Samsung Celebrates the Global Launch of Full HD 3D LED TV at Times Square With The Black Eyed Peas and "Avatar" Director James Cameron

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today celebrated the worldwide availability of the first-ever Full HD 3D LED TVs with a one-of-a-kind special performance by The Black Eyed Peas in Times Square. "Avatar" director James Cameron, who has been a crucial driver in furthering the development of 3D content, also joined today's celebration.

Samsung Electronics 3D LED TV global launch celebration in Times Square was filmed in 3D by James Cameron and Vince Pace's production company Cameron/Pace, and streamed live via Dipdive.com, the popular lifestyle engine for music, arts, action and more. The Times Square surprise performance by The Black Eyed Peas kicked off Samsung Electronics' global campaign to raise awareness for its 3D TV technology leadership, which also includes worldwide launch events and a global television advertising campaign.

Together, these leaders in each of their respective industries showcase a commitment by consumer electronics, music and content organizations to bring the 3D TV vision to life in consumer homes everywhere. It also symbolizes the beginning of a new era of home entertainment.

For the full press release, click here.

Decreasing Piracy in the Modern Digital Environment

At the upcoming CONNECTIONS Europe event in Amsterdam, I will be taking part in the "Digital Furnace: Residential Gateways and Set-Top Boxes" paneldiscussion, which will explore the increasingly popular 'home hub' experience.This is an especially critical topic for the industry right now as it considers hardware developments, environmental factors, applications, and features as well as content delivery and protection.

Currently, consumer demand for media-rich home entertainment services is driving innovation and new revenue opportunities in the set-top box industry. Next generation set-top boxes will integrate video content from multiple signal sources such as broadcast television, premium video-on-demand and Internet-based services. They will also provide value-added capabilities like time-shifting and enabling content to be distributed to a variety of viewing devices including multi-room TV networks, personal computers, portable media players, and other mobile devices.

Yet this level of source variety and content portability is inherently more susceptible to piracy attacks, which dramatically increases the complexity of security requirements. Set-top boxes, their associated conditional access systems and digital rights management technologies are under constant threat from device tampering, software security breaches and hacker attacks that can significantly impact the reputation and bottom line for both set-top box manufacturers and operators.

How do manufacturers and operators alike achieve sustainable security in the set-top box ecosystem thus preparing their devices to safely deliver high-value premium content to global consumers?

If the manufacturers get it right, they can fight against attacks, while creating a profitable business model.

The “Digital Furnace: Residential Gateways and Set-Top Boxes” panel discussion will take place at CONNECTIONS Europe, Amsterdam on Wednesday 4th November, 2009 at 11.45 a.m. CET.

By Andrew Wajs, CTO, Irdeto

NETGEAR Offers Free Gift to Digital Entertainer Elite Customers

Claim your free iTunes voucher, iPod Shuffle or Logitech Dock when you purchase NETGEAR's award-winning EVA9150

Leading networking and multimedia vendor, NETGEAR, is offering a promotion entitling customers to either a Pounds Sterling 50 iTunes voucher, 4GB iPod Shuffle or Logitech Pure-Fi Express Plus Dock when purchasing the Digital Entertainer Elite (EVA9150).

By incorporating the latest video, audio and wireless technologies, the EVA9150 is an ideal solution for serious media enthusiasts looking for an unparalleled living room multimedia experience. The powerful and flexible digital media player enables digital content, including videos, MP3s, digital photos and online content such as YouTube videos, to be streamed over a home network to a high-definition home entertainment system. The addition of a 500GB hard drive (easily upgradable), makes the EVA9150 the world's largest capacity home video jukebox on the market.

In a recent Computer Shopper review, the EVA9150 was awarded the coveted 'Ultimate' award logo. By the publication's own admission, this accolade is reserved for only the best products on the market. In the review, the EVA9150 was awarded the full five stars and praised for its 'excellent and easy to use interface'. The review's verdict highlighted that: 'With a large hard disk, dual-band Draft-N WiFi, an excellent interface and the most comprehensive format support we've ever seen, it earns our Ultimate award'.

