iconnect.ie - Home Automation Installers

“’The water sleeps until the great snake.’ These aren't just drawings, they're directions. Get me a map!” – Indiana Jones, “Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” Paramount, 2008

We love buzz words.

You know, innovation…marketing ROI (Return on Investment)…social media…branding…positioning…differentiation…segmentation.

Yeah, they’re all cool; but do you know the words we like better that the boss likes?

Sales…customer…customer satisfaction…customer retention!

We know, crass…very crass.

But we like a paycheck every now and then. Stockholders like results. Vendors like to be paid.

Whether you sell online or at retail, the best place to start with our favorite words is with your much- maligned website.

Back in the day, people spent buckets of money to make their website elegant. Then, with each new social media solution that came on the stream, the website slipped further and further down the priority list.

It wasn’t long before the website was supported by whatever loose change fell off the table.

After all, there was important (read sexy, fun) stuff we needed to use to leverage your marketing budget and get that ROI.

You know – Facebook page, Printerest stakes, YouTube elegance, Twitter stuff, mobile ads and marketing stuff like that must be better for you because “everyone” is talking about it.

The problem is, nothing happens until people come inside and get “served.”

As Indie said, “I've got a bad feeling about this.”

Web designers love to show you their elegant sites and how beautiful the Flash/HTML 5 stuff looks, what artistic videos they have, how gorgeously everything is laid out.

Self-Adolation

Sorry, but folks aren’t there for the show; they come to a website to get product/service information, to buy and get on with their lives. It’s all about the instant, the moment.

Small Window – People who make their money – Google and other search engine folks – from helping you find the product/service information you need know you don’t have a lot of patience when it comes to slow opening web pages. After four seconds, they begin to leave pretty quickly; and by 10 seconds, they’re not only gone but many will never return. Source - Google

That’s why Google, the people who make their money serving up clicks--and answers 34,000 questions a second, reported:

• Slowing delivery 4/10^th of a second reduced searches by 8M a day
• 25 percent of web users search only on their smartphone
• 50 percent of mobile users abandon a site that doesn’t load in 10 sec., 3 out of 5 won’t return
• 79 percent of mobile web consumers use their phone for shopping, 40 percent abandon after 3 sec.

That’s probably why Amazon, which racks up $67 million a day in online sales, estimates they could lose $1.6B in sales with a one-second page delay!

Bezo’s team doesn’t focus on being the sexiest site in town…just functional.

Of course, the same is true of Craig’s List. Ebay, Twitter, Facebook, Google and a lot of other etailers we could mention. 

It’s why fastfood does so well. It’s not about ambiance; it’s about eating, getting on with your life. 

An interesting fact we found when researching this piece was that every year, millions of American’s look for true love in 3- to 8-minute speed-dating sessions.

It’s all about getting the information, the answers!

Don’t Deliver

But back to your website. Go to most manufacturers’ websites and they’re works of art. They have:

• Slow-loading product pages which have tons of engineering features, specifications but nothing about how you can use it, benefits to ordinary folks
• Details that are important to everyone (except the customer)
• Videos that are well-scripted, well-shot, well-edited and appealing for the boss but not the customer
• In-site searching that leads you to 10-20 different areas they think you’ll find “interesting”
• Menus normal people can’t find/don’t understand, links that don’t work or take you nowhere

The problem is most people don’t use the tools that are readily available to analyze their sites and traffic. 

Or, as Indie said looking at the situation, “Leave it to Ox to write a riddle in a dead language.”

Looking, Being Better – If you focus on social media tools because “no one” visits your web site or don’t do anything once they stumble across your site, it’s probably because you don’t spend enough time tuning the site. Today, it’s not enough to build it and they will come; firms need to continually focus on improving the experience. Source – Demandbase

Analytic tools allow you to monitor how your website is doing in terms of visitors, conversions.

Google Analytics are free tools that allow you to study your website in detail:

• where visitors come from
• pages they visit
• length of page visit
• which keywords people search to boost your search rangings, be more quickly located
• exactly how people interact with your website

By using the analytics, you can determine which locations and what information resonates with real people (customers), not just the folks with a vested interest in looking good (designers).

Admittedly, it’s not very creative work; but it helps you determine the real quality of your site.

Learning More – Free metrics tools are available to help marketing departments analyze information about web site visitors, including not only how they got to the site but what areas they visited and what they wanted to find. The more the company knows about visitors, the easier it is to attract – and reward – more visitors. Source – Demandbase

Just imagine what you could do if you could do if you could understand your visitors and learn more about them.

Whooppee!!

It’s not really about having 20,000 Facebook Likers or 40,000 Printerest visitors.

Instead it’s like Indie said, “You want to be a good archaeologist...”

It’s about understanding the people who are important to your company, you – your prospects, your customers.

All About You – The more work companies do in helping web site visitors personalize the site to their individual wants and needs, the more productive (and profitable) the firm’s online presence will become. Sometimes it’s difficult to remember it isn’t about the designer, the person who writes the copy or the person who does the video when it comes to understanding what makes a good or so-so web site. Source - Maxymiser

Businesses – products/services – need to understand more about the quality of leads/sales the website generates.

Just remember its quality…not quantity.

That means if the website visitor registered with you, what happened afterward?

Were you able to turn the suspect into a prospect, a customer?

If not, where did you lose them? Why?

It could be as simple as not having all of the information immediately available that they want/need to make a purchasing decision. 

Do you have:

• Fresh, interesting blogs that give people insight into the company, its business philosophy and insight into product plans/applications
• Fun, interesting, educational videos. Today, more than 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute! Some of the best and most popular are those that feature industry thought leaders who present critical thinking (TED) and how-tos – how-to install, how-to use, how to troubleshoot, how-to get the most from their products (like OtherWorldComputing). It’s all about being a valuable resource for people looking for you who don’t even know you exist.
• Free stuff is always popular. You know, free information, free ideas, free industry news, free insight into how your developers/engineers evaluate/test/prove products/services before they are offered to consumers.
• Use social media tools such as allowing people to Tweet and post on your Facebook wall, content they can quickly/easily share.

Doing all of the analysis and checking off all the things you need to have to make your web site interesting and useful is great as long as you test the work to see if it resonates with people.

Real People Tests

No, not the guy/gal in the next cube, not your spouse/kid (think they’re going to hurt your feelings?), not the boss (‘nuff said).

Instead, have people completely unfamiliar with your business determine how quickly and easily they can find specific information that would help them find out about your products/services and maybe even purchase…a couple of your neighbors, the in-law you’re certain isn’t all there.

They may tell you as Marion did, “Not like you did any better.”

Sure, getting traffic to your landing pages is important; but that isn’t what produces sales and revenue.

