Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer

Parks Associates is accepting submissions to be considered a speaker at the Smart Energy Summit, held in January, in Austin.

The agenda for Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer focuses on the roadmap for the emerging in-home energy management technology market, offering consumer and industry research and strategic insight:

Current status of REM and Smart Grid technologies
Consumer interest in REM solutions
Engaging the consumer: Strategies and tactics to communicate benefits successfully
Leveraging applications: Think energy ….and more
Impact of government stimulus and green initiatives
Technical and business requirements for succeeding in REM
Business strategies for utilities, manufacturers, installers, and service
providers
Unit and revenue forecasts for Smart Meters and REM residential solutions

More info: www.smartenergysummit2010.com

Parks Associates Supports Advanced Meter Data Management

Parks Associates is supporting Advanced Meter Data Management from November 9-10 2009 in London, United Kingdom.

With Smart meter projects being proposed and approved across the globe there has never been a more suitable time for SMi to hold their inaugural conference Advanced Meter Data Management.

For more information please click here.

Parks Associates Reveals Forecasting Methodology

Love us or hate us, you know that our analyst team spends hours, weeks and months sweating the details of our forecasts -- often boiling down reems of research into a single set of numbers. Sometimes accused of being too "rosy" and at other times chastised for not seeing more market potential, our analyst team constantly struggles with the right ingredients and the right recipe to bake the perfect forecast. Given that today is October 30th, we decided to give you a rare glimpse into the brainpower at work behind our research. As intellectual capital is our greatest asset, we carefully guard the "secret sauce" behind our body of digital living research. Today we offer you a peek inside the machine -- where Ernie (Bert is in NYC today), Tigger, The Orange Witch and The Ref look deeply into billion dollar markets.

Happy Halloween from Parks Associates

Parks Associates Supports Future of Film Summit

Parks Associates is supporting the Future of Film Summit, which will be held on November 3, 2009 in Santa Monica, CA.

Join the film industry’s key movers and influencers for Variety’s and Digital Media Wire’s inaugural Future of Film Summit focused on emerging business, legal, finance and technology trends in the $28.1 billion film industry. The inaugural event brings together top executives, creators and professionals from major and independent movie studios, film distributors, talent agencies, law firms, financiers and digital media companies for high-level discussions and debate, intimate meetings and unrivaled networking about the future of the movie business.

For more information about this event, click here.

Digital Photo Frames enter mass market with 25% penetration in U.S. broadband households

Product category hits new phase in lifecycle

Digital photo frames will transition from an emerging to mainstream product category in 2009, when it will exceed 25% penetration in U.S. broadband households this holiday season, according to Parks Associates.

The international research firm recently released Global Digital Photo Frame Market Update, part of its Digital Photo Frame Service, which reports that penetration in U.S. broadband households exceeded 20% in the first half of 2009, up from 7% in 2007.

Parks Associates states that in this new steady-growth stage, many early-growth drivers like expanded retail availability and price discounts and promotions will have less impact on the future growth of the product category.

Parks Associates started its Digital Photo Frame Service in 2007. Its latest report on this market summarizes sales data for the first half of 2009 by major regions, frame screen sizes, retail channels, and brand market share. It also provides industry growth forecasts through 2014.

For the full press release, click here.

Pace introduces a whole-home DVR

Pace announced an advanced multiroom DVR solution, Home Content Sharing (HCS). Pace’s HCS, which utilizes centralized storage to connect multiple high definition (HD) set-top boxes within the home, is integrated with Rovi’s Interactive Program Guide (IPG) and Rovi’s Connected Platform software to enhance the product’s advanced functionality.

Walmart getting more Geeky with home theater installations

Walmart has begun offering home installation services for TVs, home theaters and PCs through a partnership with NEW, as cited from this article from Video Business.

The services, which start at $99 for a basic TV installation and $129 for a basic PC setup, will be sold via prepaid cards displayed on descriptive merchandisers and within the home-theater and computer aisles.

The offering follows a major assortment and display upgrade within Walmart's consumer electronics departments, and represents a major step toward filling the service vacuum that separates full-line discount stores from specialty consumer electronics dealers.

