Set-Top Box Shipments Grow

Just goes to show you the cable companies are doing just fine even in this economy. Really helps when you have a monopoly, but it’s good to see hopefully this means an improvement in set top boxes being rolled out. Maybe the guide won’t take 10 minutes to scroll through now.

Home Media Mag

Sales of set-top boxes used for cable, satellite and broadcast television have expanded despite poor economic conditions. Although terrestrial and satellite set-top shipments were flat, cable boxes showed strong growth, driven by rollouts in China and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region. IPTV set-tops also are performing well, shipping more than 50% more systems in 2008 than the previous year. “Premium boxes — like DVR-enabled set-top boxes and HD products — will grow at a substantially higher rate than the 4.2% level for the overall set-top market in 2009, said Jordan Selburn, principal analyst for semiconductor design and STBs at iSuppli.