What you really want to do is improve the customer’s experience and reduce the cost of acquiring the customer, retaining the customer. 

Do it right and constantly test/review your website personalization and it won’t be long Professor Oxley will say you’ve found the answer, “A portal! A pathway to another dimension!”

Light Control

Thousands of dollars’ worth of audio visual wizardry can be worthless without proper sound and light control. Any home theater with a lot of ambient light (especially one with a highly reflective plasma, or low output projector) will have a negative effect on picture quality.

One solution is to fit blackout shades, but for those looking for a softer look would probably be happier with drapes. Ellery Home Styles have just the product: Absolute Zero Home Theater Curtains.

The main features of Absolute Zero Home Theater Curtains include:

• Block 100% of intrusive light
• Luxurious, elegant velvet fabric
• Reduces up to 40% of unwanted noise
• Extra wide 50" panels
• Independent laboratory tested
• Extended lengths including 63", 84" and 95"

I received a pair of chocolate brown 84” panels for review. The panels have a velvety look and feel, very similar to those found in movie theaters. Each panel was also lined with plain white material.

Test Results

Each panel contained 7 loops, for easy installation with a curtain rod.

I installed the panel during the day and when closed did, in fact, block 100% of the light. I requested panels quite a bit wider than the window and a size that descended to within a few inches of the floor, so there was sufficient overlap to block light from the sides.

In an unconventional test, I went out into the midday sun and placed a panel over my head. For all I knew, it could have been the middle of the night. Fortunately, none of the neighbors saw me.

Although, unable to measure it, I did notice a reduction in ambient noise from the street.

Fringe Benefits

A side effect of using drapes—especially in prime reflection points (side and rear walls)—is that they both absorb some of the sound and diffuse reflections. Of course, the use of drapes should be taken into consideration as part of a holistic accoustical treatment plan.

Motorization

Motorizing drapes can be much cheaper and easier than motorized blinds for several reasons:

• Drapes typically don’t need to be custom fit. Blinds always do when they need to blackout a room (nothing more annoying than a sliver of light peaking in from the side.
• Drapes often come close to floor level, so a receptacle is typically close by and can often be hidden by the drape itself. This is considerably cheaper than opening up walls to run wires for blinds or replacing batteries on a regular basis.
• One motor accommodates a large span. Many windows span less a distance of around three feet, so require multiple blinds and motors cover the same area.

Conclusion

The drapes lived up their advertised features. My wife and I both liked the look and feel of the product, and the manufacturing quality appeared to be high. They lived up to their claims of blocking out 100% of the light and did off some noise reduction too.

As the Earth's population continues to grow, the demand for electricity will outpace our ability to produce it and transmit it around the world. Eventually, wireless power will become a necessity. There are two different means of wirelessly transferring power, far field and near-field. Far-field methods permit long-range energy transfers and typically involve lasers or microwave transmissions. Near-field transmissions typically involve the use of inductive techniques and magnetic fields to move energy across much shorter distances.

Wireless information transfer and wireless energy transfer are similar, as they are both based on electromagnetic field. When transferring wireless information, signal-to-noise ratio is the most important consideration. When transferring wireless energy, receive-to-transmit ratio is the important factor. The methods of wireless transfer are divided into two categories: far-field and near-field.

When moving wireless energy across great distances (far-field), microwaves will be used to transmit electricity to earth from solar power stations on the moon. Tens of thousands of receivers on Earth would capture this energy, and a rectenna would convert it to electricity. A rectenna is a rectifying antenna that is used to convert microwave energy into direct current electricity.

Rectennas are used in wireless power transmission systems that transmit power by radio waves (microwaves). A simple rectenna element consists of a dipole antenna with a diode connected across the dipole elements. The diode rectifies the AC current induced in the antenna by the microwaves, to produce DC power, which powers a load connected across the diode. Schottky diodes are usually used because they have the lowest voltage drop and highest speed and therefore have the lowest power losses due to conduction and switching. Large rectennas consist of an array of many such dipole elements.

Microwave power is beamed from a space solar satellite to a receiving antenna or "rectenna" on Earth.

(Image courtesy of Space Studies Institute)

Because microwaves pass through the atmosphere easily, and rectennas rectify microwaves into electricity efficiently, an earth-based rectenna could be constructed with a mesh-like framework, allowing the sun’s rays and rain to pass through to the ground, diminishing environmental effect.

The other method of far-field wireless transmission is the laser beam, which is a coherent light beam capable to transport very high energy, which makes it an efficient means to transfer energy point to point using a line of sight. Power can be transmitted by converting electricity into a laser beam that is then pointed at a solar cell receiver. This procedure is generally known as "power-beaming," because the power is beamed at a receiver that can convert it to usable electrical energy.

Photo Image: NASA

By collecting solar energy in space instead of on earth, dependency on cloud-free days is eliminated. In traditional solar collecting, energy is lost on its way through the atmosphere through reflection and absorption, but space-based solar power systems convert energy outside the atmosphere to avoid this loss.

Near-field transmissions typically involve the use of inductive techniques and magnetic fields to move energy across much shorter distances. Both far-field and near-field transmissions utilize the principles of electromagnetism and the intrinsic relationship of electric and magnetic fields. Near-field transmissions are safer and more efficient; therefore most consumer-based development is being built around this method.

Most of near-field transmissions use resonant inductive coupling, where a primary coil generates a magnetic field, which induces an alternating electric current in a secondary coil that resides within this field. This magnetic field is then coupled with another magnetic field, which has its own secondary alternating electric current that is resonating at a similar frequency. The wireless transfer of power is naturally produced between these two fields, and the higher the resonance, the lower the loss of power during transmission.

WiTricity is building a near-field wireless charging apparatus for consumer devices. With the help of the Haier Group, a Chinese electronics manufacturer, WiTricity demonstrated this technology by wirelessly powering a 32-inch television at a distance of six feet.

The company’s prototype consists of a transmitter that converts AC power (using a wall socket) into a magnetic field, and then uses the field to transmit this magnetic energy to a capture device. This device then converts the magnetic energy into electricity. The two devices are highly resonant, which means the wireless energy transfer is highly efficient.

Delphi Automotive is working with WiTricty to develop a wireless charging system for electric cars. The groundbreaking technology will enable automotive manufacturers to integrate wireless charging into the design of hybrid and electric vehicles. This wireless charging system would not use plugs or charging cords. Drivers would park their electric vehicle over a wireless energy source that sits on, or is embedded in the garage floor, and the system will automatically transfer power to the battery charger on the vehicle, transferring enough watts to fully charge an electric car at the same rate as most residential plug-in chargers.