Walmart is certainly getting into fertile territory with consumer electronics installations. Our 2009 survey Customer Support in the Digital Home finds that about 20% of high-definition television and/or home theater buyers pay for professional installation services.

Parks Associates supported Storage Visions 2010 announces speakers

Parks Associates supported Storage Visions Conference (SV2010) preliminary agenda and initial selected speakers are now posted on the conference web site, www.storagevisions.com.

Announced keynotes include Gordon Bell and Jim Gemmel from Microsoft Research as well as Dean Klein from Micron.

Here are a few of the confirmed speakers from the preliminary conference agenda:

Storage for Content Creation and Editing: Clyde Smith, Turner Broadcasting; Alex Grossman, Active Storage; Dr. Frederick Carlson or Manu Pillia, Nethra; and David Flynn, Fusion-io

Finding, Protecting and Using Content: Mike James, Toshiba; Scott Linfoot, Fiteris; William Qualls, Imation

The Technology of Storage: Melissa Perenson, PC World; Conrad Maxwell, Silicon Image; John Rydning, IDC; Justin Sykes, Micron Technology; Troy Winslow, Intel; Jeff Ravencraft, Intel

Storing More Stuff in CE Devices: Mike McKean, STMicroelectronics; Gary Palmer, Datalight; Rana Kabir, FlashBridge

Enabling Technologies for High Resolution Consumer Electronics: Jeff Janukowicz, IDC; Ethan Shur, TDVision; James Borden, Microsoft; Kyle Wiens, iFixit; Daniel Beneke, Imation

Parks Associates to present Connected TV and Cloud Media research at Digital Hollywood

Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates, will present a special session “Cloud Media & Connected TVs: The New Face of Digital Entertainment” at Digital Hollywood Fall on Wednesday, October 21.

This research presentation, sponsored by Rovi Corporation will start at 10:45 a.m., in the Escondido Room, at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Santa Monica, Calif.

Kurt will present Parks Associates’ latest consumer research, detailing demand and interest regarding connected CE and cloud media services, and discuss the implications of networked entertainment within the context of the connected home.

He will also discuss use cases for connectivity and identify offerings from CE vendors and service providers that are driving consumption of on-demand, multiplatform, and mixed-media entertainment.

Networked entertainment is redefining the concept of the connected home. In the U.S., more than 20% of consumers find connected set-top boxes enabling whole-home and PC-to-TV content services highly appealing, while more than one-third express interest in connected TVs and Blu-ray players that can deliver enhanced video-on-demand services. To fulfill this growing demand, and remain competitive, companies will have to serve more content and services in multiple locations and on multiple platforms.

Rovi Corporation, which delivers solutions that enable consumers to intuitively connect to new entertainment from many sources and locations, is sponsoring this special research and lunch session.

For more information about this event, visit
http://www.parksassociates.com/events/at_events.htm .

The European market for connected TVs is heating up

France’s Orange is in talks with TV manufacturers Samsung, LG and Panasonic to integrate its services with TVs connected to the internet, according to a report in French financial daily Les Echos.

The number of actors attempting to bring the connected TV vision to reality in Europe is quite diverse. I am organizing my analysis of the market by the following categories:

• Operators acting independently (Orange);
• Operators acting within the framework of the Open IPTV Forum;
• Content owners and CE manufacturers (HbbTV);
• Technology vendors (IBM WebSphere Portal, Yahoo! Connected TV, etc.); and
• Connected TV companies acting independently to sign deals with individual content owners/providers.

Connected CE: Aimed right at Joe Sixpack?

Given the highly-aggressive nature of companies such as VIZIO (whose products are widely distributed at retail warehouses such as Costco) and now Funai Electric Co., which makes products branded Sylvania, Philips, Magnavox, and Emerson-branded HDTVs and Blu-ray Disc (BD) players, I'm thinking that connected and Web-enabled consumer electronics products will quickly move from the early-adopter to a more mainstream market. Today, Sonic Solutions announced that it will provide access to its Roxio CinemaNow™ movie service across a range of soon-to-be-released connected TVs and Blu-ray Disc Players.

