IP-based set-top boxes will generate a market value of more than $3 billion worldwide by 2014, according to a report from ABI Research.
"Vendors' strategies for retaining their market shares are targeted towards emerging technologies such as HDTV, IPTV, and digital TV, as these are expected to be the main driving forces for STB sales in the coming years," ABI Research industry analyst Serene Fong said.
Worldwide, Motorola and Cisco Systems continued to sit at the top of the cable set-top vendor list with a combined market share close to 50% in 2008, according to ABI. Thomson and Panasonic ranked highest in the direct-broadcast satellite and DTT segments respectively in the same period.
While shipments of basic-functionality boxes across all television platforms have declined -- and are expected to continue to fall over the next six years -- shipments of boxes with HD capabilities and MPEG-4 compression technologies are on the rise, according to Fong.
