Integrated strategy urged for TV tuner cards

[BGonaSTICK]

The global market for TV tuner cards that can receive, display and record TV programming is set to grow from 15m units in 2006 to 41m units in 2011. While growth will be solid, it will not take off as fast as some industry analysts had expected, according to ABI Research.

ABI principal consumer electronics analyst Steve Wilson said the growth curve had less to do with the technology than with consumers' awareness of its possibilities. "The technology is pretty much in place; the questions that need to be resolved before we see really rapid uptake relate to the user-experience, and the integration - via digital media adaptors - with the rest of the consumer electronics that people have in the home," said Wilson.

"Vendors need to have strategies that provide complete solutions for customers. They shouldn't position the TV tuner as a standalone device, but should aim towards bundling it with another device such as a media adaptor that allows playback via the television as well."

ABI predicts TV tuner cards will be ready for mass adoption when service operators, broadcasters, studios, and technologists "define a cohesive home media architecture that facilitates interoperability and integration instead of hampering them".