Smart Energy Summit addresses emerging market for in-home energy management devices and services

Parks Associates to host Residential Energy Management event in Austin

International research firm Parks Associates announced plans to host the inaugural Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, in cooperation with Austin Energy, on January 25-27, 2010. The event will feature expert speakers and analysts discussing the latest developments in residential energy management (REM) and the successful strategies capable of engaging consumers in new programs for energy conservation and cost savings.

The event, taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Austin, Texas, will feature market research from Parks Associates’ landmark Residential Energy Management service and real-world expertise derived from Austin Energy's Smart Grid, the largest working Smart Grid in the U.S.

Government initiatives and stimulus funds have stoked demand for REM technologies with their emphasis on energy conservation and greater efficiency in the home. Already over six percent of all U.S. meters are smart meters, and many U.S. utilities are announcing new deployments and pilot programs, which will push the number of smart meters to almost 50 million by 2012. This event identifies the business opportunities for in-home energy monitoring and management systems, accelerated by deployment of energy smart grids.

Early sponsors for Smart Energy Summit include Exceptional Innovation and OpenPeak. Andres Carvallo, CIO, Austin Energy, will present a keynote detailing his company’s experiences in developing and deploying its Smart Grid.

The event agenda will focus on the roadmap for the emerging in-home energy management technology market, offering consumer and industry research and strategic insight:

• Current status of REM and Smart Grid technologies
• Consumer interest in REM solutions
• Engaging the consumer: Strategies and tactics to communicate benefits successfully
• Leveraging applications: Think energy … and more
• Impact of government stimulus and green initiatives
• Technical and business requirements for succeeding in REM
• Business strategies for utilities, manufacturers, installers, and service providers
• Unit and revenue forecasts for Smart Meters and REM residential solutions

For more information, or to submit to speak at the event, visit www.smartenergysummit2010.com.

Great CED Article: Why should service providers care about the home network?

I found a well-written article from CED titled "The Ascent of LAN" that examines the role of home networks and connected home services from the perspective of the broadband and pay television operator. Many of the thoughts expressed in the article are consistent with findings from our 2009 research, including:

• Home Networks for Consumer Electronics;
• Set-top Boxes: Outlook; and
• Connected Home: Global Outlook.

I think we're on the cusp of a rapid roll-out of advanced residential gateways from service providers that move beyond pure access services (allowing multiple computers to access a broadband connecting and including eMTA or VoIP support) to transport gateways that will take on more of a role of codec mediation, transcoding, remote user interface, and rights management and conditional access management. It should be a very interesting time to watch this space.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct

There will be a new feature available to Wi-Fi devices in 2010, allowing them to connect directly to each other to share or display content. The Wi-Fi Alliance today announced that is is nearing completion of a new specification to enable Wi-Fi devices to connect to one another without joining a traditional home, office, or hotspot network. The Wi-Fi Alliance expects to begin certification for this new specification in mid-2010, and products which achieve the certification will be designated Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Wi-Fi Direct.

The specification, previously code-named "Wi-Fi peer-to-peer," can be implemented in any Wi-Fi device, from mobile phones, cameras, printers, and notebook computers, to human interface devices such as keyboards and headphones.

The applications for which Wi-Fi Direct is well-positioned include:

• Printing pictures directly from a Wi-Fi camera;
• Synchronizing contacts, music, etc.;
• Sharing music directly with a friend; and
• Displaying pictures directly from a mobile phone on a television.

Entropic and Intellon join forces - a stand against G.hn/HomeGrid?

You betcha. Following the HomeGrid Forum's announcement last Friday regarding the ITU-T's work in agreeing to key components of the G.hn specification, agreements reached within the ITU-T for G.hn, Entropic (MoCA) and Intellon (HomePlug) today announced their own collaboration to accelerate the availability of home networking solutions combining coaxial cable and powerline communications.

Advanced TV ad revenues to top $4 billion in 2014, as digital TV providers capitalize on demand for VOD and DVRs

The pay-TV industry will start to see success in advanced TV advertising beginning mid-2010, with U.S. revenues topping $130 million by year-end, according to the new Parks Associates report Addressable, Interactive TV Advertising in the U.S.

Consumer demand for time-shifted TV viewing on VOD and DVR service platforms, combined with the broad deployment of Canoe Ventures’ national addressable TV advertising platform, will drive the growth in advanced TV advertising. By 2014, U.S. addressable, interactive TV advertising revenue will exceed $4 billion, accounting for nearly 12% of total cable, DBS, and telco TV ad revenue.