To make wireless transmission of energy work, a single global standard needs to be developed through a cooperative organization of international developers, manufacturers and distributors. This standard will be the blueprint for utilizing wireless energy transmission worldwide. The safety and range of energy needs can be addressed collectively, bringing wireless energy into the world of a practical real world solution.

Samsung and Qualcomm, joined with a group of other technology companies to announce a new project that aims to promote the "global standardization of a wireless power transfer technology," which is named "Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP)" The organization’s approach includes a transmitter and receiver antenna design that is easily implemented, a simple wireless power control system, and the ability to transfer power through non-metallic surfaces.

There is another standard protocol for charging mobile phones initiated by the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), which is backed by more than 100 companies. A4WP and WPC use the same fundamental magnetic induction to transfer energy wirelessly at a close distance, using a highly resonant magnetic circuit. There does not appear to be a fundamental difference in technology, so why have two standards? Marketing. Let’s get the marketing people out of technology advancements. Remember what happened with VHS and Betamax?

Wireless power is an exciting new frontier, opening up new possibilities for manufacturers and consumers around the world. This new frontier will have a major impact on many significant market segments and create new ways to interact with the design of appliances and corresponding products. As this technology is adopted by consumers, it is imperative that engineering and design teams, wireless power providers, manufacturers and governing bodies join forces to insure that a universal solution that meets present and future consumer needs is always the main concern. Only by working together will universal wireless energy delivery reach its potential and make wireless truly wireless.

For additional information:

http://www.powerbeaminc.com/media/cmp_eetimes_altenergy_20100621.pdf

http://www.witricity.com/pdfs/patents/EP2345100.pdf

http://arxiv.org/ftp/physics/papers/0611/0611063.pdf

http://iccd.et.tudelft.nl/2009/proceedings/517Mazlouman.pdf

http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/doc/POW/ACT-RPR-NRG-2009-SPS-ICSOS-concepts-for-laser-WPT.pdf

http://authors.library.caltech.edu/5349/1/KARaipcp06.pdf

http://www.ipcbee.com/vol6/no2/51-f20017.pdf

About Len

Len started in the audio visual industry in 1975 and has contributed articles to several publications. He also writes opinion editorials for a local newspaper. He is now retired.

This article contains statements of personal opinion and comments made in good faith in the interest of the public. You should confirm all statements with the manufacturer to verify the correctness of the statements.

What is the Wireless Speaker and Audio (WiSA) Association and its mission?

The WiSA Association was founded to advance the adoption of wirelessly transmitted, interference-free high-definition (HD) surround-sound audio in the home theater environment by establishing the industry’s first interoperability specification and compliance testing programs for manufacturers of high-performance wireless speakers, DTVs, Blu-ray Disc players, and other consumer electronics (CE) devices.

Why is there a need for an interoperability and compliance test specification?

Consumers want HD wireless surround speakers to match the HD video quality of their HDTVs, Blu-ray players, music and gaming consoles; however, until now they had limited options to realize this vision. With WiSA-certified products, consumers will be able to outfit their home entertainment system with speakers and components from any participating vendor with the assurance that the devices will interoperate with each other and provide the highest standard in HD wireless surround sound audio. Products featuring the WiSA logo have been compliance tested, thus ensuring interoperability with other WiSA-enabled CE devices.

What is driving the need for standardization in high definition wireless audio?

HDTVs are getting thinner and it is becoming increasingly difficult to incorporate the latest electronic advances into such thin displays. We expect that eventually most of the electronics will be external to the display. The first to go is the audio, since there is very little room for quality speakers in today’s thin displays and HDTV manufacturers know they need to provide an audio alternative. Additionally, since cost is a significant consideration, some manufacturers will offer external sound bars which will satisfy some consumers, but there remains a strong need for a high quality audio alternative.  All of these developments have created an inflection point in the market and manufacturers are looking to the WiSA Association to create a standard for wireless audio interoperability that will support a long-term product strategy for the successful development of high quality, wireless audio products.

What do consumers need to know about the underlying technology and the compliance/logo program?

The underlying technology takes advantage of a rarely used frequency range called the U-NII band which operates between 5.2 and 5.8GHz. This frequency range allows for the transmission of uncompressed, cinema-level audio quality that is unattainable in other wireless technologies.  Additionally, because of the special requirements on how this band is to be used, it allows for guaranteeing an interference free user experience. 

The WiSA logo program ensures that participating products have been compliance tested, thus ensuring interoperability with other WiSA-compliant CE devices. Manufacturers will submit their WiSA-enabled products to the Association and products that have passed compliance and interoperability testing will feature the WiSA logo. Consumers evaluating WiSA-compliant products will have the choice to buy components from different brands, knowing that they will interoperate together and work right out of the box. This is the confidence provided by the WiSA logo.

How will WiSA technology change the user experience?

Working with WiSA-compliant products gives consumers a migration path for adding additional speakers to upgrade their home audio system. For example, a consumer might start with a WiSA certified sound bar for their flat screen television and then add a WiSA subwoofer.  In a year from now, that same system can be easily upgraded to 5.1 surround sound by simply adding 4 surround sound speakers.  There is no need to replace the entire system; consumers can keep the original transmitter, sound bar, and subwoofer and integrate them seamlessly into their new 5.1 system. Being able to outfit a home entertainment system with WiSA-compliant speakers and components from any participating vendor gives consumers not only the choice to select components based on their individual preference, but also provides the assurance that the devices will interoperate with each other and deliver the highest standard in HD wireless surround sound audio.

Can you give a brief overview of the certification process?

The manufacturer builds their equipment according to the WiSA Compliance Test Specification (CTS). They then test- run their own equipment through the CTS and when the product is ready, the manufacturer fills out a Capability Declaration Form, attaches it to the equipment and sends it to a WiSA Authorized Test Center for certification.  After passing the certification, the product will be licensed to carry the WiSA logo.

Is there a limit to the number of channels? 9.x and 11.x receivers are coming onto the market now. Will WiSA support these?

There is currently a limit of 8 channels. The maximum configuration is 7.4 (4 subs share 1 channel). The WiSA technology roadmap calls for increasing the number of channels and for an increase in the bit rates as well. The WiSA Association will announce changes in the maximum configuration as soon as they become available.

Which approach to the “sweet spot” has been adopted by WiSA?

WiSA technology delivers a single sweet spot where the levels and delays are optimized. This can be changed instantly to any arbitrary location using an onscreen display a remote control fitted with an ultrasonic transducer or perhaps a mobile app using the smartphone as a remote control.

My receiver has room optimization. Won’t that conflict with WiSA’s sweet spot algorithm?

It is not necessary to use the sweet spot technology when implementing a WiSA-based home audio system. The sweet spot can be fixed at a single location and the receiver can use its own algorithm.

