Blog articles from 02/2011

Parks Associates supported "2011 IP&TV World Forum" has been renamed this year to highlight and encompass the increasing number of cable companies adopting IP technology, focusing on hybrid, IP and Connected TV. The event will take place March 22-24 at London’s Olympia and will feature a comprehensive program of more than 200 visionary speakers, including over 140 service providers from telcos, cablecos, broadcasters and content providers. More than 6,000 attendees and...

Multimedia content, such as Netflix streaming services, and popular games with online components, such as Call of Duty and Madden NFL, are driving households to connect their game consoles and creating a new foundation for future growth in online video. Parks Associates' new report Connected Game Console Update finds 64% of U.S. broadband households with an Internet-connectable game console have it hooked to the Internet, a major increase from 2007, when only 25% had their next-gen...

Best Buy has launched a multi-media campaign to promote its new Buy Back Program and a special week-long offer to “future proof” technology purchases for free. Beginning with a Super Bowl commercial featuring star appearances from Justin Bieber, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, the campaign encourages customers to take advantage of a special offer to receive the Buy Back Program at no cost when purchasing gear at Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile through Saturday, Feb. 12. Best Buy...

Join Parks Associates and the Z-Wave Alliance on Thursday, February 17th at 2 pm CENTRAL for the webcast, Enabling the Home Area Network: Solutions that work for Consumers and Utilities, and learn about the market outlook for residential energy management (REM) products and services. Parks Associates research finds: -- By 2015, less than 5% of U.S. households will have a utility-based home area network (HAN). -- By 2022, that number will grow to almost 40%. Presenters...

We live in an “always on” world where we expect our Smartphones to provide us with media content, email, social media, and any other information on demand. It is time we realize that we can now expect the same functionality that we get on that 4.3” screen of our Smartphone from the 46” HDTV in our living room, the laptop or all-in-one PC in the kitchen, and even from the tablet we use sitting out on the patio enjoying nature. The technology is here! What are you waiting for?...

The Google TV team published a couple of new design templates, as well as a still-in-beta Web UI library that Web designers can use to optimize their sites for Google TV. Blockage of such "less-than-ideal" sites could actually have been what caused Google TV to have such a disappointing launch in the first place. Within the first month of the service's availability on the Logitech Revue set top box, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and Viacom all made their websites unavailable...

Among global nations, Canada is one of the most restrictive in terms of broadband usage caps. Recently, some major Canadian ISPs lowered their monthly caps to 25 Gb (a reduction of 90% or more for some providers), causing a stir among Canadian consumers. Since nothing gets the attention of political folks quite like angry voters, Canada's Prime Minister and Industry Minister have joined the fray, stating that Canada's regulatory agency (the CRTC) needed to rethink their approach....

Grab an early lead in this market by determining consumer interest and price points for new IP-based features and applications.  This consumer study measures and analyzes interest in IP home services and features: -- Home monitoring and access control services -- Energy management and monitoring -- Digital health services -- Home controls Sign up today for this project : -- Concept testing for a variety of IP services -- Inhibitors and catalysts for...