Advanced TV advertising includes traditional linear 30-second ads and non-linear ads that include VOD and DVR advertising and interactive formats, such as overlay, tags, IPG banners, microsites, RFI, showcases, and telescoping.

Addressable, Interactive TV Advertising in the U.S. highlights the key advanced TV advertising industry players and examines the business and technology drivers shaping the advanced television services segment. In addition, the report studies the existing business models and discusses how the models will change to accommodate addressable and interactive TV advertising solutions. The report concludes with advertising revenue forecasts, implications, and recommendations for industry investors.

Parks' Research VP participates on Motorola's IP Video Webcast

Kurt Scherf, Vice President of Research and Principal Analyst at Parks Associates will present new research and analysis with Motorola during a free webcast, "IP Video: How to prepare for anywhere, anytime, any device" on Thursday, October 15.

Kurt and Buddy Snow of Motorola will talk about the exploding consumer demand for IP video content & services and discuss the state of the market, specifically how operators can plan, implement and future-proof their IP video deployments. The webcast is sponsored by Motorola and hosted by CED.

To register for this webcast featuring Kurt Scherf, click here.

Western Digital Introduces the WD Live Media Player

WD's digital media players have gone from "Sneakernet" (the WD TV product) to home network-connected with the introduction of the WD Live Media Player today. The product features network capability and Full-HD 1080p resolution.

The WD TV Live media player connects directly to a users' HD TV and plays almost any file stored on a connected USB drive such as My Passport™ portable drive. The WD TV Live media player features powerful media processing, which enables playback in Full-HD 1080p resolution. WD TV Live media player also will play movies and photos stored on other popular USB devices such as digital camcorders and digital cameras.

Sigma buys CopperGate - going head-to-head with Broadcom?

Sigma Designs is building quite a home networking portfolio. First, there was the acquisition of Zensys, and now today an announcement of their purchase of CopperGate, they look like they're going to go head-to-head even more with the likes of Broadcom in the advanced gateway, set-top box, and connected CE space, as Broadcom is a big proponent of MoCA.

BluFocus Approved as Official Testing Center for the Blu-ray Disc Association

BluFocus Inc, an advanced testing and certification facility, announced it has established the first, and currently only, Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) approved Testing Center in the United States for Movie Player Verification. BluFocus has also been approved by the BDA as a Testing Center for BD-ROM Audio Visual Content and is in the process of finalizing its approval for BD-ROM PC Application Software.

BluFocus recognizes that in order to continue ensuring the quality of Blu-ray products released into the market, it is necessary that these products are operating as intended, per the Blu-ray specification and that advanced levels of testing are conducted within all areas. With BluFocus’ expertise and knowledge, the company is highly qualified and positioned to process discs, players and content through a wide variety of tests to ensure their compliancy and compatibility.

These additional services expand BluFocus’ already comprehensive list of offerings in the areas of testing, compatibility, verification, THX Certification and Project Engineering. This allows BluFocus to continue assisting their clients at all levels to ensure a seamless, issue-free consumer experience as demonstrated with BluFocus’ involvement on Warner Bros.’ “The Dark Knight”.

For the full press release, click here.

Verizon, don't mess with Dennis Streed!

Sometimes, it's worth it to be an insomniac. I was awake at 4:50 this morning for the Marketplace Morning Report on NPR, and heard the story of the man from Oregan who demanded a signed contract from Verizon that a $77.99 bundled service offer would be honored as such, with no additional or hidden fees. Those of us who have such contracts realize, of course, that the base price is just that - the starting point for pricing that will invariably include additioanl fees (taxes, regulatory fees, franchise fees, set-top box rental fees, etc.). As a Verizon FiOS customer myself, I checked my latest bill, and found about $50 in the extra fees. It's nothing new.

For Mr. Streed, however, this was unacceptable, and even though he was told by Verizon officials that a monthly payment of $77.99 would be sufficient, the company did cut off his services.

The lesson for Mr. Streed?

"Well, don't ever go for any bundling. Keep everything separate. Smaller lots. Your television with one. Your TV with another, so that you can't be completely destroyed."

