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Jeff Claudino
Director of Sales, Insider Research Services
619-229-9940
or via email at:
claudino@lightreading.com |
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| Cable Opens Up: How Tru2way Will Change the Set-Top Market |
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The long-awaited and federally mandated opening of the U.S. cable set-top box (STB) market is finally getting underway in earnest. The cable industry is promoting OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) technical standards, now branded as the "tru2way" platform, that are encouraging more STB and consumer-electronics manufacturers to sell STBs to cable companies and market interactive cable-ready HDTVs and other devices to consumers at retail.
With tru2way two-way technology gaining acceptance and separable security systems now federally required, the traditionally staid cable STB business is entering a new era of competition. Global STB makers are seeking to challenge the long-held U.S.-market dominance of Motorola and Cisco (formerly Scientific-Atlanta), whose lock on the market has earned them the moniker "the cable duopoly."
The tru2way hardware market's growth determines the prospects for tru2way software deployment that will establish a broad, standardized, open platform for interactive applications on TV. Tru2way is another weapon STB makers will use to compete against Motorola and Cisco, although the two market leaders will maintain their dominance in the near term. While more tru2way boxes will enter the cable leased-STB market, the retail market for tru2way HDTVs and other devices is evolving much more slowly.
Cable STB newcomers from the consumer electronics industry include Panasonic, which partners with Comcast for tru2way STBs, retail HDTVs, and a portable DVR player; and Samsung, which is providing tru2way STBs for Time Warner Cable and Advance/Newhouse (Bright House Networks) and is likely to offer retail products.
Among traditional STB makers, Pace Micro Technology has been making headway against the duopoly, while Advanced Digital Broadcast and Thomson are using tru2way to step up their U.S. activity. Plans by two other authorized OpenCable players, LG Electronics and Digeo, have been slipping lately, but both are still seeking paths into the cable market. From Japan, Funai Electronics says it will offer a tru2way STB to the cable industry; and from China, contract manufacturers are said to be eyeing the U.S. market.
Other major companies could greatly influence the development of tru2way devices. Microsoft is exploring tru2way to enable two-way cable services on Windows Media Center PCs. Intel signed an agreement last year to provide microprocessors for the tru2way market. And TiVo is involved in a relationship with cable operators that could help third-party tru2way service providers to coexist on cable.
While Panasonic and Samsung are interested in the tru2way retail market, other TV brands have yet to jump on the bandwagon. In 2006, Hitachi, JVC, Pioneer, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba joined a Consumer Electronics Association petition to the FCC seeking implementation of a competing bidirectional device plan called DCR+. Enthusiasm for DCR+ has waned among some original supporters, but many consumer electronics manufacturers remain wary of tru2way costs and uncertain consumer demand.
Cable MSOs must deploy the tru2way platform in order for more device makers and applications developers to step up. Comcast will deploy its first tru2way STBs later this year, and sources say it is preparing up to 12 markets to support tru2way HDTVs, to be followed by its portable DVR next year. Time Warner Cable has deployed more than 750,000 tru2way STBs and will cross the 1 million mark by midyear, since all its new STBs have OCAP inside. We forecast that about 2 million tru2way devices will be in the field by the end of 2008. Beyond that, tru2way's success is contingent on support from other MSOs, manufacturers, and dozens of other involved parties.
This report examines the emerging tru2way market, evaluating both established providers and new competitors, along with the prospects for interactive cable-ready retail devices. It identifies the key drivers affecting cable MSO deployments of next-gen STBs, analyzes the most likely effects tru2way will have on the cable STB business in North America, and assesses the role that various consumer electronics devices, including digital video recorders, will have on technology deployments by cable MSOs. The report also profiles and analyzes the market and technology strategies of ten leading STB manufacturers, as well as three major technology influencers.
Cable Opens Up: How Tru2way Will Change the Set-Top Market provides critical insight and analysis for a range of industry participants, including:
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Cable operators needing a deeper understanding of emerging opportunities and likely challenges presented by tru2way's rollout |
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Consumer electronics manufacturers that need to assess the full potential market for tru2way devices |
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Investors needing a better understanding of the market opportunity and cost of tru2way rollouts, and the long-term impact of those rollouts on the overall cable STB market |
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| Sample research data from the report is shown in the excerpts below: |
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 Table of Contents (cii0508_toc.pdf) |
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| The following excerpt presents profiles of established STB manufacturers, CHILA licensees, and other known participants in the U.S. tru2way device market. |
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| [click on the image above for the full excerpt] |
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 Companies profiled in this report include: Advanced Digital Broadcast Inc., a subsidiary of Advanced Digital Broadcast Holdings SA (SWX: ADBN); Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO); Digeo Inc.; Funai Electric Co. Ltd. (OTC: FUAIY); Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC); LG Electronics Inc. (KSE: 66570); Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT); Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT); Pace Micro Technology plc; Panasonic Electronic Devices Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (NYSE: MC); Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC); Thomson Corp. (NYSE: TMS); and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO). |
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| Total pages: 20 |
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