A living room in today’s typical household is dominated by several fancy high-tech devices. These feature-rich devices employ cutting-edge technology that often makes its way into news headlines. This report focuses on such digital living room devices and aims to educate the reader from the market and technology perspective.
 
The research focuses on digital TVs, set-top boxes, DVDs, DVRs, and high-end media systems. Low-end digital living room devices such as smart remote controls and photo frames are excluded from the report.
 
For each device, the report provides readers with key technological considerations from both the hardware and software points of view. It includes a discussion of the popular chip sets and software stacks present in each device. A forecast of total market in each category by dollar, volume, and geographical region over the period of next 5 years is included. Each device market is further segmented to provide the reader with pertinent information.
 
The report discusses the market ecosystem in each device category and explains the trends shaping the future. Key players in each category are discussed along with market share information.
 
The role of start-up is increasingly important in shaping the future of digital living room devices; this report includes a chapter on start-ups in each category. Emerging technologies that define the future of digital living room devices are also discussed.
 
The report also includes an analysis of patents filed in this marketplace by various companies.
 
REASONS FOR UNDERTAKING THE STUDY
 
Digital living room devices have become important aspects of human life. These devices often become centerpieces of attraction whether people visit department stores or converse at parties.
 
A research study aimed at analyzing this market would be useful to anyone connected to this field. It provides students, executives, and those interested in technology with insight into the underlying technology, market forces, and trends that will help them understand the dynamics.
 
DIGITAL DEVICES FOR THE LIVING ROOM: MARKET SEGMENTATION
 
For the purpose of definition for this report, the digital living room market is segmented into five categories: televisions, digital video disc (DVD) players, digital video recorders (DVR), set-top boxes, and home theater systems. These devices, which are common in living rooms, come in a wide range of feature sets.
 
REPORT SCOPE AND ORGANISATION
 
This report is divided into five parts: televisions, set-top boxes, DVDs, DVRs, and high-end media systems. The following is provided for each chapter:

• Definition and further segmentation
• Overall market
• Geographic data
• Revenue by end application
• Business models
• Growth forecast and market trends
• Key players and market share

 
The report also includes a high-level discussion of the hardware and software design that pertains to each segment.
 
The number of living room devices could be unlimited in the sense that one could argue that an iPad-like device is also part of digital living room in the future. For the sake of this report, the previously listed categories are limited to the most common categories found in this area.
 
This report will provide:

• Understanding of the architecture of digital living home devices and the roles played by different hardware and software components
• Understanding of the market segment and the factors driving its growth
• Knowledge of business models used in different market segments
• Market potential for each segment and projection for the next 5 years

INTENDED AUDIENCE
 
This report will be useful to a broad reader base. More specifically, the following should benefit:

• Consumer electronics industry insiders, including executives, managers, marketing, and salespeople, looking to enhance their business knowledge by understanding more about the digital living room market
• Product marketing and management people from the digital living room market ecosystem who want to understand the intricacies of the market and position their products accordingly
• Business and venture executives in the technology industry looking to invest in digital living room companies
• Finance and investment professionals looking to make investment decisions for digital living room companies

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

• The global market for digital living room (DLR) devices was estimated to be worth $144.4 billion in 2010.  At a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.4%, the DLR devices market is expected to grow to $225.8 billion in 2015.  This growth will be primarily driven by the invention of new video technologies (e.g., 3D-TV) and increased consumer desire for having complete digital home theater experiences at home.
• Asia remains the largest market for DLR devices, accounting for nearly $63 billion in 2010. This sector will increase at a 9.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach a value of $97 billion in 2015.
• The Rest of World (ROW) segment is expected to grow at an impressive 21.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the next 5 years.  This segment was valued at $11 billion in 2010 and is expected to reach $29 billion in 2015. The rapid growth in ROW is attributed to availability of DLR devices in several countries where such devices were previously unavailable.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION  
STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES . 1
REASONS FOR UNDERTAKING THE STUDY  1
DIGITAL DEVICES FOR THE LIVING ROOM: MARKET
SEGMENTATION . 2
REPORT SCOPE AND ORGANIZATION . 2
INTENDED AUDIENCE  3
METHODOLOGY . 3
ANALYST CREDENTIALS  4
RELATED REPORTS . 4
BCC ONLINE SERVICES  4
DISCLAIMER . 5

