Digital Trends

As smart home technology gets smarter, so should the way in which these innovative devices connect to the internet. Enter the San Mateo-based company Cirrent and its newly minted automatic connection service for smart Wi-Fi products. Designed to work with everything from smart televisions to thermostats, Cirrent’s new offering instantly allows these connected devices to securely connect to the internet immediately after being unpackaged and installed. No more fumbling with passw ...read more

For CNN, it makes sense to bring the platform to Roku. A recent survey by Parks Associates found that the company’s devices are the most common non-gaming streaming media players. CNNgo is also currently available to Apple TV users, and has been since launching on the device in March.
CNNgo is available now under “News & Weather” in Roku’s channel store.

From the article "What's going on in the world? You can find out using CNNgo on Roku" by Stephanie Topacio Long.

According to details of a new study developed by market research firm Parks Associates, the Apple TV is continuing to struggle in the living room. Now in fourth place behind Roku, Google and Amazon, Apple’s inability to attract new consumers is possibly due to the slow roll out of hardware revisions and the speed which competitors release faster, more feature-laden platforms for streaming media around the home.

Specifically, Roku devices are now being purchased by more than ...read more

But perhaps the bigger issue at play here is one of expectation: People don’t expect to worry about the security of their TVs. They know to protect themselves when using devices like phones, tablets, and laptops, but passive devices like TVs don’t raise the same guard.

“A TV is for entertainment, so it shouldn’t become a device you have to manage by learning how to keep it secure and how to keep your personal content personal,” says Barbara Kraus, director of research at Par ...read more

The new app partnerships may help Google fight the usage decline of its 16 month old Chromecast device. Research firm Parks Associates released a study in July which revealed the percentage of Chromecast owners using the device monthly to view online video decreased from 78% to 73%, with only 22 percent claiming the Chromecast is the most used connected device in the home.

But since that time, Chromecast started being sold in Mexico, as well as adding support for several new ...read more

Are you very familiar with smart-home services and providers? You’re pretty much alone. Nearly two-thirds of broadband users are unfamiliar with them, according to a white paper from Consumer Electronics Association and Parks Associates. The market research companies conducted an online survey with 10,000 broadband heads of household earlier in 2014. Only 10 percent of respondents considered themselves “very familiar” with smart home products and services, and the number dipped ...read more

Computer-based video consumption has led the online video pack for the last decade. But recent research from Parks Associates helps support the assertion that the PC is on the way out when it comes to online video consumption. Detailed in a blog by the company, Director of Research, Brett Sappington, said that the amount of all video consumed on computers has dropped from over eight hours per week in 2013, to 6.2 hours per week currently. In fact, the PC was the only platform to ...read more

Amazon appears to be making all the right moves. While Netflix continues to dominate the streaming video market – between 50 and 60 percent of U.S. broadband households are subscribers, Amazon Prime Instant video is rising fast, reaching about 20 percent of households, according to a recent study by Parks Associates. The numbers reflect huge strides for the company over the last few years, far outpacing Netflix in terms of year-over-year growth in the U.S.

Polling 10,000 U.S ...read more