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ElectronicsWeekly.com (August 8, 2009) — Shipments of digital terrestrial (DTT) and satellite (DTH) set-top boxes to China, India and the US accounted for more than 60% of total worldwide set-top box (STB) shipments in 2008, according to marketwatcher IMS Research.

These markets are expected to reach 70% of worldwide shipments this year.

Rapid expansion of the Chinese and Indian DTH platforms and analogue terrestrial switch-off in the US are pushing sales of FTA satellite equipment and digital-to-analogue (D/A) converter boxes.

One factor has been the delay of plans in the US to switch-over from analogue terrestrial broadcasts which happened in June this year, this extended the uptake period for D/A converter boxes.

It is estimated that the number of active analogue TVs in the US and Canada stands at more than 110 million, indicating the size of the DTT upgrade market.

DTT boxes shipped to the US will account for more than 20% of global STB shipments in 2008 and 2009.

Though demand for DTT STBs in the US will dissipate over the next 18 months, uptake of DTH services in China and India is forecast to increase through at least 2010.

So shrinking demand in the US, due to the switchover, and rapid growth in emerging markets will drop China, India, and the US’s share of worldwide STB shipments to less than 50% in 2013.
Growth of emerging DTV markets, particularly in Asia and Latin America, will account for a large portion of shipments, particularly of DTH and DTT STBs and iDTVs.

by Richard Wilson

Adapted from ElectronicsWeekly.com

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