Do WiSA speakers require line of site or can the technology transmit through walls and floors?

As with most wireless radios, a WiSA-compliant system is designed to operate in the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) frequency band; it does not require line of site nor does it go through walls and floors. The U-NII band was selected to maximize channel availability and thus eliminate interference.

Products built without the ultrasonic transducers do not require line of site; this functionality is based on the feature set designed in by the manufacturer. However, to take advantage of the sweet spot location and auto calibration features, line of site is required.

WiSA certification guarantees that the equipment will operate within a 30’ x 30’ space. This is done to set realistic customer expectations, unlike some wireless radios that claim a huge range and fail to work.

While not currently supporting multi-room settings, we are actively looking at the requirements for multi-room applications.

802.11a (common on Apple devices) and WHDI use the 5 GHz band. Will I have interference issues if I use 802.11a or WHDI devices near my WiSA-enabled home audio system?

Having other devices nearby that also use the 5 GHz band will not affect the performance of a WiSA-enabled home audio system as WiSA technology can seamlessly switch to another frequency within the 5 GHz band. The 5 GHz U-NII spectrum utilized by WiSA technology has up to 24 channels available that are constantly monitored for interference using the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) sub-band between 5.2 and 5.8 GHz. When interference is detected, the next channel, having been monitored for over one minute and confirmed for accessibility, is ready to go and WiSA-enabled devices switch seamlessly to that channel, without the user ever noticing or the audio experience being affected.

What is Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)?

The Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) sub-band between 5.2 and 5.8 GHz is shared with military and weather (aviation) radar. The rule for this sub-band is that the equipment must use DFS when radar is detected on a channel and immediately hop to an open channel.

This is inconvenient for computer networking because a channel must be clear for one minute before use and cannot be reused for 30 minutes, after a conflict is detected. Due to the strict access rules there are only a few systems that operate in the DFS band as a result and WiSA-enabled systems are one of them.

Audio is ideally suited for DFS operation since audio requires a steady stream of data -- not high-speed bursts. Some of the audio transmission time can be used to look for unused channels. When interference is detected, the next channel has been monitored for over one minute and is ready to go.

Using DFS is also good when there is interference from other radios or signal strength is poor for some reason. The system can just hop to another frequency. This makes it very friendly when co-existing with other technologies.

Will I need a new receiver to use WiSA speakers?

No. Think of WiSA-compliant devices as operating just like speaker wires. You may not need to use all of the amps on your receiver. Likewise, if you want to wire your front speakers to your receiver, WiSA-compliant equipment can provide the connection to your subwoofer, surround speakers and rear channels.

Is WiSA just for residential applications, or does it have commercial applications too? If so, can you provide some examples?

Initially the WiSA Association is focusing on home theater. However, WiSA was invited to participate in Pete Putman’s “AV Signals Gone Wireless” presentation at InfoComm. We did a very successful demonstration in a large meeting room to an audience of professional installers.

Besides the quality and robustness of the underlying technology, the InfoComm presentation demonstrated rapid setup and tear-down for mobile systems, conference rooms, lecture halls, and meeting rooms. Any place where it is inconvenient, unsightly, or unsafe to run wires is a good fit for a WiSA-compliant speaker system in addition to business locations that have concrete walls and floors that may cause installation problems.

OK, I’m sold. When and where can I buy WiSA certified products?

Many projects are in development now. We anticipate several WiSA-enabled product introductions to be made at CES 2013 in January in Las Vegas. In the meantime, consumers can check out Advisory board member company, Aperion Audio’s Intimus 4T Summit Wireless System which showcases the technology.

About Jim

Jim Venable is an industry veteran with over 25 years’ experience in bringing breakthrough technologies to market. His understanding of mobile, PC, and CE markets is derived from executive experience at Silicon Image in his leadership role with the IP Licensing group; and from senior management positions he has held at Motorola, Mentor Graphics, Hitachi, AMD, and Sharp.

Prior to heading the Wireless Speaker & Audio Association, Venable helped drive the adoption of the Serial Port Memory Technology (SPMT) standard as the President of SPMT Consortium. Venable holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University

World On-demand Video Market

Today’s entertainment market is experiencing a rapid increase in the availability of on-demand video, and viewers are responding positively, resulting in strong growth in the consumption of these videos. In the study Business Model Evolution in OTT and On-demand Video Markets – 2012 Edition, IMS Research estimates that in 2011 the market for on-demand video reached 998.9 billion video transactions. Pay transactions are estimated at 7.2 billion streams/downloads in 2011, generating $16.2 billion in revenues.

Many factors will drive the uptake of on-demand video over the next five years, including: increasing broadband Internet speeds; growing penetration of connected CE devices; and more intuitive user interface technologies simplifying the acquisition of digital video. On the supplier side, OTT technology has been a way to expand services to multiple devices, to extend the reach of existing pay offerings, and monetize on existing content.

Regional Dynamics

Regional dynamics for on-demand video are quite diverse. North America is considered to be the most developed on-demand video market, with various pay-OTT services, an OTT subscriber base, strong closed-network VOD uptake, and several large ad-funded services. It is expected that North America will retain the largest share of on-demand video transactions during the period, both in terms of pay and ad-funded/free videos. The North American market for on-demand video is forecast at $16.9 billion.

The European market is forecast to surpass North America in terms of on-demand video revenues starting in 2017. This is partially due to higher pricing for pay-OTT services and pay-per rental transactions accounting for a large share of the market.  European broadcasters’ distribution via on-demand will also result in significant growth in OTT advertising revenue in the region. IMS Research forecasts the European on-demand video market at $17.7 billion in 2017.

Growth in on-demand market revenues in Asia Pacific is predicted to come mostly from closed-network VOD services from cable MSOs and telcos. It is expected to become a more significant market for OTT starting around 2015, as more broadband is rolled out throughout the region. Latin America is forecast to have the strongest compounded average growth rate during the period for on-demand video transactions. Yet, the region is forecast to generate only $4.2 billion in 2017. In most Latin American countries, pay on-demand services are very new, and there is still a general lack of awareness about them with the mass public.

Content Mix

With the growing volume of on-demand video viewings, service providers are now trying to figure out what type of content is best suited for on-demand distribution via managed networks versus OTT, and which is better suited for pay-per services, versus subscriptions, versus free/ad-funded. Most of the content available today on operators’ closed-networks includes full-feature films and serial TV content (falling within the category of long form content). The latter has seen the most significant growth in VOD services, driven by the growing popularity of catch-up TV offered via pay-TV operators’ set-top boxes. The OTT segment is mostly comprised of user-generated content (UGC), estimated at 80.3% of all OTT video transactions in 2012.