CHAPTER TWO: SUMMARY  
SUMMARY TABLE GLOBAL DIGITAL LIVING ROOM DEVICES
MARKET, BY REGION, THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS)  6
SUMMARY FIGURE DIGITAL LIVING ROOM TECHNOLOGY
MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 7
SUMMARY (CONTINUED) . 8

CHAPTER THREE: DIGITAL LIVING ROOM DEVICES: OVERVIEW AND MARKET SEGMENTATION
DIGITAL LIVING ROOM DEVICES:  9
DIGITAL LIVING ROOM DEVICES: MARKET SEGMENTATION. 10
DIGITAL LIVING ROOM MARKET: GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTS  10
DEVICE DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERATIONS . 10
FIGURE 1 DLR DEVICES: UNDERLYING HARDWARE AND
SOFTWARE COMPONENETS . 11
DLR DEVICES DEVELOPMENT PROCESS  12
PRICING CONSIDERATIONS  13
DEVELOPMENT COSTS  13
TABLE 1 DLR DEVICES DEVELOPMENT: COST CONSIDERATION . 13
TABLE 2 BILL OF MATERIALS  14
DLR MARKET BY SEGMENT  14
TABLE 3 GLOBAL DLR MARKET BY SEGMENT, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  15
FIGURE 2 GLOBAL MARKET FOR DLR DEVICES BY SEGMENT,
2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 15
FIGURE 3 GLOBAL MARKET FOR DLR DEVICES BY SEGMENT,
2010 ($ MILLIONS) . 16
TABLE 4 GROWTH RATES OF GLOBAL DLR MARKET, THROUGH
2015 (%)  17

CHAPTER FOUR: DIGITAL TV
DIGITAL TV MARKET OVERVIEW . 18
ANALOG TV . 18
DIGITAL TV . 19
HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION  20
DTV MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TV DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES  21
CATHODE-RAY TUBE TV  21
LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY TELEVISIONS . 21
PLASMA TV . 22
PROJECTION TV  23
THREE-DIMENSIONAL TV . 24
3D-Ready TV Sets  25
DTV PRICING TRENDS  25
TABLE 5 HDTVS AVERAGE PRICING BY SIZE ($)  26
TABLE 6 FACTORS AFFECTING DTV PRICING  26
OVERALL DTV MARKET . 27
TABLE 7 GLOBAL DTV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, THROUGH
2015 (MILLIONS)  27
FIGURE 4 GLOBAL DTV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015
(MILLIONS) . 27
TABLE 8 GLOBAL DTV MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 28
FIGURE 5 GLOBAL DTV MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  28
TABLE 9 GLOBAL DTV MARKET BY REGION, THROUGH 2015
(MILLION UNITS)  29
FIGURE 6 GLOBAL DTV SHIPMENTS BY REGION, 2009–2015
(MILLION UNITS)  29
TABLE 10 GLOBAL DTV MARKET BY REGION, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  30
FIGURE 7 GLOBAL DTV MARKET BY REGION, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  30
PLASMA TV . 30
TABLE 11 GLOBAL PLASMA TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) 31
FIGURE 8 GLOBAL PLASMA TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
2009–2015 (MILLIONS)  31
TABLE 12 GLOBAL PLASMA TV MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  32
FIGURE 9 GLOBAL PLASMA TV MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  32
LCD/LED TV  32
TABLE 13 GLOBAL LED/LCD TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) 33
FIGURE 10 GLOBAL LED/LCD TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
2009–2015 (MILLIONS)  33
TABLE 14 GLOBAL LCD/LED TV MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  34
FIGURE 11 GLOBAL LED/LCD TV MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  34
CRT TV . 34
TABLE 15 GLOBAL CRT TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) 35
FIGURE 12 GLOBAL CRT TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, 2009–
2015 (MILLIONS)  35
TABLE 16 GLOBAL CRT TV MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 36
FIGURE 13 GLOBAL CRT TV MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  36
PROJECTION TVS  36
TABLE 17 GLOBAL PROJECTION TV MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) . 37
FIGURE 14 GLOBAL PROJECTION TV MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015 (MILLIONS) . 38
TABLE 18 GLOBAL PROJECTION TV MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  38
FIGURE 15 GLOBAL PROJECTION TV MARKET, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  39
3D-TV  39
TABLE 19 GLOBAL 3D-TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) 39
FIGURE 16 GLOBAL 3D-TV MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, 2009–
2015 (MILLIONS)  40
TABLE 20 GLOBAL 3D-TV MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 40
FIGURE 17 GLOBAL 3D-TV MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  41
DTV MARKET TRENDS . 41
DTV Market Trends (Continued)  42

