coverstory_cover story 14/08/2015 09:24 Page 2
amount of content will grow, but the end user
will prefer a convenient and lean back user
experience on the big screen, and this will be
an important role of the STB. In addition, as
the services are becoming more advanced
with network PVR and new cloud services
available, the STB will become even more
advanced.
EKT: At the end of the day, the consumer
wants to experience the content on a display.
The cloud-based future will mean a lot for
content delivery and the availability of
personalised content that is viewed when the
user wants. In the user’s premises the TV will
remain the main display simply due to its size
and a STB of some sort will remain the key
component to delivering the user experience
as the Operators wants it to be.
Entone: As more and more content shifts to
the cloud, we expect that STBs and home
gateways will shift roles from content
rendering to ensuring a consistent consumer
experience, and maintaining a required level
of service quality throughout the home.
Freesat: There is a battle brewing in the
connected home. The outcome being the
home ecosystems will be defined by either
service providers or the big Silicon Valley tech
firms, or it being a truly open environment.
Whoever wins, the result will be a home full of
devices that all have a job to do, but when
connected together, create a truly connected
home experience. STBs, routers and smart
TV’s will continue to play their specific roles,
but how they connect will be key to delivering
a quality service to the viewer.
Irdeto: As the media industry moves further
towards embracing cloud-based
infrastructures, it is clear to see that the role
of STBs, Home Gateways and Smart TVs are
continually evolving. Cloud-based frameworks
serve to provide the consumer easy access to
premium content and more services on
connected devices as well as reducing set-top
box investment for operators to better
compete with pure OTT providers. While we
still expect set-top boxes or home gateways to
play an important role in coming years, we
see operators also interested in moving away
from set-top boxes in broadcast environments
to gain cost and usability advantages.
NAGRA: Over the last 15 years, the STB/CPE
industry has been declared ‘dead’ or ‘dying’
more often than not yet it has remained fairly
robust. While there will be change as some
services are moved to the cloud, not all payTV service operators are all built equal or can
offer the same line-up of services. For
example, there are still analogue deployments
in Europe, so it will be a very long time before
we see any impact due to the deployment of
the notorious thin-client. In the very
16 EUROMEDIA
fragmented Digital TV world, we will still
require a termination device in the home be it
a STB, gateway, or perhaps as some people
believe the Smart TV (with no need for a
STB).
Netgem: Our view has always been and
remains that the STB is a ‘mean to an end’
and the end-goal is to provide the relevant
content with the best possible experience.
When it comes to STBs today, it is very clear
that the situation depends on the market
conditions in terms of Network capabilities
and Content rights environment. Regardless
of which STB (light or sophisticated), our view
is that the user experience has will
increasingly depend on the quality of the
Cloud-based solution to support multi-screen
capabilities – such as what we are offering
with EE TV in the UK.
Red Bee Media: As consumer bandwidth to
the home increases, the advantages of
leveraging the cloud for PVR and related
functions that have historically lived within
the STB becomes very compelling - both for
the consumer and the pay-TV operator. The
dramatic rise in multi–screen viewing in
recent years, combined with time shifting
behaviour, also makes the centralisation of
recordings and user preferences more
compelling. The STB and smart TV will
increasingly run thin client, web centric,
software stacks and the hardware will focus
on high quality/performance rendering of
media and the UI. The home gateway’s
optimal role in a media context is that of the
intelligent content router rather than content
hub.
Roku: We believe that streaming players, settop boxes and Smart TVs play a major role
today and in the future. When these devices
are connected, rich with content and easy to
use they can help consumers to get a