Advanced Television

4K STB market worth $3.65bn by 2024

April 29, 2016

The global 4K Set Top Box (STB) market size is expected to reach $3.65 billion (3.2bn) by 2024, according to a report by Grand View Research.

Increasing demand for 4K video content, surging sales of compatible 4K TVs and display devices is expected to positively shape the Ultra High Definition (UHD) set top box market’s growth prospects.

Content providers have begun offering sharper and immersive video content to the consumers on account of significant breakthroughs in the 4K technology. Large scale penetration of smart TVs has proved to be instrumental in escalating the demand for such sophisticated set top boxes. Industry vendors have leveraged on providing set top boxes with enhanced broadcast capabilities on Digital Video Broadcasting-Satellite (DVB-S/DVB-S2) standards.

Technology giants such as Apple Inc. have managed to make their mark in this competitive market. The Apple TV device streams video and OTT content over the internet. The introduction of advanced OTT devices such as the Fire TV set top box devices from Amazon and Chrome cast media streaming devices by Google have opened up major growth avenues in the industry.

Increasing number of UHD content providers is expected to propel industry growth and is presumed to strengthen the industry’s growth prospects. However, high initial and up gradation costs, along with high subscription fees for 4K content is expected to challenge the industry growth over the forecast period.

Further key findings from the report suggest:
· IPTVUHD set top boxes contributed to over 20 per cent of the market revenue in 2014 and are anticipated to witness significant growth over the next eight years. IPTV focuses on network scalability, end-user applications, and infrastructure. With IPTV, content is provided through an internet service provider’s own infrastructure, thereby ensuring UHD content streaming across subscribed devices.

· Hybrid set top box devices are expected to witness a substantial CAGR of over 5 per cent throughout the forecast period. They enable smart TV programming and help viewers to access multiple TV delivery methods including cable, terrestrial, satellite and the Internet. In addition, they include services such as video on demand, time-shifting TV, Internet applications, and gaming applications.

· Projected to grow at a CAGR of over 3 per cent from 2016 to 2024, the North America UHD set top box is expected to witness steady growth over the forecast period. STB hardware vendors are extensively focusing on providing UHD STBs with add-on features such as HDMI 2.0 multimedia interface and USB ports for playing media from external memory devices.

· The Asia Pacific 4K STB market accounted for over 25 per cent of the global revenue share in 2014 and is presumed to witness significant growth over the forecast period. China and India are expected to incorporate considerable opportunities for regional industry growth, due to the strong presence of UHD STB manufacturers. OTT-based streaming devices are becoming the STB of choice for satellite TV providers in emerging markets such as China and India, where open-source content is abundant. The regional STB service providers harness the lucrative growth prospects by offering packages with live streaming video along with their own broadband offerings.

·  Key market participants include Arion Technology, Amazon, Infomir, Roku, SAGEMCOM, and ZTE. Vendors are increasingly offering energy efficient STB devices in order to cut down energy consumption, specifically during their idle mode of operation. Manufacturers and service providers across the globe are increasingly providing advanced UHD STBs equipped with features such as interactive 4K content in order to be competitive in the industry.

Categories: Articles, Equipment, Equipment, Markets, Research, STB, UHD