The Motley Fool

If you exclude smart TVs and traditional video game consoles, the market for dedicated streaming devices in the U.S. is dominated by just four companies: Roku, Google, Amazon, and Apple.

According to a report from Parks Associates released last month, Roku's devices were the most popular in 2014, accounting for about 34% of the units sold last year. Google, with its low-cost Chromecast, came in second. Amazon came in third, and Apple with its aging, third-generation Apple TV ...read more

In the United States, Roku, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) accounted for 86% of the streaming device market last year, according to research firm Parks Associates.

Roku and Google's Chromecast were the market leaders in 2014, respectively accounting for 37% and 19% of streaming device usage in the United States. Apple TV ranked third with 17%, while Amazon came in fourth with 14%. But in terms of overall U.S. shipments, App ...read more

Market researcher Parks Associates has put out a new report on how the streaming media device market fared last year. Importantly, Apple ceded its No. 3 spot to Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), as the e-tailer jumped in last year with Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. At this point, Apple, Amazon, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Roku are completely dominating the streaming media device market, gobbling up a combined 86% of all units in 2014. Roku led the pack with 34% unit market shar ...read more

SiriusXM offers what's basically the equivalent of a cable bundle, but primarily for your car. And home-vs.-car is an important distinction to make here. When we're home sitting on our couch, we don't mind fumbling with different devices and a collection of remote controls to find the entertainment we want on the TV or laptop screen. When we're in the car, there are already enough distractions.

A full 60% of all radio listening is done in the car, according to Parks Associat ...read more

According to a study by research firm Parks Associates, password-sharing is set to cost the streaming industry more than $500 million worldwide this year. The survey found that 6% of American households use a borrowed streaming service, such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Hulu, or HBO. For the most part, Netflix has operated with a hands-off attitude toward password-sharing, and it's easy to see why: it's in the company's interest to make usage as easy as possible as long as subscrip ...read more

Beyond anything else cable subscribers want unlimited DVR storage space. In a survey of U.S. broadband homes, about 51% of those polled told Parks Associates they were "very interested" in that feature.

To offer unlimited DVR service, providers would almost certainly have to turn to the cloud. That's something Comcast has been testing with its X1 DVR with Cloud Technology platform (though the storage capacity is limited). A number of other providers also have cloud DVRs in s ...read more

All things considered, Alarm.com looks like it should attract strong investor interest. Revenue continues to rise, and profitability is also improving.

In its IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company quoted encouraging research from Parks Associates. A survey showed that in 2014, 67% of broadband Internet-enabled homes polled found smart home features "appealing," but less than one in 12 had installed such equipment and services.

That is a big ...read more

To some extent, Apple already competes in this segment, with its aging $69 Apple TV. The device remains among the most popular in its class, but has been overtaken by newcomers, including Google's Chromecast. According to a report from Parks Associates, Apple TV's market share fell to third place last year in the U.S., behind both the Roku and the Chromecast.

Ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, multiple reputable media outlets, including The New York Times, rep ...read more