[b]$IMNG Market Strategy!!![/b]
The Set top box dedicated device markets was at $8.7 billion in 2011 and they were anticipated to reach $15.6 billion by 2018, as next generation gateways and cloud computing are introduced to manage Internet connectivity to HD TV devices in the home.
Worldwide set top box markets are poised to achieve significant growth as the next generation TV Internet systems provide a way to improve bundled channel video services and on demand access to content through a single box. Set top boxes support entertainment, business, educational, and healthcare video services delivery in the home and business. Channels and Internet capability will be accessible from the same handset. Gateways can be used to implement multiple device access in the home or business.
The cloud represents the preferred Internet delivery model so that services from bundled channels and the Internet can be accessed from one single remote IPTV selector.
The magnitude of China Telecom's set top plans - with 3.6 million set tops being ordered in a variety of programs - shows how Chinese companies are likely to dominate the set top industry in the coming years and months. The tender for this round of 2012 devices is just complete and will only take the giant operator through to June 2012, with more to be ordered down the road in 2012, and in almost every case the supplier is Chinese, although it is likely that the US majors will find a route into the IPTV supply chain by supplying either devices or designs to these groups. At this rate the Chinese market will eat up at least 6 million new devices in a single year, catapulting it close to the top of the IPTV leaderboard and giving its suppliers more and more influence, and opportunities to begin bidding overseas. From the perspective of market segment, bidirectional STB, high definition STB and IPTV STB are the development orientation of STB; however, more than 52% of the 170 million CATV users in China have not yet been transformed into digital users. China is set to represent the fastest growing set top box market in the world as one of the main sources of recent set top box (STB) market growth has set a target of moving from terrestrial television to digital cable transmission by 2015. The domestic market in China for set top boxes is extremely large and it is this expected large volume of sets required for this transition to materialise, which is attracting foreign investors into the Chinese set top box market. Furthermore, the 'Extending Coverage to Every Village' Project (a nationwide systematic project in China covering road, electricity, drinking water, telephone network, CATV network, Internet, etc. in rural areas) has enhanced the demand for STB in rural market.
The STB market has been mainly dominated by consumer drive for access to content through an affordable cost effective delivery system on demand.
iMing Set-Top Boxes will target both the massive domestic market of Internet Users and CATV users who have access to the internet. There are two target Business-to-Business applications for this technology, of which one is educational for accessing learning channels via the device offered through the web by specific channel providers for language improvement, skill improvement, and knowledge. In addition, there is a relatively untapped market available in the triple play access to content for Hotel, Tourism, and Hospitality industry patrons who wish to access movies, television, sports and entertainment and internet access. By maximizing customer service to business and educational usages, the Web TV Box transfers a wider more customized range of content from the web to a larger market. Offering streaming live channels, programs, and training through a cloud structure to the single receptor in a business has the opportunity to affordably revolutionize global access to B2B content and or content for businesses to share with their patrons or staff.