In the OTT video market, the content mix falls into a 70/30 scenario: about 70% of OTT market revenues are generated by 30% of long form video transactions; while the short form segment accounts for about 70% of transactions but only about 30% share of revenues. Long form content is expected to continue to increase its share of the OTT market both in terms of transactions and revenues. This is a result of people becoming more comfortable with watching serial TV content on an on-demand basis and more premium OTT services becoming available.

Business Models

There is a rapidly growing array of service providers within the on-demand video market, spanning broadcasters, retailers, OTT portals, pay-TV operators, telcos, premium channels, and CE suppliers. With such a breadth of providers, the business models shaping on-demand video services, particularly in the OTT segment, are expected to become quite diverse over the next five years. Service providers, particularly in North America and Europe, are experimenting by blending pay-per, subscription and ad-funded business models in order to develop effective ways to monetize on-demand video delivery.

Currently, the three most common business models for pay on-demand video are subscription, pay-per rental (also referred to as digital rental or streaming services), and pay-per purchase (also referred to as digital retail or download-to-own). The advertising model is used by many OTT portals and broadcasters in provisioning UGC and serial TV content. In addition, pay-TV operators often offer free VOD services, such as catch-up TV, as a retention and up-selling tool for digital TV subscribers.

Despite the efforts of many companies to aggressively pursue pay strategies via on-demand distribution of premium content, ad-funded and free videos will continue to dwarf pay video streams/downloads. Around 99% of world video transactions during the entire period are forecast to be ad-funded or free, with UGC accounting for a majority share of these. OTT advertising revenues are estimated at $5.4 billion in 2011, exceeded by $10.8 billion from pay on-demand services (of which about half comes from pay-OTT). The growth in in-video OTT advertising revenues is forecast to accelerate towards the end of the period, with the growth of the OTT viewer base in mature markets and due to the continued rollouts of ad-funded services in Asia Pacific.

Distribution Channels

Over the next five years, an increasing number of companies throughout the world will use OTT technology to distribute video entertainment. Media and content companies that have strong brands will experiment aggressively with direct-to-viewer strategies. Additionally, a growing number of pay-TV operators throughout the world will deploy and improve closed-network VOD offerings. These efforts on the part of video service providers are an important factor driving the availability of on-demand video.

The world OTT market in 2011 generated about double the revenues of pay-TV operators’ VOD services. Although pay-TV operators are forecast to account for only a small percentage of OTT revenues, they will retain a significant share of the overall on-demand video market, reaching 40.5% in 2017. These companies are expected to continue to pursue managed VOD services via their own networks, if and when possible, to retain control and maintain their quality of service standards.

OTT video portals such as Netflix, YouTube and Apple’s iTunes are expected to retain the majority share of the global market. The OTT video portal distributor channel is forecast at $21.7 billion in 2017. Broadcasters are another distributor channel that will make a positive impact on on-demand video revenues, with the segment forecast at $5.9 billion in 2017. Broadcasters revenues will be generated by catch-up TV, funded by in-video advertising, and offered via the web and on connected CE devices. Although many broadcasters in emerging markets are still somewhat apprehensive about launching OTT services, this is expected to change towards the end of the period. Retailers will also play a role in OTT video distribution, as the segment tries to replace revenue losses from physical media sales. Retailers are forecast to generate 8.1% of global OTT revenues in 2017.

Connected CE Devices’ Impact on OTT

The PC is the primary device for OTT video viewing during the forecast period. There is significant growth expected for OTT video consumption via connected CE devices, particularly tablets, TV sets and games consoles, especially in the long term. Over the next few years, though, devices such as Blu-ray Disc players and specialty retail set-tops (such as Apple TV and Roku box) will account for a large share of OTT video streams. These devices will be used by viewers to enable legacy TV sets to support new protocols and standards and connect to available OTT services.

Market revenues generated from OTT activity on the PC is forecast to increase to $9.2 billion in 2017, although the share of total revenues will decrease to 44.5% that year. It is expected that consumers will use in-home fixed devices, such as TV sets, Blu-ray players and game consoles more frequently for OTT video purchases, especially as the installed base of these devices grows.

The impact that portable devices have on OTT video consumption is also important, particularly for service providers offering free and promotional content (although promos and trailers are not included in OTT video market sizing). Service providers envision that smartphones will be used by customers to preview shows, and if viewers like a show, they will purchase it on the larger screen. Tablets will become more common for watching long form content such as TV series because they tend to rely on Wi-Fi versus mobile broadband networks.

About Anna

Anna Hunt is a principal analyst in IMS Research’s Consumer Electronics Group, and focuses on portable CE device markets, convergence in the CE and mobile space, and new digital TV platforms such as mobile TV and 3D TV. In addition, Anna is part of IMS Research’s consultancy team that focuses on serving global CE and semiconductor clients. Prior to this role, she was the Group’s research director, responsible for the Group’s strategic direction. Anna has seven years of expertise in the areas of digital set-top boxes, the global digital TV ecosystem, and consumer electronics. She is part of the judging panel for The Cable & Satellite International Product of the Year Awards, and has presented and moderated at several international conferences, including Mediacast, IP Trends, Digital Hollywood, 3D-Next, and Display Week – The Future of TVs.

Prior to joining IMS Research, Anna was the Americas region marketing and communications director for French enterprise software company, ICOM Informatics. She has over a decade of industry experience in market research, MARCOM, and branding in enterprise technology sectors, and is able to communicate in three languages.

Anna holds a bachelor of business administration in international business from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from St. Edward’s University. She is based in San Jose, Costa Rica, and may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

What is Industrial Design?

Industrial design determines a products form, usability, ergonomics, aesthetics and often branding. Take Apple, for example. You can look at almost any Apple product and immediately identity it as such (even without the logo) through its industrial design.  In comparison, take something like a Dell, remove the logo, and you’d be hard pressed to identify it as a Dell computer unless you were very familiar with the brand.

How Does Industrial Design influence Sales?

All products brought to market are designed by industrial designers, some “designs” are nothing more than selecting a standard size enclosure and fitting the components inside (e.g. a simple network switch).  A lot of cheap imported products have very little design: they are engineered to meet a price point and obtain the minimum required certifications (e.g. UL). Compare the three dimmers below. The one of the left is obviously built to be cheap. The center one is more aesthetically pleasing (and practical, due to its width). The Lutron Maestro one on the right is a much higher-end design and is designed to match other products in the Maestro line. All three provide the same basic function: dimming a light, but he Lutron product has LED’s to indicate the dimming level and a flush finish. Ultimately, unless you’re shopping for the cheapest product, the design will determine which one you buy, given equal functionality.

Many people will buy Apple, because they love the design of the products. In a previous job, I had a MacBook Pro that ran nothing but Windows, because our CEO loved apple products, so everyone should have them.

