Can anybody get their hands on this report?
I would ask Santa but I've been a bad boy too this year!
Dataquest Reports On Set-Top Box Chip Market
Source: Newsbytes
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1996 DEC 4 (NB) via Individual
Inc. -- By Richard Bowers. Dataquest, the technology research
company, is offering a $1,295 report outlining the competition and
opportunities for the semiconductor industry in digital set-top boxes.
It forecasts growth for set-top box production, a $4.4 billion market
by 2001, and the semiconductors that would be needed to meet the
demand of such growth.
Included is a short analysis of changes in set-top box architectures
and ways in which semiconductor manufacturers might be able to
tailor their products and strategies to address those trends.
The pay TV receiver, also known as a set-top box (STB), is making
the transformation from analog to digital, and Dataquest reports the
semiconductor market will benefit with semiconductor sales into the
digital STB market reaching $4.4 billion by 2001, up from $575
million in 1995.
Jonathan Cassell, the Dataquest industry analyst who wrote the
report, told Newsbytes, "We have not tried to make any analysis in
this report beyond 2001. In this time frame, we believe that direct
broadcast satellite (DBS) systems will drive most of the
semiconductor sales into the digital STB market. DBS will be
closely followed by cable STB, and trailing both of these will be the
upstart microwave system MMDS."
With MMDS (multi-zone multi-channel distribution system), a
wireless microwave beam is sent from transmission towers to small
antennas on the rooftops of houses. From the antenna the signal is
delivered through coaxial cable to the TV set, where it is decoded by
a STB. Microwave signals are more powerful than satellite, but need
clear line of sight to the home. They are not good in hilly terrain or where large buildings block transmission.
"With the proliferation of new digital television systems, such as
DirectTV, PrimeStar, and EchoStar, consumers now have a choice
of which service to subscribe to, which provides an alternative to the monopolistic delivery model of analog cable," said Cassell.
According to the report, digital STB makers will be seeking chipsets
that integrate most functions into just one, two or three chips. Cassell said for this to happen, semiconductor vendors will have to have all STB functions in their portfolio.
"Semiconductor makers wanting to be players in this market in the
long term should ensure that they have all the pieces of the STB
puzzle through internal development, partnerships, licensing, and
acquisition," said Cassell.
Meanwhile, Dataquest's report reaches another milestone. By our
calculations Dataquest's new 15-page report, "Set-Top Box
Semiconductor Opportunity," is being sold for $1,295 which has
surpassed the Gold standard for pricey reports (Gold selling for
$370 per ounce, while we calculate the Dataquest report is being
offered at $431 per ounce).
(19961204/Reported By Newsbytes News Network:
newsbytes.com)
[12-04-96 at 15:00 EST, Copyright 1996, Newsbytes News
Network.] |
