The worldwide market for digital cable set-top boxes (STBs) is bouncing back in 2004, fueled by demand in North America for STBs with PVR (personal video recorder) and HD (high-definition) features, according to market research firm In-Stat/MDR. Global shipments will reach 10.87 million units this year, an 11 percent increase over 2003, the market research firm says.

In-Stat/MDR expects demand for digital cable STBs to hold steady in the near- to mid-term. “Rising demand for digital cable set top boxes in a few select Asian and European countries makes up for moderating demand in the all-important North American market, especially during the 2006 – 2008 time period,” said Mike Paxton, a Senior Analyst with In-Stat/MDR.

Two companies dominate the digital cable STB market: Motorola remains the leading manufacturer, with a narrowing lead over rival Scientific-Atlanta. The two accounted for 85 percent of global shipments in the first half of 2004.

Additional findings include:

• One in five shipments this year has been PVR-enabled. Products like Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer 8000 (which is based on PowerTV OS, according to SA Atlantic) have propelled PVR-enabled shipments to record levels in 2004.
• HD-enabled cable STBs are also in high-demand, with manufacturers on track to ship over 2 million HD units this year, up from 750,000 HD boxes in 2003.
• The world's largest cable market, China, which has 100 million cable TV subscribers, is finally beginning to show signs of life. During the first half of 2004, manufacturers shipped an estimated 235,000 digital cable set top boxes to cable TV operators throughout the country.

Additional market data are available in In-Stat/MDR's $2,995 report, “PVR and HD Boxes Boost the Cable Set Top Box Market,” along with discussion of how the “Plug-and-Play” initiative is impacting the market, the set top box market in China, and the industry's drive to create a $50 digital cable set top box.

 
This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.