STBs and IPTV is in a state of flux
IPTV a ‘no go’ in India as DTH steals the show
By Jamie Beach July 12th, 2013
India’s IPTV subscriber base will remain negligible over the next five years due to unfavourable government norms and regulations, while over-the-top (OTT) video services should see “extreme growth”, according to US firm Multimedia Research Group.
http://www.iptv-news.com/2013/07/iptv-a-no-go...-the-show/
Amino profits from ‘win back’ campaign
By Jamie Beach July 15th, 2013
UK set-top box vendor Amino Technologies has announced a strong increase in profits for the first half of this year thanks to focused “win back” campaigns designed to secure growth in North America.
Operating profits for the first six months of 2013 reached GB£ 2.6mn (US$ 4mn), up from GB£ 0.2mn one year earlier.
Revenues for the period remained stable at GB£ 20.1mn, and the net cash balance rose 32% to GB£ 18.2mn, thanks to continued margin focus and tight cost control.
Amino’s successful “win back” pitches in North America include Minnesota-based telco HickoryTech.
http://www.iptv-news.com/2013/07/amino-profit...campaigns/
HickoryTech picks Amino STBs
By Jamie Beach July 17th, 2013
US telco HickoryTelco has selected IPTV set-top boxes from UK firm Amino Technologies to deliver video services across the upper Midwest.
Amino will provide its A140 HD set-top boxes to HickoryTech, which operates a 4,100 mile fibre-based network across five states, including Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
HickoryTech’s senior manager of network engineering Mark Sharpless said: “HickoryTech’s mission is to be the best choice for progressive communications services that enrich how our customers work and live. Amino has a very good reputation for quality and reliable technology – a key factor in helping us deliver entertainment services cost-effectively.”
Amino yesterday announced a strong increase in profits for the first half of this year thanks to focused “win back” campaigns designed to secure growth in North America.
http://www.iptv-news.com/2013/07/hickorytech-...mino-stbs/
........everything has a time and place.............
Global STB market to break records this year
By Jamie Beach July 12th, 2013
The set-top box continues to thrive despite the pay-TV industry’s increased focus on delivering video to other connected devices, with market shipments set to hit successive highs over the next three years, according to US research firm IHS.
Global shipments of pay-TV set-top boxes are forecast to rise 8% this year from 250mn in 2012 to 269mn in 2013, then up another 6% to 286mn in 2014 and up a more modest 1% to 290mn in 2015, when the market is expected to peak for the foreseeable future .
Daniel Simmons, senior principal analyst for TV technology at IHS, said: “STBs are facing a mounting challenge to their role at the dominant pay-TV video consumption device because of operators’ growing emphasis on supporting multiscreen devices.
“However, operators are continuing to deploy STBs in order to manage the compatibility between their delivery networks and the consumer electronics devices that consumers are increasingly using to view content now.”
Set-top boxes to be eclipsed by other connected devices
IHS is sticking to its 2012 prediction that STBs’ domination of the pay-TV market is set to come to an end, with multiscreen devices accounting for nearly half of all platforms receiving television services from the largest operators by 2015.
However, this doesn’t mean that STBs will stop being used – or even that their shipments will stop rising in the near term. In fact, IHS expects pay-TV operators to continue to deploy STBs and utilise them as a central platform for video services.
As a result of continuing deployments and the gradual migration to HD, global revenues from STB shipments are expected to reach US$ 22.2bn this year, making it the most valuable year in the history of the market.
Global STB shipments to decline from 2016
After hitting a record high in 2015, global STB shipments are expected to start to decline, decreasing by 5% in 2016 and by another 2% in 2017. “The global transition from analogue to digital TV will be almost complete by 2016, leading to a contraction in the overall number of STBs shipped,” adds Simmons.
“As this deadline approaches, the best-positioned vendors will be those that have developed the most technologically advanced STBs that will allow them to drive value in the developed markets, as well as those that can extract maximum margin from the emerging markets.”
http://www.iptv-news.com/2013/07/global-stb-m...this-year/
........TV Everywhere continues to emerge and evolve......IPTV........
Content rights still hindering TV Everywhere
By Jamie Beach June 28th, 2013
TV Everywhere services continue to rocket in popularity with US households, with managed IPTV operators leading in terms of adoption, but limited availability of content remains the biggest brake on the market, according to US firm ABI Research.
Nearly one-third of IPTV households in the US are expected to access multiscreen or TV Everywhere services by the end of 2013 – of which the vast majority already use advanced interactive features like remote programming a DVR via a mobile app.
Cable is close behind due to its early lead, but the growth rate for these services is slower because of the greater diversity of cable households and services (not all service providers offer TVE), according to the report. Satellite operators are further behind, due to slower starts and lack of in-house broadband services.
Michael Inouye, senior analyst at ABI Research, said: “The market is still developing with many of the early growing pains, like authentication, finally starting to take a back seat to the content. In many respects the technology is in place to increasingly offer wider reaching TVE services. Securing the rights to broader content distribution is the primary remaining hurdle, but once standard metrics are developed the content floodgates are expected to open wider.”
The study adds that consumers also need further education about these TV Everywhere services, and particularly help navigating content availability and fragmented device support. Outside of the computer, Apple’s iPad continues to be the most supported TV Everywhere device in the US market.
http://www.iptv-news.com/2013/06/content-righ...verywhere/
.........Mobile on track to Rock