This promotion is effective immediately and will run until September 30th 2009. The claim form can be downloaded here.

Stellar line-up of speakers at CONNECTIONS Summit at CES

Parks Associates is looking forward to CES next week. The CONNECTIONS Summit will be hosted on January 8 and 9 in the back of the South Hall - rooms 106/107. For more information , view the entire agenda online.

Speakers and sessions include:

Thurday, January 8

9:30 AM - 10:45 AM Wireless Networking
David Borison, Senior Director, Marketing, TZero Technologies
Noam Geri, Co-founder, Vice President, Marketing & Business Development, AMIMON
John Marshall, Chairman, WirelessHD LLC
Professor Andrew Nix, Co-Founder & Director, ProVision Communications

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Advanced Video Services: The Next Big Thing?
Charles Cerino, VP, Comcast Center Technology, Comcast; President, MoCA
Ed Forman, EVP, Products and Services, ActiveVideo Networks
Jean-Marc Harion, Vice President, Business Development, North America, Orange – France Telecom NA
John Reister, Chief IPTV Architect, BigBand Networks
Marty Roberts, VP Marketing, thePlatform

12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Digital Home Customer Support: From Troubleshooting to Upselling?
Fred King, VP, Sales & Marketing, PlumChoice, Inc.
Art Lancaster, CTO, Affinegy
Anthony Rodio, Chief Operating Officer, support.com
Singu Srinivas, Vice President, Premium Support, Radialpoint
Bill Stanley, Director, Operations Solutions, Telcordia

2:00 PM - 3:15 PM The Five Ws of Social Media
Scott Brown, Director, Marketing, Cisco
Rick Clancy, SVP of Corporate Communications, Sony Electronics
Rajat Paharia, Founder & CEO, Bunchball
Michael Papish, CEO, MediaUnbound
Ron Richards, Director of Marketing & Product Management, Revision3

3:30 PM - 3:45 PM The Changing CE Purchase Decision
Research Presentation by Tricia Parks, Founder and CEO, Parks Associates

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Never Lost Plus Much More Fun — Navigating Through the Booming GPS Market
Fazal Ali, Senior Director, Product Management, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies
Luke D’Arcy, VP, Advanced Technology Marketing, CSR
H.P. Jin, President, CEO and Co-Founder, TeleNav
Darren Koenig, Director, Wireless and Internet Markets, Tele Atlas

Friday, January 9

9:30 AM - 10:45 AM Connected Consumer Electronics: Linking Premium Applications and Content across Devices
Richard Bullwinkle, Chief Evangelist, Macrovision
Chenyi Chiu, Strategic Program Manager, HD-PLC Alliance
Robert Eisses, President and CEO, Icron
Kazuhiro Kitagawa, Vice-Chairman, PUCC
Loren Shade, VP Marketing, Allegro Software Development Corporation

11:00 AM - 11:15 AM The Changing CE Purchase Decision
Research Presentation by Tricia Parks, Founder and CEO, Parks Associates

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM The Future of Digital Photo Frames: A Display or Platform?
Stephen Joe, President/CEO, D-Link Systems, Inc.
David Snook, Product Marketing Manager, Digital Frames, Kodak
Mark Vena, Vice President, PC Business Unit, Synaptics, Inc.
Mike Wodopian, VP, GM Media Processor Solutions, RMI Corp.
Richard Yeh, Marketing Director, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

12:45 PM - 2:00 PM Connected Game Consoles: King of the Digital Home
Glenn Broderick, Executive Director, Gaming, AT&T
Ben Huang, Director of Product Management and Marketing, TV Business, Microsoft Corporation
Jeremy Lockhorn, Director of Emerging Media, Avenue A| Razorfish
Susan Panico, Senior Director of PlayStation Network, Sony Computer Entertainment America
Randy Stude, Director, Intel

2:15 PM - 3:30 PM TV 2.0 – The Future of the Set-Top Box
David Foote, CTO, Hitachi USA
Doug Jones, Chief Architect, Cable, BigBand Networks
Aslam Khader, Chief Product Officer, Ensequence
Joe Seidel, Director, Global Business Development, Connected TV Devices Business, Microsoft Corporation
Steve Tranter, VP, Interactive and Broadband, NDS

