>From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> >To: "OpenDTV (E-mail)" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 18:57:41 -0500 >Frank Eory wrote: > >> Or maybe he means that people like the benefits of >> digital cable without having to pay extra to have >> that functionality built into their display -- >> especially since STB's are evolving so rapidly that >> any STB functions built into the display will >> become obsolete long before the display will. > >I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that this category of >customer is indeed a "niche" group. I'll bet there's >a reason why only 20 percent of cable customers is >begging for an STB these days (your number). But I >could be wrong. > You're right, this category is a "niche" group, but it's a rapidly growing and very profitable niche for the MSOs. PVR and HDTV STBs are the big growth niche in cable STBs right now, and those subs pay a lot more per month than the typical sub. And my number was too conservative -- it's closer to 30% that have STBs. >STBs are evolving, but only in terms of adding new >features such as VOD, correct? That is, unless the >customer wants to subscribe to new services, for an >additional fee, his old STB still soldiers on, >right? So the same will happen with built-in >receivers. (And two-way built-in capability is next >in the cable/CE manufacturer agreements, it seems.) You're missing the point. Even when those new features migrate into integrated DTV sets -- long after those features have already been deployed in STBs -- the features of a particular DTV set are frozen to the consumer who buys that TV set and expects it to last for many years. In terms of the convergence debate, you seem to be a believer in the "wonder box" theory -- that there will be a single box that serves all our entertainment needs. Since it will have a display, you can call it a "TV set." Others believe that most consumers will end up with several interconnected components rather than a single do-all box. Consumers are already accustomed to having at least a DVD player and VCR as separate components. Many have separate A/V receivers as well. The TV-VCR or TV-DVD player combo market is a very small percentage of the overall TV display market. >My bet is that a customer who buys a new integrated >set with cable card will be very happy to be rid of >the STB. Especially when he notices the prices >dropping for these new sets, to where they were for >comparably sized NTSC sets just a couple of years >ago. The customer who wants VOD, PVR, or any kind of iTV apps will be very disappointed with a unidirectional cable card TV. And we know we won't see 2-way sets on the market anytime soon. >> Note: I'm not talking about a PVR or other >> recording device with integrated receiver in the > > description of what an STB is. >> Why not? My current STB is a dual tuner HD PVR. >> Whether you call it a cable STB with integrated >> PVR or a PVR with integrated cable tuners, it's >> still a set-top box of some description. >Because that's cheating!! It's cheating when the STB includes desirable new features? Hmmm... Whether you call it a STB, a media server, home gateway or whatever, I still maintain that for most "digital consumers," it makes more sense for this to be a separate box than to be a part of the innards of their video display. -- Frank ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.