Blog articles from 07/2010

The obvious answer is premium video, including movies and TV shows. Parks Associates' Digital Media Evolution II survey indicates that the basics (customized weather and traffic widgets) along with music and games will also be of interest. In fact, it is interesting to see the growth of consumer interest in gaming applications at the set-top box or connected TV. This space is starting to heat up, and companies such as Accedo Broadband and OnLive could be significant players....

Parks Associates reports a modest increase in awareness of 3DTV among U.S. broadband households in 2010, but the mainstream viability of 3D depends on availability of premium video content and not one-off events such as the World Cup. The firm’s latest report Trends in 3DTV finds 13% of households are familiar with 3DTV, an increase from 10% from the previous quarter. In some cases, 48% of these households are willing to pay for 3D content, provided they have access to the right...

Bill Ablondi , Director of Home Systems Research, Parks Associates is moderating the panel, " Providing Demand-Based Ancillary Services via the Smart Grid " at the Smart Grid V-Summit on July 29 at 4 PM. The Summer 2010 V-Summit will zero in on the perspectives of leading utilities, technology companies, systems integrators, and regulators in making the smart grid a reality. The emphasis is on real-world pilots, rollouts, and experiences from the field, with...

After buying Bewan Systems SA in March , Pace is now strengthening its telco residential gateway portfolio by buying 2Wire Inc. for an estimated $475 million . This will provide Pace, with entry into the U.S. market, as 2Wire has supported AT&T's triple-play and IPTV deployments for ten years. This acquisition is a clear example of the importance of home networking and managed services to today's service provider community.  

There is value in Google's solution (the ability to initiate searches across all kinds of content, including a pay-TV provider's channel lineup), but there are drawbacks. First, will users want to use a keyboard in their TV search experience? (Logitech says that the Harmony software can be downloaded as an app to Android smartphones, so that would be another option.) Second, without the blessing of the pay-TV providers (DISH Network is the only service provider to work with Google...

The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) consortium has announced its UltraViolet consumer brand. The goal of UltraViolet is to allow consumers to watch their digital entertainment across multiple platforms, such as connected TVs, PCs, game consoles, smartphones and tablet PCs, in an easy, consistent way. Since all UltraViolet offerings will work together, consumers will be able to select which products and devices they prefer from a spectrum of familiar companies – ranging...

I had announcements from Alcatel-Lucent and Sigma Designs this week regarding a Mediaroom-enabled solution aimed at smaller operators. The solution is aimed at supporting supporting networks of between 1,000 and 100,000 set-top-boxes. The solution not only provides high-quality television programming, but also enables new consumer media services through the blending and personalization of web and broadcasting content. This new offer, which uses a single equipment rack, supports more...

Conexant has an interesting announcement for a new reference design for Bluetooth-enabled "connected frames" for mobile phones. These products feature eight-inch LCD touch-screens and use Bluetooth technology to connect to a user's mobile phone. Applications supported include wireless hands-free speakerphone, phone book synchronizing, and mobile phone and headset pairing. The frames can also be used to wirelessly stream multimedia audio content from cell phones, and view and...