Survey Sez 07/09/12

A jump in cable and satellite set-top-box shipments in AsiaPac is being driven by cable digitization in India and China as well as China’s rollout of digital satellite boxes to its rural households. “Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe’s growth in set-top box units will outstrip those of the rest of the world in the next 5 years,” notes Sam Rosen, practice director/TV & Video at ABI Research. Operators in these developing markets are looking for very-low-cost STBs…A Frost & Sullivan survey of more than 1,000 North American households found that only 28 percent are interested in smart-home solutions, and they will pay no more than $30/month for them. The supplier market for smart-home apps is “extremely fragmented” and “most players offer only partial solutions,” the group says. As such, more collaboration is needed.