CES Wrap-Up: Home Media Gateways Proliferate

In the digital set top box world, change is often gradual. However, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the rapid development and deployment of home media gateways was a key theme. Twelve months ago, only a handful of these products existed. In Las Vegas last week, they were prominently displayed by almost every vendor that supplies equipment to the pay-TV industry.

But what exactly is a home media gateway? It is a high-end set top box that supports multiple services and capabilities, including support for IP video, ability to stream video to multiple screens, and multi-room PVR capability. Specific features of the home media gateway include an integrated hard disk drive, wired and/or wireless interfaces that connect to other CE devices, and either an integrated modem or Ethernet/Wi-Fi connection.

Set top box manufacturers such as Cisco Systems and Technicolor introduced their home media gateway products last week, while service provider Dish Networks spent an impressive amount of money trumpeting its Hopper-branded box. In particular, Cisco promoted its Videoscape architecture designed to help service providers integrate IP-based media into their traditional linear video delivery systems. Cisco announced the 9800 series multiscreen gateway, which receives video via 6 QAM tuners as well as IP; Voyager Vantage, software connecting STBs to the cloud to enable service providers to offer richer user interfaces and EPGs; and Voyager Virtual, which allows legacy STBs to use a cloud rendered user interface and interactive applications.

Other manufacturers, like Motorola Mobility and ARRIS, used the CES spotlight to highlight their own media gateway products that were announced in 2011. Price points for the products have not been publicly announced, but In-Stat has been hearing about quotes in the $400 range, making them more than double the price of today’s midrange set top box products.

For pay-TV service providers, deploying home media gateway products in 2012 is a high priority. Pressure to counter the perceived threat from “over-the-top” video services, along with the necessity of integrating support for IP video into the set top box itself, are the key reasons spurring the development of home media gateways.

In addition to Dish Network, other leading pay-TV service providers that have announced the deployment of gateways include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Liberty Global, Shaw Communications, and DirecTV.

2012 looks to be “year one” for the deployment of home media gateways, especially in the North American market, and In-Stat’s Global Pay-TV service will soon be publishing a first look at this market.

Anonymous

DISH made a huge splash this year at CES, this was one of
the most exciting exhibitions that I’ve watched in a while. The Hopper and the
Joeys, of course I mean the receivers and not the marsupial that was on stage,
are some of the best innovations that in the market for DVRs. I’ve been working
with the PrimeTime Anytime feature quite a bit at work at DISH, I love being
able to record up to 6 shows at once. One of the best perks of this is simple
the fact that the prime time shows will be stored on my DVR for a rolling 8
days, like an on demand service of such.
http://bjdraw.com Ben Drawbaugh

This is great to see everyone getting in this game, but with Microsoft introducing these features in Windows Vista using an OCUR, it is hardly “year one” for the deployment of home media gateways.