Business 2.0

It's beginning to look a lot like a high-definition Christmas, and the battle lines are already forming between the Blu-ray and HD DVD camps. The stakes are getting clearer, too: Parks Associates today released a report estimating that, counting both set-top boxes and game consoles, more than 32 million Blu-ray and HD DVD players will be sold in United States by 2011, up from the 4.9 million units estimated to be sold this year.

From the article "Research: 32 million high-def p ...read more

"Intel's decision [to scale back support for HomeRF] hurts [HomeRF] a great deal, it has done a lot of damage." says Kurt Scherf, vice president of research for Parks Associates, a market research firm.  "Intel was, in many respects, carrying a large share of the load, and to have them leave the field is very harmful [to HomeRF]."

From the article "HomeRF on the ropes," by Kevin McLaughlin.

Equipment and services providing such connectivity at a reasonable cost have begun to emerge from a variety of sources.  As a result, sales of devices used in home automation systems will increase from $1.3 billion this year to $2.5 billion in 2005, with Internet connectivity an important factor driving that growth, according to Kurt Scherf, vice president of research at Parks Associates, a research firm in Dallas.

....When a standard does emerge, the next key step will be the ...read more

"Everybody talks about the multi-PC household as the target [for home networks], but most consumers know little about [home networking]," says Kurt Scherf, vice president of research for Parks Associates, a market research firm.

Home networks aren't just for connecting PCs under one roof. The technology can also be used for entertainment systems, voice communications, and for controlling household functions such as lighting, ventilation, and security systems. But most consum ...read more