Los Angeles Times

The Blockbuster OnDemand service will be integrated into new Blu-ray players, home theater systems and high-definition televisions sold in the fall, and some 2009 models can be updated to be compatible. People with the right hardware will be able to access both Netflix and Blockbuster services. Not everyone is convinced that consumers are clamoring for yet another way to rent movies in their homes.

"These products become like the kids' Christmas toys. They're fun for a coupl ...read more

In another bit o' news about online TV, a report released today by Parks Associates estimates that 2.5 million Americans and Canadians would be willing to pay up to $100 extra for a TV if it could connect to the Internet. What they want most, according to Parks' research director John Barrett, is the ability to watch TV shows and movies on demand. Ahh, if only set manufacturers would provide TVs that could connect to any online VOD service, rather than just a hand-picked few.... ...read more

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas -- known in years past for its outsized booths, wall-to-wall crowds and lobster dinners -- is going to be a lot tamer next month.

Other companies will have similarly somber approaches at CES, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst at Parks Associates, a technology consulting firm in Dallas.

"CES will be much more strategic for companies," Scherf said. "Employees are being sent with very specific goals. The idea of attending just to ...read more

As a result, technology that once took a decade or more to penetrate the mass market now takes far less time, said Kurt Scherf, principal analyst of Parks Associates in Dallas.

The growth of wireless networking equipment was driven by consumers, who adopted the technology for its convenience even as companies that worried about the expense and security issues were slower to use it, Scherf said.

"It used to be that technology trickled down from the corporation to the cons ...read more

Netflix Inc. moved one step closer to delivering on the promise its name implies: providing movies via the Internet.

The Starz agreement helps to narrow that gap. Netflix subscribers who have unlimited plans, which start at $8.99 a month, gain access to the 2,500 movies and other video offerings from Starz as part of the package.

"This solves a huge problem for Netflix, because so much of the criticism about the instant-watch feature is it's just cruddy content," said Ku ...read more

""In the last stages of Adelphia's existence, they were bleeding money," said analyst Kurt Scherf at Parks Associates, a consulting and research firm. "They were putting very little into infrastructure upgrades.""

From the article, "Area HDTV owners with cable service have limited choices" by Alana Semuels

Some analysts caution against reading too much into the NPD figures, pointing out that the first quarter usually is not a crucial selling period for consumer electronics.

"It's too early to tell," said Kurt Scherf, an analyst with technology research firm Parks Associates. "I expect that it will be third and fourth quarter during the holiday season when [there is] aggressive promotion and bundling of players with HDTVs that those numbers will come up."

From the article, ...read more

"They've got to get a win in the digital, and I'd say on the electronic delivery side of the business," said Kurt Scherf, an analyst with Parks Associates who studies technology in the home. "That's where the future is. They've got to establish a toehold in that space."

"Nonetheless, market researcher Parks Associates projects that Internet video will grow more lucrative, reaping about $6.4 billion in revenue by 2010 from advertising, as well as paid downloads or rentals."