3:45 PM - 5:00 PM Breakout Year? New Paths for Home Systems
Michelle Leyden Li, GM of Home Control, Zilog
Kevin Meagher, CEO, Intamac Systems
Eric Smith, Chief Technology Officer, Control4
Matt Theall, Technology Strategist, Intel Corporation; President, HomeGrid Forum
Evan Tree, Chief Products Officer, Logitech

A Global Standard for Home Networking

by Rob Gelphman, Chair, Marketing Work Group, MoCA

Current forecast for home entertainment networking suggests continuation of multiple parallel technologies, standards and mediums, with choices based on ease of use and applications. “Let the marketplace decide,” is the rallying war cry on this competitive path toward hypothetical industry standardization. We recommend a different, more agreeable course founded upon shared interests and mutual benefit for providers, manufacturers and consumers alike.

Too many technologies are purporting to be standards, especially for home entertainment networking. Consumers want home entertainment networking solutions, not another standard. They want whole-home connectivity that includes gaming, HD video, telephone service, internet and data access. They want to purchase, with confidence, a system that is easy to install and inexpensive. They could care less about technologies or standards.

Current forecast for home entertainment networking suggests continuation of multiple parallel technologies, standards and mediums, with choices based on ease of use and applications. “Let the marketplace decide,” is the rallying war cry on this competitive path toward hypothetical industry standardization. We recommend a different, more agreeable course founded upon shared interests and mutual benefit for providers, manufacturers and consumers alike.

Too many technologies are purporting to be standards, especially for home entertainment networking. Consumers want home entertainment networking solutions, not another standard. They want whole-home connectivity that includes gaming, HD video, telephone service, internet and data access. They want to purchase, with confidence, a system that is easy to install and inexpensive. They could care less about technologies or standards.

Is it any wonder the end consumer is confused? We, as an industry, offer too many standards and not enough solutions. It is solutions that are of interest to consumers and it is at that level that we should be competing. Competition does not need to create confusion to thrive, but confusion is evidence of competing ideas. Too many standards foster misunderstanding and redundancy. They can serve to bind customers to their point of entry generating discontent. If we are not careful, consumers will wash their hands of the whole affair.

A standard is more than a specification. Technical merits are cornerstone of the evaluation process, as are organizational effectiveness and economic benefits. Market size, immediate and downstream economic value and management by industry leaders should also be considered when evaluating and adopting standards.

To say that the home entertainment network is and will be a blend of technologies, standards and mediums has become cliché. This thinking does not take into account the problem of moving high definition video from room to room or screen to screen in real time. In addition to considerations such as overall performance, quality of service, operating frequency and availability, economic benefits, ability to function in multiple industry segments and environments, we must not lose sight of the fact that the solution must ensure real-time HD video distribution within homes.

We believe that no one standard will dominate the home entertainment networking marketplace. However, the ones that stick around will not interfere with other mediums, technologies or devices in use. They must appeal to multiple geographies and industry segments. These standards will also provide value throughout the entire chain. The dominant home entertainment networking standards will also utilize the ideal medium designed for video in the first place--coax.

There are too many standard and not enough solutions. While service providers try them all, endless trials further delay deployments and the consumer grows ever more confused.

A standard provides a framework within which innovation thrives. When an industry accepts a standard it is an indication of maturity and confidence. It is beneficial to the industry and their customers to begin finalizing these home entertainment networking standards.

This article was published for the 2008 CONNECTIONS™ Conference Industry Insights, the official publication of CONNECTIONS™.

High-End A/V: Moving to the Masses

by Bill Ablondi, Director, Home Systems Research, Parks Associates

Technology advancements, widespread adoption of broadband Internet access, and consumer desire for enhanced entertainment experiences will drive current high-end entertainment capabilities into mainstream markets.

