Recent research by In-Stat shows 2009 unit shipments of PC television tuners dropping by nearly 11 percent, but noted that ATSC mobile video deployment in the United States could create a “significant upside” for digital-only tuners.
The In-Stat report, Global PC TV Tuners – A Solid Niche in Transition covers the worldwide market for PC TV tuners.
“Opportunities for growth will be for hybrid analog/digital tuner manufacturers to increase share by lowering prices, or for new entrants to leapfrog the analog and hybrid segments by aggressively targeting the emerging digital-only segments, albeit with lower margin,” said In-Stat analyst Gerry Kaufhold. “Overall, selling PC TV tuners is going to be a tougher business going forward.”
Some of the challenges facing the PC TV market include slow consumer demand, increased competition from online television, and lower prices resulting from the shift from hybrid analog/digital tuners to digital-only tuners.
In-Stat said the new version of Media Center in Windows 7 and its improved support for PC TV tuners could help sales. PC tuner growth in notebooks is expected to significantly outpace other segments, including desktops, retail sticks, and retail add-in cards.
Some of the topics of interest to broadcasters listed in the report's table of contents include “Mobility: The Antenna Dilemma”; “The Mobile TV Tuner Squeeze”; and “Forecast by Region, by Category, Through 2013.” The later includes “Three Categories by Technology”, “Six Technology Subgroups” and “Four Usage Models.”