Yeesh. Not great publicity for the service providers.

One side note: Verizon has restored Mr. Streed's services at the $77.99 price.

GlideTV Navigator - A catalyst for more PC-to-TV connections?

After the Consumer Electronics Show in January, I had written some thoughts about whether low-cost PCs (like netbooks) would be more widely used to bring online content and application straight to the TV and eliminate the need for digital media adapters, home networks, or other complicated solutions. At the time, I had said that was was needed was a way for the user to easily interact with the on-screen content and guide with a good remote.

The folks at GlideTV think they've come up with the answer with the GlideTV Navigator. I had the chance to experiment with it at CES, and it is a nifty way of interacting with online media as displayed on a TV.

Research Director, Harry Wang speaks at CTIA Wireless

Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates will be moderating the panel "Chronic Disease Management and Care Compliance Assurance" at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2009 in San Diego on Thursday, October 8, at 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM in room 29B.

Combating rising healthcare costs is a top priority in our nation’s economic struggle. This session will explore the application of wireless to chronic disease management for the benefit of the patient and for healthcare reform. The role of wireless monitoring to ensure the patient’s compliance with physician instructions will also be discussed.

Parks Director of Research Speaks at Continua Health Summit, Boston

Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates will present "Market Trends, PHR Buzz, & Wireless for Healthcare: Implications for Continua" on Wednesday, October 7th at the Continua Health Alliance Fall Summit in Boston, MA.

This two-hour presentation have three mini-tracks that will cover the latest market trends in the personal health technology market, discuss adoption trends and use cases of Personal Health Records (PHR), and highlight home care market opportunity for wireless technology vendors. Continua members are encouraged to participate in this interactive presentation to share their viewpoints and business stories.

Parks Associates Supports SUPERCOMM 2009

Parks Associates is supporting SUPERCOMM 2009 from October 21-23 in Chicago, Illinois.

SUPERCOMM showcases the business and technology solutions you need to maximize your network and offers the applications and services your customers demand.

It's the international showcase for a new industry, a new economy and a new world of broadband communications. In just four days, you'll meet and talk with the visionaries, executives and engineers transforming an industry and changing the way we live our lives.

SUPERCOMM draws on a tradition started over 20 years ago, bringing service providers, network owners, manufacturers, suppliers and related professionals together to exchange ideas and innovations.

For more information, please click here.

Parks Associates Supports IPTV World Forum Middle East and Africa

Parks Associates is supporting IPTV World Forum Middle East and Africa on November 15-16 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

IPTV World Forums Middle East & Africa always provide the opportunity to benefit from established local deployments of IPTV and also meet those from further afield, along with other seasoned attendees from the IPTV World Series. This year, the event once again featured the series’ unique operator-centric formula, bringing together local and worldwide IPTV service providers and telcos along with key technology vendors, broadcasters and systems integrators.

For more information click here.

Parks Associates Supports Digital Hollywood Fall

Parks Associates is supporting Digital Hollywood Fall from October 19-22 in Santa Monica, California.

Parks Associates is hosting the Lunch & Special Research Presentation “Cloud Media & Connected TVs: The New Face of Digital Entertainment” on Wednesday, October 21, 10:45 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

Digital Hollywood is the premier entertainment and technology conference in the country.

For more information click here.

Parks Associates Supports Partners Healthcare's 2009 Connected Health Symposium & Expo

Parks Associates supports Partners Healthcare's 2009 Connected Health Symposium & Expo from October 21-22 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Connected Health Symposium asks how information technology -- cell phones, computers, the Internet and other tools -- can help people manage chronic conditions, maintain health and wellness, and age with independence. What’s up for discussion?

Sessions include:
- The Amazing Effects on Health of Personal Social Networks -- and How to Harness Their Power to Help Patients
- Payment Reform, the Role of Information Technology, and the Implications for IT Business Models
- Limits to the Wisdom of Patients and the Wisdom of Crowds? Implications from Behavioral Economics
- Remote Monitoring in 2014: What'll Be Different in Five Years about the Technology, the Data and the Incentives?
- Health Games: All Set to Play?
- Coordinating Care: What’s Really Involved and Who's Really Going to Do It?

For more information click here.