What is a high-end entertainment system? That question can be answered in a variety of ways. We found that out as we started research for our High-end Entertainment Systems: Analysis and Forecasts market report at the end of 2007. For some people, “high-end” meant systems bought at a specialty retailer, e.g., Bang & Olufsen, Tweeter, or Ultimate Electronics. For others, price determines a high-end entertainment system — $5,000, $10,000, or more for a TV with a 5.1 surround-sound system. On the other hand, audiophiles think of a critical listening room equipped with Krell components and B&W loudspeakers when asked about high-end entertainment. For our report we settled on the following: home theaters and audio systems that are typically installed professionally as opposed to purchased at retail or online and set up by users.

Parks Associates has been conducting research of home systems integrators/installers for over six years in order to understand what people with large budgets want and don’t want. Customers of the home systems integration channel are spending an average of $12,000 to have audio systems installed, $25,000 for home theater installations, and $30,000 or more for whole-house control systems. Clearly they are upper-income households, or they wouldn’t be able to afford these systems. Why does Parks Associates track consumers in this rarified market stratum? This high-end market is a leading indicator of products, services, and capabilities that will succeed in mainstream consumer markets when prices, packaging, and delivery methods match what typical consumers can afford.

Plummeting flat-screen TV prices are a good example of how technology advancements are bringing high-end products to mainstream markets, enticing millions of households to pitch their tube and hang a plasma or LCD TV on the wall. Once the screen is on the wall, adding a multichannel sound system with surround-sound speakers is a natural progression. The next step is a storage system for music, videos, and family pictures, a.k.a. a media server. Finally, once all of this is in place, how about a system for distributing audio and video content to other rooms in the house? How can anyone resist?

As installed home theaters and multiroom audio systems become more affordable, a broader market of consumers at lower income/wealth levels will open up. This trend is evident as we look over results from numerous Parks Associates’ consumer surveys. Ownership of all forms of entertainment systems is extensive, and intentions to purchase larger (40+ inches) flat-panel TVs and multiroom audio systems are high. Parks Associates’ Digital Media Habits II (3Q/07) study revealed that more than 20% of broadband households in the U.S. planned to purchase a flat-screen TV within 12 months and 66% intend to buy one 40 inches in diameter or larger. With this research in mind, we see a natural evolution in the high-end A/V market as systems become more affordable and accessible to a larger base of customers.

As mentioned, the vast majority of current high-end A/V customers are wealthy … they have to be in order to afford the systems. In addition, most installed entertainment systems are currently sold into the new-home construction market or into homes going through a major renovation. This mix will change as wireless, power line, and other “no-new-wires” technologies gain more traction in the market, particularly among home systems integrators who are influential in determining which products and technologies are incorporated in the systems they install.

Most single-family homes in the U.S. are detached units owned by those living in them. However, there are 300,000-350,000 living units built in multiple dwelling units (MDUs) annually added to approximately 18 million existing rental units. This market is sizeable and one that can be better addressed by “no-new-wires” approaches for a couple of reasons. People will be able to take their entertainment systems with them when they move, and those living in units where they can’t open the walls will have an alternative.

Parks Associates’ research of broadband households in its Global Digital Living™ II survey reveals that broadband households are significantly more interested in enhanced TV features, including video-on demand, high-definition channels, and digital video recording (DVR) capability, than are households without broadband access. In addition, younger broadband households have high DVR penetration (50% of those 25-34) compared with older households. These results point to a high propensity for broadband households to upgrade their entertainment systems when they can afford them.

Further in the future (2015-2020), not only will the capabilities of high-end entertainment systems become more affordable to the top 10-15% of households by income level, but they will also become relatively easy to set up by consumers. Parks Associates’ definition of high-end entertainment systems (installed systems) will need to change. The situation is comparable to that of mainframe computers. The capabilities once confined to water-cooled computers in large glass rooms are now in slender laptop PCs we can carry anywhere. Technology changes the market … and our definitions.

This article was published for the 2008 CONNECTIONS™ Conference Industry Insights, the official publication of CONNECTIONS™.

