IPTV needs whole-home networking solution
May 23, 2008
IPTV faces an uphill struggle to penetrate the consumer market if it remains a stand-alone pay-TV service, according to Gartner.
In an industry dominated by incumbent cable and satellite operators, as well as traditional terrestrial free-to-air network broadcasters, Gartner says that IPTV operators need to entice consumers with a range of bundled services, including IP-based home networking, offering a one-stop, whole-home solution.
“Although today's PC-based home networks are able to deliver high-quality video and audio around the home, most consumer electronic products, such as TVs, digital set-top boxes (STBs), and DVD players, remain stubbornly isolated in their ability to communicate with other equipment over a wide area,” says Paul O'Donovan, principal research analyst at Gartner. “As the Internet increasingly becomes a source for video consumption by a wider family audience, there is a need to address this issue and to expand home-networking options.”