Some Examples of Poor Design

This is a somewhat subjective are, so my opinions may not match yours, but hopefully you’ll take away the key points.

Boxee Box

I wanted to like the Boxee Box. I’m a cord cutter, so I get all my content over the air or through online sources. I had the opportunity to borrow one and decided not to buy it. In my opinion, Boxee made several bad decisions with their industrial design, which ultimately caused me not to buy one.

First the shape and the size. While some people may think the design is cool, cool doesn’t win you any prizes (or customers) when it has to be mounted in rack. Like many home theater enthusiast, all my equipment is rack mounted. My rack happens to be in the basement. Given this, I want stuff that I can rack mount. If I can’t rack mount it, I want it take up as little space as possible (especially vertical space) and have the option to sequence my components as needed (generally related to heat dissipation and airflow). The Boxee’s shape means I can’t put anything on top of it, so it has to be on a shelf or at the top of a stack of components (when not rack mounting).

The height of the box is 4.5” which is over 2.5U high. This means I’m losing at least 3U to be able to rack mount it. Compare this with similar devices like AppleTV and Roku. These are comparative devices, yet a fraction of the size (and price) and have a sensible form factor. At one of my consulting client’s we recently installed Sharp 80” TV’s in all the meeting rooms. Velcro’d to the back of every one is an Apple TV. (I have the same in my bedroom and have many friends who’ve done the same at their house.) Wall mounted behind each one is a MacMini. There’s no way a Boxee box could be put behind someone’s wall mounted TV without an ugly articulated mount and a big gap between the wall and the TV. That’s gonna cost me sales.

I recently listened to an interview with Boxee founder, Avner Ronen. When discussing the shape he said they spent a lot on the shape of the box. In my opinion, not a smart move for a start-up in a crowded market. That shape also translates into higher manufacturing costs and we see that in the cost of the box. The current street price of the Boxee is around $179, which is almost double that of the AppleTV and top-end Roku.

Secondly, the remote. This has several design/functional issues. A lot of people watch TV in darkened or dimly lit rooms, so it’s pretty important that any remote control can be used under such lighting conditions.

The buttons are not backlit and the labels on the keys are gray on black. Who could possibly imagine this to be a good design for use in a frequently darkened room? I accept that backlighting has costs and battery life issues, but it’s a mistake not including it, especially with a full keyboard.

The next issue is the buttons. Boxee have gone for Apple-esque. minimalist button design. I’m not a fan of this – I hate the fact the AppleTV remote has no home button, so I have to press the menu button four of five times just to get from a Netflix episode to the home screen. (I don’t agree with late Mr. Jobs’ one button mouse design either.) That said, I’m also not a fan of a 50-button design like you get with a lot of home theater products either: there’s a happy medium. In my opinion, a media player’s remote should have at least:

• Play
• Pause
• Stop
• Fast Forward
• Rewind
• Up
• Down
• Right/Next/Skip
• Left/Prev/Skip back
• Volume Up/Down
• Mute
• Menu
• Back/Exit
• Home

Some of these could be combined into a 4-way rocker if less were desired.

But the biggest problem with the Boxee remote is the physical buttons. They are in the center of the remote and there is no way to feel which is which. So, if you can’t read the type on the buttons because of the lack of backlighting and/or poor contrast, you’ve no idea which the top and which is the bottom. The only tactile indication about which way is up, is the raised logo. So this means I have moved my fingers/thumb to end of the remote to determine orientation and then back to the buttons I’m looking for.

Compare this with the AppleTV remote, which has the exact same number of buttons. There’s no question about which way is up, as the buttons are at the top. I simply feel for the buttons and use them: none of this looking for an orientation mark and then navigating to the buttons from there.

Even in a well-lit environment, this is still inconvenient, as you have to look at the remote (or go through this near-braille experience) to use it. On my most-used remotes, I don’t even have to look at them to use them.

The other big problem I with the remote is the use of RF. Don’t get me wrong, I love RF remotes. I currently use Logitech Harmony IR remotes and am in the process of replacing them with URC MX-780’s and an MSC-400 controller. If the only device you use is the Boxee, that’s great, but let’s face it, most of us have more devices and remotes than we’d like to have, so we switch to some kind of universal remotes. With the Boxee, I’m hosed. The box does have very limited, unsupported IR functionality if you buy right kind of WMC receiver (now I’m at $200+), but it’s nowhere near good enough for prime time. (There are plenty of threads about the poor IR and dissatisfaction with support for this on various internet forums.) Even though I use IR remotes right now, none of the equipment (other than the TV or speakers) is in the rooms where I watch or listen to media. With IR, I use a repeater system and it works great, but with the Boxee, I have to use their remote. Another reason why I won’t buy one.

What’s really ironic about the Boxee, is that most of the flaws have nothing to do with cost saving: on the contrary, they have added to the cost of the product. OK, enough about Boxee.

Network Switch

I ran out of network ports in my house, so decided to buy a new 24-port, gigabit switch. I don’t need anything fancy, and specifically want an unmanaged one, because in my experience they tend to stream better than fancy managed switches. As long as it switches (i.e. separates device to device traffic form the rest of the network) and can has a switching engine capable of supporting full rate on all ports simultaneously, I’d be happy…or so I thought.

There are two types of network switch small desktop ones that you might place on a desk or mount behind a TV to give a few extra ports. Five and eight port models are common.

Typically, when you get to 12 ports an up, switches tend to be rackable. The two candidates I came up with on Amazon were a TRENDnet model for $129 (plus $12 for rack mount ears) and another brand (I forget which) for $115. Unfortunately, the $115 model had no rack mount ears and was an odd height (in terms of U’s), so I ended spending $26 extra for the one with the rack mount ears. Although, it would be easy for a DIYer to fabricate/buy a set of ears and tap holes in the box, the problem is that it's going to invalidate the warranty, so it's not a good idea to take this route.

Belkin PureAV® Home Theater Power Console

A few years ago, I was upgrading my home theater equipment and decided it was time to invest in some better power protection. I found a great deal on a Belkin unit. It’s hard to see in the picture, but it does have holes for rack mount ears. Unfortunately, it doesn’t ship with them and Belkin don’t supply them, even though their literature mentions them. After several hours research, I read somewhere that Belkin were forced to remove them because of UL certification.

So now, I’ve had to spend an extra $30 on a shelf and have lost another U. I can’t remove the feet and have to find a way to secure it to the shelf so that it doesn’t slide when you insert or remove a power cable. All in all a real pain and a reason why I’d never buy it again or recommend anyone else with a rack buy one. Unfirutnately, I didn't rack mount my equipment until I moved house some months later, so I couldn't return it.

