Digital terrestrial set top box unit shipments across the globe will approach 45 million units by 2015, according to a research report.
Research firm In-Stat also said the trend is fueled primarily by the analog-to-digital transition as well as upgrades of older boxes to newer HDTV versions, replacement of older boxes with HD and PVR versions, and STBs with PVR capability and a broadband connection.
In-Stat said the year 2010 was a challenging year for the worldwide digital set top box market as total unit shipments decreased by 7%. It is likely that 2011 will also be a challenging year, but there is better news on the horizon.
“Digital set top boxes continue to be key pieces of equipment for pay-TV service providers. For many service providers, the digital set top box functions as their gateway into the home,” said Mike Paxton,In-Stat research director. “In addition to their important position in the digital TV/pay-TV ecosystem, digital set top boxes continue to offer an attractive market opportunity for set top box manufacturers and semiconductor suppliers, alike. In 2010, digital set top box revenues were greater than the combined revenues of video game consoles and Blu-ray players.”
New research by In-Stat also revealed that Europe is expected to account for over 50% of worldwide unit shipments of DTT STBs through 2011.
There are some 30 DTT STB manufacturers with significant market shares.In 2010, revenue from semiconductor components inside digital set top boxes was $4.8 billion.
Latin America remains a relatively immature market for STB products accounting for only 11 million unit shipments last year, although annual unit shipment growth topped 50%.