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Next-generation TV remotes and interfaces

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:55:28 +0000

The Internet is expanding the amount of available content at almost incomprehensible rates, but the difficulty of navigating through all of that content has quickly soured the TV-viewing experience. To understand why the problem of easy access to content is so difficult to solve, it is essential to first consider the major players involved in the system and where their interests lie. This research note examines the current state of the market, which companies matter now, and which matter for the future.

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Managing infinite choice: the new era of TV user interfaces

Alfred Poor — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 07:03:28 +0000

In today’s new universe of video content, consumers need more than a five-button remote to effectively navigate the thousands of choices available. Fortunately, the same technology that has made it possible to create so many offerings can also provide the intelligence to help us find what we want to watch. Though it’s not clear which of the new approaches will win, services from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Roku and others are leading the way towards enormous rewards when it comes to the new era of TV interfaces. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Rovi, Technicolor and Hulu. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial.

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SkypeKit: Skype’s Platform for CE-Based Communication

Alfred Poor — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:00:38 +0000

Skype recently announced the new SkypeKit software developer’s kit (SDK), a move that could make it possible for the company’s services to be available on a very broad range of devices, from automotive ones to personal electronics. With this announcement, Skype looks to copy Netflix’s successful approach of enabling wide integration of its associated services by providing hardware partners with integration tools. In essence, Skype has created a platform for pushing its dominant voice and video over IP communication suite into a new billion device market. The company already holds a commanding lead for computer-based voice and video communications, and the bottom line is that SkypeKit may strengthen the company’s hold on this market and make it even more difficult for competitors to find a toehold.

Report: The Consumer Video Chat Market, 2010-2015

Alfred Poor — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 07:01:01 +0000

At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January, the home electronics industry was all abuzz about 3DTV. While this was certainly an important topic, most of the press and analysts in attendance missed the much bigger story about television: video chat. As two-way, real-time video comes to a broad range of devices from TVs to mobile phones, video chat will account for 11 billion calls worldwide by 2015. This report is a comprehensive analysis of the video communications and chat market across the TV, mobile and computer markets. It examines key market players, such as Skype, Google, Cisco, Apple and others, and includes comprehensive subscriber, usage and revenue forecasts through 2015.