Wednesday, May 6, 2015

The Future of STBs - Challenges and prospects in an IP world

A set-top box is an appliance that enables an analogue television set to act as a user interface to the Internet. It enables a television set to receive and decode digital television (DTV) broadcasts. The set-top box (STB) is the main point of entry into the digital home for television services, which include DTH, cable TV, and IPTV. The STBs have been around for a decade and with their arrival, the way content is consumed has undergone tremendous transformation resulting in an increased demand of digital TV services. With the technical advances in the software and hardware domain, smart devices such as tablets and smartphones are becoming ubiquitous. Consumers demand new and innovative options from vendors to view videos which are entirely changing the landscape of global STBs market in homes.


There is substantial growth of IP offerings that has led the providers to offer over-the-top (OTT) content which is redefining the experience of consumers in the arena of STB market. Owing to the expansion of broadband services, such as direct-to-home (DTH) and internet protocol TV (IPTV) and OTT services with live programming, the range of services provided by global providers is also expanding. This development leads to the integration of IP based environment in the global STB market, resulting in enhanced functionality of STBs to global consumers.

Big Market Research has recently added a report titled “The Future of STBs - Challenges and prospects in an IP world”. The report discusses in detail the various factors that impacts the current and future market trends of the global STBs market. The report mentions that the scenario of the global STBs market for homes would undergo immense change by the year 2025. In addition, the report also documents the impact the internet based services would make on the global STB market. The report also lays down the market dynamics and profiles of global competitors and effective business models of the STBs market.