Panelists from Best Buy, NETGEAR, D-Link, Actiontec, VentureBeat to discuss entertainment networking in special MoCA™ session at CONNECTIONS™

MoCA’s super session, “Entertaining Home Connectivity,” will feature panelists from leading CE vendors NETGEAR, D-Link, and Actiontec Electronics and the number-one retailer Best Buy as well as Dean Takahashi, lead writer for digital media at VentureBeat, a blog on venture capital and start-ups. These experts in retail and consumer electronics will share their experiences and predictions for the entertainment networking market. They will also take questions from the audience regarding the consumer environment for HD video distribution in and around the home.

“In-store purchases accounted for two-thirds of home networking purchases made in 2007,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president, principal analyst, Parks Associates. “With about one-third of U.S. households now with a network, the critical next stage will include upgrades and enhancements. How well the retail channel educates consumers and showcases connected home solutions will be a critical component of the success of next-generation home networking solutions.”

Making High-Definition Home Networks Easy: A Special Session Hosted by Pulse~LINK

Summary information from Day 2: CONNECTIONS™ May 2007, hosted in Santa Clara, CA.

Making High-Definition Home Networks Easy: A Special Session Hosted by Pulse~LINK

Can networking HD devices actually restore simplicity for the consumer? What are the value propositions with enabling whole-home entertainment networks? A panel representing content and service providers, CE companies, and others describe HANA’s latest progress in simplifying and enhancing the HD experience for consumers.

Zephra Freeman, Home Networking Business Development Manager, Digital Interface Business, Texas Instruments, Inc.
John J. Kang, Sr. Director of Business Development, Samsung Electronics Co.
Sheau Ng, Vice President, Consumer and Broadcast Technology, NBC Universal
Paul Pantera, Sr Software Engineer, 4HomeMedia, Inc.
William (Bill) Rose, President, WJR Consulting Inc.
Bruce Watkins, Co-Founder, President/COO, Pulse~LINK, Inc.
Moderator: Harry Wang, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates

Pulse~LINK sponsored this session to discuss HANA's approach in helping consumers better enjoy HD entertainment in their homes. The session featured six panelists representing CE manufacturers, content owners, 1394 chipset makers, networking silicon manufacturers, middleware developers, and integration service providers.

Harry Wang started the session by describing consumers' frustration over the setup and delivery of networked multimedia entertainment in the home and turned to the panelists for clarification on HANA's solutions. The panelists answered questions specific to their components of HANA's specifications, how the solution works, and the benefits for consumers as well as service providers and CE manufacturers. Bill Rose from WJR Consulting emphasized the benefits to consumers of one remote control for all TVs in the home. Paul Pantera from 4HomeMedia explained how his company's solution enables the same on-screen menu for every TV in the household and that OCAP standards from the cable industry will make the UI more easily developed as the HANA framework also supports OCAP standards. John Kang from Samsung showed a remote control model from his company and said that HANA helps simplify consumer use cases with one remote/one UI concept, thus encouraging sales of networked CE nodes. Zephra Freeman from TI explained the benefits of using 1394 as a reliable in-home connectivity solution with superior throughput and a proven content protection scheme, DTCP, recognized by almost all industries, including cable. Bruce Watkins added a chipset maker's perspective, that quality-of-service features of the company's UWB chipset provide guaranteed bandwidth for video streaming in the home and the chipset design is flexible enough to be compatible with either coax or Ethernet infrastructure. Sheau Ng from NBC Universal elaborated that the content industry wants and is ready to support a solution with that is simple to use but has robust security features, all of which HANA has demonstrated.

All panelists agreed that HANA is a fast-track approach with a narrower scope than Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA). Rose commented that HANA stands to solve the most immediate needs of consumers in their living room and this focused approach will earn support from consumers. Watkins pointed out that all six companies on the panel also have seats with DLNA but they see special value in HANA's approach in tackling the critical aspect of living room entertainment. Freeman added that many components of HANA are proven technologies and they do not intend to re-invent the wheel for potential adopters. Rose provided updates on recent HANA developments – that the promoting member companies and working groups are working diligently to test technology and interoperability and that final standards will be ready for adoption in late 2007.