CHAPTER FIVE: DVD PLAYERS
DVD BASICS . 43
BLU-RAY DVD . 44
3D BLU-RAY DVD PLAYERS . 45
CURRENT STATE OF DVD PLAYERS  45
OVERALL DVD PLAYERS MARKET  46
TABLE 21 GLOBAL DVD PLAYERS MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) 46
FIGURE 18 GLOBAL DVD PLAYERS MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS,
2009–2015 (MILLIONS)  47
TABLE 22 GLOBAL DVD PLAYERS MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  47
FIGURE 19 GLOBAL DVD PLAYERS MARKET, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  48
DVD PLAYERS MARKET BY REGION . 48
TABLE 23 GLOBAL DVD PLAYERUNIT SHIPMENTS BY REGION,
THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) 48
FIGURE 20 GLOBAL DVD PLAYER UNIT SHIPMENTS BY REGION,
2009–2015 (MILLIONS)  49
TABLE 24 GLOBAL DVD PLAYER MARKET BY REGION, THROUGH
2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 49
FIGURE 21 GLOBAL DVD PLAYER MARKET BY REGION, 2009–2015
($ MILLIONS)  50
STANDARD-DEFINITION DVD PLAYER MARKET  50
TABLE 25 GLOBAL SD-DVD PLAYER MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) . 50
FIGURE 22 GLOBAL SD DVD PLAYER MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015 (MILLIONS) . 51
TABLE 26 GLOBAL SD DVD PLAYER MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  51
FIGURE 23 GLOBAL SD DVD PLAYER MARKET, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  52
BLU-RAY DVD MARKET  52
TABLE 27 GLOBAL BLU-RAY DVD PLAYER MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) . 52
FIGURE 24 GLOBAL BLU-RAY DVD PLAYER MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015 (MILLIONS) . 53
TABLE 28 GLOBAL BLU-RAY DVD PLAYER MARKET, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  54
FIGURE 25 GLOBAL BLU-RAY DVD PLAYER MARKET, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  54
DVD PLAYER MARKET TRENDS . 54
DVD PLAYER MARKET TRENDS (CONTINUED)  55

CHAPTER SIX: DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDERS
BASICS OF DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDERS . 56
BASICS OF DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDERS (CONTINUED)  57
PERSONAL COMPUTER CARDS  58
Hardware Features . 58
Software Features . 59
DVR DEVICE TRENDS . 59
DVR MARKET  60
TABLE 29 GLOBAL DVR MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, THROUGH
2015 (MILLIONS)  60
FIGURE 26 GLOBAL DVR MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015
(MILLIONS) . 61
TABLE 30 GLOBAL DVR MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 61
FIGURE 27 GLOBAL DVR MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 62
TABLE 31 GLOBAL DVR UNIT SHIPMENTS BY REGION, THROUGH
2015 (MILLIONS)  62
FIGURE 28 GLOBAL DVR UNIT SHIPMENTS BY REGION, 2009–2015
(MILLIONS) . 63
TABLE 32 GLOBAL DVR MARKET BY REGION, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  63
FIGURE 29 GLOBAL DVR MARKET BY REGION, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  64
DVR MARKET TRENDS  64

CHAPTER SEVEN: SET-TOP BOXES  
SET-TOP BOX BASICS  65
SET-TOP BOXES FOR TERRESTRIAL TV . 65
SET-TOP BOXES FOR SATELLITE  66
SET-TOP BOXES FOR CABLE . 66
INTERNET PROTOCOL TV (IPTV)  67
HYBRID IPTV SET-TOP BOXES  67
SET-TOP BOX DEVICE TRENDS . 68
IPTV MARKET TRENDS . 69
HYBRID IPTV . 70
KEY ADVANTAGES OF IPTV . 71
VIDEO-ON-DEMAND . 71
LIMITATIONS OF IPTV . 72
Latency . 72
Privacy Implications  72
SET-TOP BOX MARKET . 73
TABLE 33 GLOBAL STB MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, THROUGH
2015 (MILLIONS)  73
FIGURE 30 GLOBAL STB MARKET BY UNIT SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015
(MILLIONS) . 74
TABLE 34 GLOBAL STB MARKET, THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 74
FIGURE 31 GLOBAL STB MARKET, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  75
TABLE 35 GLOBAL STB UNIT SHIPMENTS BY REGION, THROUGH
2015 (MILLIONS)  75
FIGURE 32 GLOBAL STB UNIT SHIPMENTS BY REGION, 2009–2015
(MILLIONS) . 76
TABLE 36 GLOBAL STB MARKET BY REGION, THROUGH 2015 ($
MILLIONS)  76
FIGURE 33 GLOBAL STB MARKET BY REGION, 2009–2015 ($
MILLIONS)  77

