there is a problem . Products sold through retail channels cannot provide this managed service . CPE is the natural link between subscribers and NSPs .” CLOUD . Operators such as Sky and VMO2 have launched smart TV streaming aggregation devices , while others have declared they are ceasing STB sales in favour of an app-based approach . Will operators continue to move away from STBs to cloud or simpler CPE devices ? “ Operators will continue to take different approaches as streaming video delivery evolves ,” suggests Jonny McKee , VP , product management and customer support , Amino . “ And the media will continue predicting the death of the set-top box – some day they will be right ! However while consumers continue to use a wider range of devices , operators that care about the quality of service they offer have recognised that they cannot effectively manage the service if they have no control of the end point . This means that they will offer apps on a range of devices , but the managed CPE is the reference point in the home that allows them to manage the endto-end quality of service and to measure it . This helps support teams differentiate between issues caused by retail devices and genuine problems with the service ,” he notes .
“ Operators appear to be handling things differently , but in general we are seeing continued demand for set-tops ,” reports Phil Cardy , VP product management , home networks , CommScope . “ The streamer / set-top provides the service provider with better control of the user experience and a platform for additional services . With a set-top connected to HDMI-1 the operators provides the primary user interface , with their brand . Otherwise , their app - such as on a connected TV - becomes just one app among many . It can be a challenge to make sure that the app works as intended on every brand of TV and over the lifetime of the device .”
“ We are seeing a trend of operators moving from traditional tuner-based set-tops to simple WiFi connected streamers , devices optimised for streaming video . This move improves the cost benefit of having a set-top . The majority of operators have or recognise the need to aggregate streaming services into their offerings and they see this as an extension of their traditional role in aggregating content to make it easy for the end customer to buy and find the content they want . The CPE device provides a vehicle for a service provider to bundle their linear TV with streamed services to make an all-in-one solution ,” he observes . STB . “ The demise of the STB has been discussed for some time , as OTT devices proliferate ,” admits Simon Forrest , principal technology analyst , Futuresource Consulting . “ However , after a largely pandemic induced dip in 2020 / 2021 , STB shipments are expected to increase steadily moving forwards and will remain vital for most pay-TV operators in maintaining their subscriber bases worldwide , particularly higher spending consumers . This is despite the introduction of initiatives such as Sky Glass , which will co-exist alongside traditional STB solutions ,” he predicts .
“ It is clear that the development of OTT and fragmentation of content sources is removing the need for heavy multi-tuner large , hard drive equipment ,” states Shan Eisenberg , chief commercial officer , Netgem UK and Ireland . “ However no telco in the UK at least has fully gone away from equipment , because the device is still associated in consumers ’ mind to a TV service and more importantly it allows the ISP ( or ISP aggregator in the case of Netgem TV ) to fully control the experience without relying on the hyper fragmentation and broken experience of being ‘ just an app ’.” According to Dan Simmons , research director , media delivery , Omdia , it ’ s totally viable to not have any device at all and just be an app if a service provider ’ s content offering is based on exclusive and / or firstparty content . “ A device of some sort becomes essential when an element of contentaggregation is part of the service ; the device runs the software platform which aggregates the apps . Lots of the processing for this can be performed in the cloud enabling the device to be quite cheap . Set-top boxes and streaming media devices running an app-centric operating system like Android TV or RDK are the most popular ways to achieve this but are dependent on the viewer using the device and not their TV set ’ s smart TV experience ; similar to the age-old ‘ battle for HDMI 1 ’ scenario . Sky ’ s Glass operator-embedded TV platform tries to solve this by making the TV set itself a piece of pay TV CPE ; it ’ s almost the opposite approach to being ‘ app-only ’. COMMODITY . “ Consumers are increasingly market and brand-savvy , but telco customers often see the CPE installed in their homes as little more than a commodity ,” contends Roku ’ s Hollett . “ They are also less tolerant of hardware rental models and the extra cost associated . A move away from fully managed services and expensive CPE is therefore the logical way to reduce cost both for the operator and the customer , especially as streaming devices and Smart TVs now provide extremely high-quality user-experiences . An App-only approach on CPE presents an attractive alternative to Tier 2 and 3 operators as the resources required to manage the service ( and deliver partner OS updates , etc .) are substantially reduced . They also do not have to manage the content relationships , and could even use innovative UIs to take advantage of prominence and promotion packages for their content if they use the right partner .”
“ Embracing Connected TVs by delivering
“ CPE can help operators to differentiate thanks to advanced services .” - Arnaud Bensaid , SoftAtHome
operator services as an app is needed , just as embracing SVoD ( such as Netflix ) was needed to move to super aggregation ,” accepts David Souhami , director - innovation , product marketing & international business development for video / IoT / voice control , SoftAtHome . “ Nevertheless , this is a defensive scenario as at the same time , operators are losing the battle for the remote control . Deploying a Connected TV pre-integrated with an operator-OS , such as with Sky Glass , is an interesting move . It shows that they now consider OTT boxes and TV vendors as direct competitors in delivering video services . The cost of TV replacement can sometimes be prohibitive and the STB can remain the best approach for some service providers with the main TV screen at a reasonable price . Competition remains fierce , and there will be two categories of operator : those that still want to be service aggregators and will invest in differentiation ( integrated speakers , advanced services such as tele-medicine , etcetera ), and those that will leave the market to giant technology and service providers , switching to simple apps on third party devices , before eventually closing the service ,” he suggests . “ It is not a binary option ,” contends Technicolor ’ s Toutah . “ The role of CPE will be driven by the strategies that NSPs bring to market . Many leading NSPs are deploying high-end CPE - that have a lot more features and functions than conventional STBs - that serve as a ‘ media hub ’ for managing the connected home experience . Sky Glass is an example of the ‘ media hub model where Sky controls the content and the user experience from the CPE to the screen . This requires a lot
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