Facing Challenges, Set-Top Box Makers Will Respond with Advanced Features

NEW YORK — As revenue from standard STB (Set-top Box) sales declines along with demand in the period 2008 to 2012, STB vendors will initially rely on firmer markets for DBS (Digital Broadcast Satellite), IPTV (IP Television), and DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) STBs. However, according to a new study from ABI Research, by the end of the decade even those sectors will be under pressure from alternative technologies being introduced to facilitate “the connected home,” and vendors will have to add new features and functions in order to revive flagging shipment numbers.

“The development of two-way digital-cable-ready TVs, residential gateways, media centers, and even video capabilities on gaming systems will put the STB’s status at risk,” says research analyst Paulhwa Lee.

STB manufacturers are responding in several ways. First, they are adding new features – more hard-disk space, DVD players, DVD burners, home-audio solutions, and others – to make the traditional STB more relevant to consumer demands. They are also attempting to improve electronic program guides and to incorporate more Web-based services and video gaming.

STB vendors are also moving more aggressively into the hybrid STB market. Hybrid STBs offer a single solution to a number of possible problems caused by the multiplicity of video sources and distribution platforms.

Lee concludes with a word of counsel for STB vendors: “No one video or television technology will be a ‘killer’ in the next few years. So as this market flattens towards the end of our forecast period in 2012, STB vendors would be well advised to incorporate as many of those technologies as possible into their products.”

ABI Research’s new study, “Global Set-Top Box Markets,” provides shipments, pricing, and market revenue for CATV, DBS, IP, and DTT platforms. It includes market data for cable and IP residential gateways. The research also examines growth drivers in the STB market, including demand for advanced features, changing regulatory requirements, and the market for hybrid platforms.

It forms part of two ABI Research Services, Home Networking, and Multi-Channel Video, which also include other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, Online Databases, ABI Insights, the ABI Vendor Matrix, and analyst inquiry support.