Parks Associates Offers Roadmap for Advanced Set-top Box Features.TV Set-top Box The cable TV box that sits on "top" of the TV "set," although it is often located several feet away in an equipment rack. The set-top box descrambles the premium channels and provides a tuner for the higher cable numbers that very old TVs did not support. to Go Through Three Phases of Role Expansion DALLAS -- Consumer interest in advanced TV features will transform the set-top box into a complete service platform that integrates entertainment, information, communications, and commerce-related applications for digital home consumers, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Set-top Boxes: Analysis and Forecasts, an upcoming report from Parks Associates. According to the report, the worldwide evolution of the set-top box will include three stages. At stage one, TV viewers will demand features and services that enhance their TV-watching experience, such as high-definition capability, TV recording, and enriched TV programming. At stage two, applications that help consumers better access information and easily bridge PC-based digital media into the living room will become popular. At stage three, communications, commerce, and personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. applications and services, such as caller ID A telephone company service that sends the caller's telephone number between the first and second ring of the call. If the calling number is not blocked, the calling number is displayed on the handset or base station of the called party. on TV, recommendations, and TV shopping, will find wider acceptance among consumers, transforming the set-top box into a home service platform. "Service providers and their set-top box partners can follow this roadmap in formulating service offerings and hardware strategies going forward," said Harry Wang (Wang Laboratories, Inc., Lowell, MA) A computer services and network integration company. Wang was one of the major early contributors to the computing industry from its founder's invention that made core memory possible, to leadership in desktop calculators and word processors. , research analyst at Parks Associates. "Very soon the number of applications for the set-top box will increase dramatically, and providers must understand the dynamics of this market in order to offer the services that most appeal to their subscribers." Although the three-tiered interest structure is consistent across the twelve countries surveyed in Parks Associates' Global Digital Living[TM] project, country- and platform-specific differences still exist. For instance, 66% of the French satellite TV subscribers are very or extremely interested in viewing digital photos on the TV, compared with only 20% among the U.S. satellite TV viewers. Fifty-two percent of the Taiwanese digital cable users are very or extremely interested in TV-based commerce applications, versus 12% among the Japanese digital cable subscribers. "Players in the global pay-TV market must take heed Verb 1. take heed - listen and pay attention; "Listen to your father"; "We must hear the expert before we make a decision" listen, hear focus, pore, rivet, center, centre, concentrate - direct one's attention on something; "Please focus on your studies and of these similarities and differences in order to fine-tune the set-top features for complete user satisfaction," Wang said. Set-top Boxes: Analysis and Forecasts is a comprehensive industry report that examines the next generation of set-top box platforms, studying use cases from DVRs to home networking media servers. It analyzes the market for set-top box components and solutions, from silicon to software, as well as the role of industry and open standards Specifications for hardware and software that are developed by a standards organization or a consortium involved in supporting a standard. Available to the public for developing compliant products, open standards imply "open systems;" that an existing component in a system can be replaced . Global Digital Living[TM] (GDL GDL Graduated Driver (s) License GDL Graduated Driver Licensing GDL Gas Diffusion Layer GDL Graduate Diploma in Law (UK) GdL Gruppo di Lavoro (Italian) ) is Parks Associates' premium multinational research program to understand consumer perspectives & ecosystems for key categories of the digital home. In late 2006, Parks Associates will launch Global Digital Living[TM] II, the second series of this landmark consumer study encompassing China, Taiwan, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. This second study expands on the initial survey by tracking and analyzing changes in ownership of products and subscriptions based on the baseline The horizontal line to which the bottoms of lowercase characters (without descenders) are aligned. See typeface. baseline - released version established from the first GDL. The survey will also assess the validity of consumer intention statements made in the first GDL. For additional information on Set-top Boxes: Analysis and Forecasts and Global Digital Living[TM] II, visit http://www.parksassociates.com or contact 972-490-1113 or sales@parksassociates.com. About Parks Associates: Parks Associates is a market research and consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a focused on all product and service segments that are "digital" or provide connectivity within the home. The company's expertise includes home networks, digital entertainment, consumer electronics, broadband broadband Term describing the radiation from a source that produces a broad, continuous spectrum of frequencies (contrasted with a laser, which produces a single frequency or very narrow range of frequencies). and Internet services, and home systems. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, multiclient studies, consumer research, workshops, executive conferences, and custom-tailored client solutions. Parks Associates is also a reliable resource for industry, local, national and international press, providing data, analysis, and insight on all aspects of the "digital living" markets. Parks Associates hosts several fall events and co-hosts CONNECTIONS[TM] and CONNECTIONS[TM] Europe (in partnership with the Consumer Electronics Association) each year. In addition, Parks Associates produces the publication Industry Insights two times per year in conjunction with the CONNECTIONS[TM] Conference series. http://www.parksassociates.com http://www.connectionsconference.com http://www.connectionseurope.com http://www.connectionsindustryinsights.com |
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