Conclusion

Price and features don’t always guarantee you sales: I don’t care how cheap a fast, economical car is, I’m not going to buy it if I don’t like the look of it, or it doesn’t fit in my garage. Going for a “way out” design might be really cool, but if it’s going to price the product out the market, or make it unusable its typical environment, you’re going to lose sales. Sometimes, compromises have to be made for price, or other reasons, but spending more money to make a worse product is unforgivable.

Next time you buy a product, think carefully about its purpose and environment and make sure there are no design flaws that will jeopardize its use, or worse, make you hate using it. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to return it or replace it, you’re lucky, but being stuck with a product you hate until you can afford to replace it is no fun.

Broadband as a Conduit for New Applications

Increased broadband penetration is causing operators to modify their strategies.

Operators’ revenue and subscriber growth rates are down as a result of this near saturation in developed countries, so service providers are anxious to compensate. They also want to leverage their established infrastructure, including installation technicians, customer connections, and the strength of their brands, to offer new value-added services.

Opportunities for value-added services span such categories as entertainment, technical support, home management, energy services, and healthcare. Each one offers a unique value proposition, and service companies view these services as means to retain customers and as platforms for future revenue growth.

Video is often the cornerstone of bundling strategies and service plans; however, this white paper will focus on the other value-added service opportunities, including music, gaming, energy, security, and health. Parks Associates has addressed and analyzed the opportunities in video services in multiple other publications, including the recent white papers “Getting Over-the-Top Video Right” and “The Data-driven Video Discovery Evolution.”  Visit http://www.parksassociates.com/ for more information.

Entertainment—Music

While use of music download services remains substantial, Internet radio and subscription-based music services have been increasing in popularity. Pandora has 125 million registered users for its streaming music services. Spotify’s U.S. user base is about 2.4 million users, and globally, the service has 10-12 million registered users.

Subscription service is not a new business model for the music industry, but the presence of big-name competition, notably iTunes, has made it challenging to successfully launch new music offerings. More recently, momentum for these service offerings is building due to several key trends:

• Growing adoption of mobile devices capable of streaming & accessing music services
• More effective discovery mechanisms
• Use of social networking tools for users to share music and related information
• The increasing number of connected CE devices
• Growing consumer acceptance of  the cloud delivery and access model
• The willingness of diverse industry players such as ISPs, mobile carriers, OEMs, and car makers to partner with music service providers in order to enhance their offerings

Many of the early successes in operator-provided music services were in Europe. Danish broadband provider TDC; France Telecom, under the Orange brand; and Telia have successfully implemented music services.

In the U.S., Verizon has partnered with Rhapsody to create its V CAST Music offering. The company offers a subscription-based service for approved CE devices, with a Media Manager that provides online storage of personal music libraries.

Entertainment—Gaming

The number of gamers in the U.S. increased from 56 million in 2008 to 135 million in 2011

The majority of these new gamers are in the “casual gamer” category. Typically, they use new platforms such as smartphones and tablets to play low-commitment titles.

This territory is familiar to many providers, with companies including AT&T, Verizon, Orange, and Telstra offering casual games as a core element of their offerings. There are many benefits to providers in offering gaming. The service has broad appeal, with an opportunity for bundling and as an enhancement to established business models. For example, TELUS offers a free Xbox 360 to fiber high-speed customers who sign a two-year service commitment, and the game console can be used as a set-top box for additional services.

AT&T’s offering AT&T Games is a good example of a broad-based service.

It is an online portal for PC and mobile games that includes free games and game demos with service subscription options and games for purchase. It derives revenues from these sources and from advertising.

The gaming market also comes with its share of challenges. There is ample competition from a variety of sources, and the associated costs in acquiring content keep revenues relatively low.

Finally, broadband providers do not have a reputation as “serious” players in the gaming market. Most traditional gamers (often referred to a “hardcore gamers”) do not associate their service providers with gaming.

IP Services and New Players

Crossover Appeal of Gaming

Gaming has applications in other service segments, with a variety of different companies using games as a means to engage their consumers. Utilities use “gamification” to encourage customers to compete for energy savings. In the health market, games encourage physical and mental activity. For example, Nintendo Wiis are deployed as part of health and activity regimens for sick or infirm patients.

There are a variety of different IP-based services that providers could use to enhance their offerings:

• Energy monitoring
• Managing major appliances
• Home security & monitoring
• Health-based services
• Energy management, control, and convenience

Connected Home Management Services

Home systems and home management products are evolving to become connected home systems and products, and these IP services are going mainstream as players such as Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, and ADT Security pursue their own IP-based connected home strategies. 

Broadband providers in particular recognize a nearly unprecedented opportunity to establish a dominant role for IP connected home management bundles at home. They bring superb billing systems, marketing clout, and millions of customers as a target base. They also know how to run complex networks.

Even beyond these strengths, broadband providers perceive unexplored bundled service options in new categories such as energy management and lighting control.

IP-connected home service bundles are attractive to service providers for several reasons:

• The services are offered to the operator’s existing customer base
• The services leverage existing strengths, including their communication network, call centers, and monthly billing relationship with customers
• The services are outside of core offerings, allowing new bundling opportunities

The promised long-term growth of IP connected home management services can also help broadband providers defend their current businesses and fill the gaps of slowing growth.

Recession, diffusion, and OTT competition all impacted pay-TV services, which dropped to a CAGR of 1.9% in 2009-2012. Parks Associates expects some economic improvement over the next several years, and this combined with new provider offerings (designed to compete against OTT providers) should proved a modest improvement of 2% CAGR.

By contrast, the CAGR for connected home system bundles including just home security systems and home control systems, without including single product offerings with fee-based services, exceeds 25% from 2011-2015. 

Energy & Security—Value in Bundling

The three categories for home management services that score the highest interest among U.S. broadband householders are security, energy management, and control, but the value propositions for each service have unique challenges.

Bundling energy management and security services is an important strategy to increase consumer interest in these services.

Energy

Energy management is not valued as intensely as security, but its span across broadband households is broader.

As a result, the U.S. target market for residential energy management & home security technologies, deployed by utilities, service providers, or retailers, will exceed a combined 60% of all households by 2022.

The combination of IP proliferation and smart meters provides electric utilities more options to expand their services and create new relationships with their customers. Smart meters, which will be deployed in 56 million households by 2015, create a variety of new service opportunities, many of which may reach inside the home (e.g., appliance control). However, many utilities see the meter as their line of demarcation, and while new market conditions and the promise of cost savings may prompt them to expand their offerings, they are likely to seek partnerships for new IP-based service offerings.

Partnership opportunities are abundant as widespread broadband and connected CE adoption, combined with the early, and hence unsettled, nature of the new IP-driven connected home management bundles market, prompts many different types of firms to enter this area.

