Cable Operators Move Forward on 3D Despite Reservations

Cable Operators Move Forward on 3D Despite Reservations

Although 3DTV technology still needs work, cable operators have decided to move forward with deployment, says Heavy Reading Cable Industry Insider

NEW YORK, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Competitive pressure from telco TV and satellite video rivals is pushing U.S. cable operators to move forward with deployment of some 3DTV services, despite concerns about the actual size of the market opportunity and questions about which technologies will emerge as the ultimate winners in the 3D sector, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Cable Industry Insider (www.heavyreading.com/cable), a subscription research service from TechWeb's Heavy Reading (www.heavyreading.com).

Cable Operators Weigh Tech Options for Delivering 3DTV identifies and analyzes the early moves that U.S. cable operators are making in the 3D sector, focusing on the technologies and strategies that MSOs are exploring and using in early-stage delivery of 3D programming. The 20-page report profiles 14 suppliers of 3DTV products that are designed specifically for cable or that may play a role in the future, including companies that exhibited 3DTV products or support at the May 2010 Cable Show in Los Angeles.

For a list of companies covered in this report, http://img.lightreading.com/cii/pdf/cii0710_companies.pdf

"3DTV is gaining a tremendous amount of momentum from the consumer electronics industry, Hollywood film community, and other supporters," notes Craig Leddy, research analyst with Heavy Reading Cable Industry Insider and author of the report. "Cable has the opportunity to ride this wave and provide a next-generation service to 3D aficionados and gain potential on-demand business, subscription service support, and competitive parity."

However, 3DTV poses many technical issues for cable that challenge its ability to guarantee a quality video experience for customers, Leddy says. "Until the technology matures, technical standards are adopted, more content is prepared, and the consumer proposition is proven, cable operators have better service options to invest in and deploy than 3DTV," he continues. "Even though Hollywood and consumer electronics companies will put the pedal to the metal to drive 3D content forward, the installed base of 3DTV sets will take time to grow in order to provide a significant base for individual cable operators."

Key findings of Cable Operators Weigh Tech Options for Delivering 3DTV include the following:

-- Amid the hype over 3DTV, Comcast and other MSOs are beginning to
deliver 3DTV programming and on-demand content.
-- Many MSOs are wary of 3DTV's unproven market potential, the small
installed base of 3D-capable TVs, and technical challenges.
-- Cable can deliver 3DTV using legacy equipment, but full-resolution 3D
requires new set-top boxes and encoding.
-- DirecTV and telcos may put competitive pressure on cable to launch
3DTV, though at this early stage the competitive first-mover advantage
will be minimal.
-- Long-term, 3DTV provides additional rationale for cable to embrace
MPEG4 and other next-generation video capabilities.

Cable Operators Weigh Tech Options for Delivering 3DTV is available as part of an annual subscription (six issues) to Heavy Reading Cable Industry Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900.

To subscribe, or for more information about Heavy Reading Cable Industry Insider, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/cable. For more information about other Heavy Reading Insider research services, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

Jeff Claudino
Director of Sales
Insider Research Services
619-229-9940
claudino@lightreading.com

Press/analyst contact:

Dennis Mendyk
Managing Director
Insider Research Services
201-587-2154
mendyk@heavyreading.com

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading online media, research, and focused event company serving the $3 trillion worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technological and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading's research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, and TelcoTV Asia, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Europe, and The Tower Summit @ CTIA, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives in the US, Europe, India, and China. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.

About UBM TechWeb

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its three core businesses - media solutions, marketing services and paid content - UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands and media applications in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs and IT managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software Developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively engage in UBM TechWeb's communities and information resources monthly. UBM TechWeb brands includes: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Web 2.0, Black Hat and Enterprise Connect; award-winning online resources such as InformationWeek, Light Reading, and Network Computing; and market-leading magazines InformationWeek, Wall Street & Technology, and Advanced Trading. UBM TechWeb is a UBM company, a global provider of news distribution and specialist information services with a market capitalization of more than $2.5 billion.

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities - from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists - with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com/.

Source: Heavy Reading Cable Industry Insider

CONTACT: Jeff Claudino, Director of Sales, Insider Research Services,
+1-619-229-9940, claudino@lightreading.com; Press/analyst contact: Dennis
Mendyk, Managing Director, Insider Research Services, +1-201-587-2154,
mendyk@heavyreading.com

Web Site: http://www.heavyreading.com/cable

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