digital media players enable the use of over-the-top streaming video content and other platforms that enhance viewer control, new research suggests that they may also provide a net gain for traditional television program viewing. According to the findings from the latest market study by GfK, 19 percent of TV viewers now own at least one of the three major digital media players -- Roku Stick, Google Chromecast, or Apple TV. This represents a 10-fold increase over the 2010 ownership level of approximately 2 percent. Overall, 43 percent to 50 percent (the levels vary by device brand) of digital media player owners say that they use the devices in addition to their regular TV viewing – larger than the proportions (31 percent to 42 percent) that use them as a substitute for traditional TV. Chromecast owners are most likely to report that their digital player usage supplements, rather than replaces, traditional broadcast television viewing. But roughly one third (38 percent to ...

The rapid adoption and growth of Over-the-Top (OTT) video entertainment -- such as Netflix in the U.S. market --  is generating interest for various consumer electronics (CE) products that support streaming media services. One of these products, the streaming media player -- which is sometimes called an OTT set-top box or a digital media adapter, such as the Roku -- has enjoyed significant growth over the past two years. Worldwide streaming media player unit shipments are projected to increase in 2011, finishing the year at just over 3.6 million, according to the latest market study by In-Stat . "There are some significant challenges facing the market for streaming media players," according to Mike Paxton, Research Director at In-Stat. Foremost among them is how to competitively position streaming media players against other products -- such as connected Blu-ray players and video game consoles, that are more common in both consumer households and in retail stores. ...

eMarketer reports that Americans are viewing movies online more frequently, increasingly adopting low-cost over-the-top (OTT) pay-TV subscription services, such as Netflix. Moreover, online viewing of full-length TV episodes is on the rise and accounting for a greater share of consumer attention. With these changes in video entertainment viewing habits, mainstream consumers will increasingly look to enjoy these new experiences on a big TV screen. Two recent forecasts project a dramatic growth in sales of internet-enabled television sets around the world. iSuppli Corporation estimated in July that 28 million web-enabled TVs would be sold worldwide this year -- more than double the sales in 2009. By 2014 they're forecasting a 428.6 percent increase to 148 million units sold. DisplaySearch has a higher estimate of connected TV sales for 2010, at 45 million units worldwide, and a more conservative projection for 2014 at 119 million units. However, that still translates to growt...

When I launched the IP Video Curator microsite late last year, I had followed a path of online video entertainment research and discovery that led me to sign-up for a Netflix subscription. This new experience has changed my TV viewing behavior -- for the better. Netflix is a month-to-month subscription-based service, where Internet access is a required part of their offering. Meaning, I must go to their Web site to select from a library of DVDs, which are then delivered to me via first-class mail. I chose an unlimited use plan. I can rent one DVD at a time, plus stream movie and TV episode videos (17,000+) online -- as often as I want. When I’m signed-in to my Netflix account, my new content selections are placed into either the DVD or “Instant” play Queue. TV Viewers Morph into Programmers My Queue is the list of video content that I want to see, in the order I want to receive them. I may add, delete or change the order of content in my Queue at any time. I can also watch I...