• Security, Broadband Service Providers
• Communications & IT Infrastructure
• Home Control Platforms
• Energy Management Components
• Metering Solutions Manufacturers

However, for energy monitoring as well as energy management alone, the potential for incremental monthly revenue from these services is limited. Consumers exhibit high price sensitivity to energy services overall, and there is no consensus for preferred pricing plans among those interested.

In almost all consumer segments, households seek to manage their energy costs while remaining comfortable in the home. Consumers are often their own strategists when it comes to this sector and gauge the ROI for energy savings carefully, reluctant to invest more than they can save.

For utilities, appliance and CE manufacturers, and service providers to improve consumer engagement for their energy-related offerings, they must enhance their value proposition while managing costs relative to consumers’ high price sensitivity.

As a result, there are several viable paths to the market—but the top strategies bundle energy management with complementary services.

Verizon &  Ingersoll Rand

(through its NEXIA offering)  bundle energy management with remote control and monitoring, charging a fee of $9-$10/month

Time Warner Cable

packages energy management with security and remote control, charging $34-$40/month in an effort to grab share in the security market. This offering could take share from ADT, the market leader in the security space, which charges $57/month for a similar package of services

Security

The security provider industry has remained at 15%-19% of U.S. households with monitoring services for nearly a decade, with indications that the percentage of households with fee-based monitoring has declined slightly. Most of the factors for this slight but significant decline tie back to the recession, including consumer spending reductions, low to nonexistent numbers of new starts, and a rash of foreclosures in the housing market.

Consolidation across the security industry has also dropped the count of active dealers. Often those who have been successful in this difficult time expanded their residential offerings to include other system categories, including home theater or lighting control, to increase their per-customer revenues.

At the same time, traditional security providers (e.g., ADT, Protection One) managed to raise their monitoring fees over the past few years without an appreciable loss in their core customer base. These long-term security customers are above average in most standard socioeconomic demographics notably in age, education, and income. They are able to absorb the added cost and see it as part of the daily cost of operating a home.

Segments UnderServed

Given the characteristics of the average monitored security household, there are significant population segments that security providers have yet to serve. For
example, young heads of household (18-34) have the highest rates of ownership and usage for new technologies, but they are much less likely to have a security system.

Players Seeking to Capitalize

With so much of the market underserved, and IP lowering entry costs, the number of players seeking to capitalize on the security market is increasing. Security monitoring services generate $30-$50 per month. They can increase average revenue per user (ARPU) for service providers, and players are employing a variety of strategies, including price competition, bundling, and extending alerts to mobile and connected platforms.

Current Security Offerings

• ADT launched ADT Pulse in October 2010 using the iControl platform. System includes energy monitoring, home security, and lighting control.
• Alarm.com introduced the “emPower” home automation package in June 2010. The package includes a lighting control system, Z-Wave-enabled two-way communicating programmable thermostats, and a door lock control system.
• Vivint (formerly APX Alarm) expanded its control and energy portfolio to accompany its security offering.
• NEST announced its communicating thermostat in 4Q 2011, and Honeywell announced its Tuxedo system in 2012. 

2012 Security Announcements

AT&T Digital Life, a new division of AT&T, announced its global monitoring and automation platform in February 2012. This offering is available under license to service providers outside the U.S. and debuted in the U.S. in May 2012. According to AT&T, the platform will address multiple segments, including aging-in-place, energy management, and security, with a scalable design capable of growing based on consumer demand.

Lowe’s announced Iris, a monitoring and home automation system based on the AlertMe platform, in 2011, with launch scheduled for the third quarter of 2012. As with AT&T, Lowe’s Iris will integrate multiple product categories, such as locks, lighting controls, energy management devices, and IP network security cameras.

The entry of these two players will have ripple effects in multiple markets.
Both have tremendous reach into the consumer market, and they will make 2012 a very interesting year for connected home services.

Health

In the U.S., about 20 million households are caring of one or multiple family members with age-related problems. An additional eight million households anticipate looking after an elderly parent with either age-related problems or chronic ailments.  

Parks Associates’ research shows consumers have considerable interest in home health monitoring solutions overall: 

• 42% of U.S. broadband households surveyed found the independent living service concept appealing
• 37% found a vital-sign monitoring service appealing

Market interest in independent living and health monitoring services is increasing in tandem with the expansion of IP as the backbone of all service delivery platforms for the home. Broadband/telecom service providers have been eyeing the home health monitoring market for more than five years. Early trials fared poorly with end users, including Sasktel’s LifeStat service, Orange France’s GPS tracking service (enabled by Medical Intelligence), and Comcast’s home monitoring service using BL Healthcare’s solution.

These high-profile failures highlight the challenges faced by broadband service providers. They lack (or are perceived to lack) brand power, consumer trust, and established expertise in distributing health-related devices and services. These early disappointments have not deterred service providers; however, they have been playing more of an integrator role enabling service delivery than directly selling services to consumers. For example, AT&T partnered with WellDoc, and Verizon is collaborating with BL Healthcare in developing and deploying digital health offerings.

This approach, although offering smaller and less immediate revenue opportunities, reduces service providers’ business risks, helps them gain expertise, and enables them to build broad partnerships with health monitoring technology providers and healthcare service providers along the way.

From an application perspective, broadband service providers’ interest crosses all major service categories in digital health, with a strong focus on chronic disease management and senior independent living service. In these two areas, they actively pursue partnerships with solution providers, platform enablers, and service renderers. In other areas, such as GPS location tracking, medication monitoring, and chronic condition diagnostics, they are currently content in the role of backend infrastructure providers, collecting revenues from their partners for use of their network on a per-device basis.

Interoperability: The Need for Standards

A key driver for all these services is the proliferation of connected CE and mobile platforms. Consumers are buying tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs, and these devices are removing barriers that once stood between different service categories. For example, a key point of the AT&T Digital Life is that owners can control the home system, including lights, locks, and security cameras, from an iPad app. Whole-home systems that once had to supply their own controllers now must connect to platforms already in the home.

Consumers will have CE, appliances, home systems, and energy management components from multiple manufacturers in their homes, and they will expect, rightfully, all these disparate devices to communicate and share data.

Several organizations in these industries are taking the necessary steps to ensure interoperability. On the entertainment side, DLNA has been a successful model. In energy management, the NIST created the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) with the specific task of developing these necessary communication protocols. OpenADR is another piece of the puzzle; it is an automated demand-response (DR) protocol that is also IP based. Both ZigBee and Z-Wave are prominent in the energy industry, so players in the market are looking to the best methods to bridge the two standards.

These are all important efforts in opening the home and its disparate systems to new technologies and products.

Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company’s expertise includes new media, digital entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.