CHAPTER EIGHT: HOME THEATER SYSTEMS
BASICS OF HOME THEATER SYSTEMS . 78
SURROUND SOUND BASICS  78
RECEIVER . 79
POPULAR SURROUND SOUND FORMATS  80
THX Certified Systems  81
TRENDS IN HOME THEATER SYSTEMS  81
HOME THEATER SYSTEM MARKET . 81
TABLE 37 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEMS MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS) . 82
FIGURE 34 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEM MARKET BY UNIT
SHIPMENTS, 2009–2015 (MILLIONS)  82
TABLE 38 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEM MARKET, THROUGH
2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 83
FIGURE 35 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEM MARKET, 2009–2015
($ MILLIONS)  83
TABLE 39 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEM UNIT SHIPMENTS
BY REGION, THROUGH 2015 (MILLIONS)  84
TABLE 40 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEM MARKET BY REGION,
THROUGH 2015 ($ MILLIONS) . 84
FIGURE 36 GLOBAL HOME THEATER SYSTEM MARKET BY
REGION, 2009–2015 ($ MILLIONS)  85
HOME THEATER MARKET TRENDS . 85

CHAPTER NINE: COMPANY PROFILES
AUDIOVOX . 86
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  87
BOSE . 87
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  88
BOSTON ACOUSTICS . 89
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  89
BROADCOM . 90
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  91
CISCO SYSTEMS . 91
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES . 92
Products and Services (Continued)  93
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  94
COBY . 95
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  95
DOLBY INC. . 96
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  97
DTS  98
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  99
HARMAN  100
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  100
HITACHI . 101
HITACHI (CONTINUED)  102
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  103
JVC USA . 103
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  104
LG ELECTRONICS  104
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  105
MEMOREX  106
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  106
MOTOROLA  107
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  108
NETFLIX . 108
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  109
PANASONIC . 109
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  110
PANDORA . 111
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  111
PHILIPS  112
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  113
PIONEER  113
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  114
POLK AUDIO  115
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  115
SAMSUNG  116
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  117
SIGMA DESIGNS INC.  118
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  119
SLACKER  119
SONY . 120
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  121
ST MICRO . 122
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  123
TCL ELECTRONICS  124
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  124
TIVO  125
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  126
TOSHIBA  126
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  127
YAMAHA . 128
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  129
YOUTUBE (GOOGLE) . 130
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  130
ZORAN MICROELECTRONICS  131
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  131
Recent Developments (Continued)  132

CHAPTER TEN: DLR DEVICES: HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE DESIGN ASPECTS
FIGURE 37 TYPICAL HARDWARE CONFIGURATION OF DLR
DEVICE  133
POPULAR VIDEO DECODERS  134
MPEG2  134
H.264/MPEG-4 . 135
POPULAR CONNECTIVITY FORMATS  135
HIGH-DEFINITION MULTIMEDIA INTERFACE . 135
COMPOSITE VIDEO . 136
COMPONENT VIDEO . 136
SEPARATE VIDEO  137
DIGITAL VISUAL INTERFACE . 137
UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS . 138
WI-FI . 138
VIDEO GRAPHICS ARRAY  139
SECURE DIGITAL  140
ETHERNET  140
DIGITAL LIVING NETWORK ALLIANCE . 140
BLUETOOTH . 141
SOFTWARE CONSIDERATIONS . 142
FIGURE 38 SOFTWARE LAYERS IN A TYPICAL DLR DEVICE . 142
DEVICE DRIVERS  142
OPERATING SYSTEMS  143
MIDDLEWARE  144
APPLICATIONS . 144
Applications (Continued) . 145

CHAPTER ELEVEN: PATENT ANALYSIS
IMPORTANCE OF PATENTS . 146
DIGITAL LIVING ROOM DEVICES PATENTS  146
TABLE 41 PATENTS AWARDED FOR DLR DEVICES . 147
FIGURE 39 PATENTS AWARDED FOR DLR DEVICES . 147
TABLE 42 DLR DEVICE PATENTS AWARDED BY SEGMENT  148
FIGURE 40 PATENTS AWARDED BY DLR DEVICE SEGMENT  148
TABLE 43 PATENTS AWARDED TO SELECTED COMPANIES . 149