Research Study Finds Critical Key Features for IPTV Set Top Boxes

TV broadcasters that select or authorize set top boxes for their systems can benefit from having some key features. J’Amy Stewart and Teresa Mastrangelo from Infonetics explained to me at the IPTV World show that good research for TV systems and products can make a bid difference in the success and performance of their business. Infonetics performs significant research in key TV technology, business, and device areas including hybrid services industry, electronic program guide – EPG marketplace, and content delivery network – CDN trends. A recent Infonetics study identified critical features that carriers need in their set top boxes. The study found that strong industry competition had led to significant changes to STBs. Critical features include HDMI inputs for 1080p, integrated hard drives for PVR support, USB inputs for external memory, the use of SoC in system design, and environmentally friendly features. Ethernet is the preferred connection type for interconnecting to other devices in the home. A surprising result was that video conferencing is was not a critical feature.