Findings from a TDG consumer study has revealed high interest in services that allow consumers to store and stream their personal media files in “the cloud.” Beyond just photos, video, and music, the study tested a number of cloud-based services, including remote access to home DVR functions, home security, social TV apps, and a range of other services.

“Today’s market is at a relatively early stage with very few consumers — less than 10 per cent – presently using cloud media apps,” wrote Michael Greeson, TDG Founding Partner and Director of Research. “However, in testing these services, users clearly recognised the benefit of being able to reach their media from any location or net-connected device, which is encouraging to those ventures developing such services.”

Today’s users tend to skew younger, which means lower income, fewer children living in the home, fewer televisions per home, and higher game console penetration. However, the next wave of adopters is a bit older, which means higher incomes and different needs. Both Users and Intenders, however, demonstrate similar tablet uptake.

“At first glance, one could argue that this market is being driven by the young digirati, which is certainly the case when it comes to remote access to one’s digital music or video,” notes Greeson. “On closer examination, however, those consumers most interested in cloud-based services strongly lean toward the pragmatic. The number one remote app among those interested in a cloud-based media service is remote home security monitoring.”

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