Increasing popularity of web-enabled consumer
electronics (CE) products is a game-changer for the digital
entertainment industry, reports In-Stat . Over-the-top
(OTT) video services are increasingly offering compelling alternatives
to traditional TV viewing. New services, such as Netflix, Amazon,
iTunes and Blockbuster, offer streamed or downloadable TV and movie
content. Online TV programming portals, such as Hulu, TV.com and
YouTube, have expanded into full-length video content. Web-enabled
devices, which are a necessity to access these services, are now
proliferating across device categories that include TVs, Blu-ray
Players, Digital Media Adapters (DMAs), network attached storage and
set top boxes.
“Most web-enabled CE
devices will be sold in developed countries. Our research shows that
within five years nearly all broadband households will own at least one
web-enabled CE media device,” says Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. “The
implications of this across the digital entertainment industry will be
huge.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
- Worldwide
shipments of web-enabled stationary CE devices will grow more than
seven-fold from their 2009 levels to over 230 million by 2013. - There will be over one-half billion web-enabled CE devices in operation worldwide by 2013.
- In 2009, there were five broadband households worldwide for every web-enabled CE device. By 2013, this ratio will be 2:1.
- Many
cable operators worldwide are predicted to introduce BBC iPlayer-like
OTT services for catch-up and on-demand program viewing. - In-Stat’s
consumer survey indicates that over half of U.S. consumers with
network-connected Blu-ray DVD players/recorders use Wi-Fi, while 30%
use Ethernet.
The research, “Global Web-Enabled Consumer Electronics Devices Set to Explode” , covers the worldwide market for web-enabled consumer electronics devices. It includes:
- Examination
of the growth of Internet access functionality to a wide variety of
consumer electronics (CE) device types, including TVs, set-top boxes
(STBs), Blu-ray players, digital media adapters, game consoles, digital
picture frames and more. - In-Stat research on consumer interest in OTT digital entertainment services.
- Forecasts for multiple types of web-enabled stationary CE device shipments through 2013
