By Kurt Scherf, Vice President, Principal Analyst

Publish Date: Apr 04
Purchase Report Online

As the personal computer (PC) industry seeks new growth via digital entertainment products and services, it is faced with many questions. Which applications will matter to end users as thy think about the PC as a “multimedia hub”? How should PCs and peripherals be designed to account for the projected growth in this sector? This report examines the consumer trends, applications, and emerging solutions driving the PC toward a more integrated entertainment role.

“With widespread use of ‘content peripherals’ such as digital cameras and portable MP3 players, the home computer is gravitating toward a more central multimedia role,” said Kurt Scherf, Vice President and Principal Analyst for Parks Associates. “We expect that home networking solutions – including Digital Media Receivers and Adapters – will be purchased in growing numbers, especially as the service provider community adapts its existing customer premise equipment to receive IP-based digital entertainment content.”

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2.0 Identifying PC Multimedia Ecosystems
   2.1 The Advent of “Content Peripherals”
   2.2 Current Multimedia Features on Home Computers
      2.2.1 Music and the PC
         Internet Music-on-Demand Services
         Satellite Radio: Out of the Car and Into the Home
         PC-Music Ecosystems Solutions
      2.2.2 Digital Photography and the PC
         The PC’s Role
         PC-Digital Photography Ecosystem Solutions
      2.2.3 Television and the PC
         Does the PVR become the “PC”PVR?
         PC-Television Ecosystem Solutions
         TV Tuners
         PVR Solutions
      2.2.4 Video on the PC
         Movies
            Movies Through the PC: Status and Outlook
            Movie Offerings
            PC-Movie Ecosystem Solutions
         Self-Created Video

3.0 The “Media-PC”: Multimedia in One Box
   3.1 All-in-One Entertainment PCs
      3.1.1 Windows® Media Center Edition PCs
         General Features of Windows® XP Media Center Edition PCs
            Content Interfaces
            LCD and Plasma Monitors and Displays
            Remote Controller
            Home Networking: Media Receivers
      3.1.2 The “Living Room Media-PC”
         The Opportunity and Challenge: Centralizing the PC to the Entertainment Environment
         Making the PC More “CE” Like: Design Elements
            “Tune-In/Turn-On”: Making it Happen Faster
            Bringing the “Cool” into “Media-PCs”: Reducing Fan Noise
      3.1.3 Additional “Media-PC” Packages
   3.2 Market Forecasts

4.0 Digital Media Receivers/Adapters
   4.1 Technology Drivers
      4.1.1 Advances in Video Processing and Media Delivery
      4.1.2 Home Networking Solutions Get More Robust
         Middleware: Tying CE
   4.2 IP-Based Connectivity
   4.3 Digital Media Receiver Form Factors
      4.3.1 Stand-alone Digital Media Receivers (DMRs)
      4.3.2 Integrated Digital Media Receivers (DMRs)
   4.4 Digital Media Adapters (DMAs)
      4.4.1 Digital Music Media Adapters
      4.4.2 Gaming Bridges
   4.5 Market Assumptions
      4.5.1 Consumer Drivers for DMR/DMA Solutions
      4.5.2 Forecast Assumptions
      4.5.3 Market Forecasts
         Digital Media Receivers
            Annual Nodes Sold
            Cumulative Nodes
         Digital Music Media Adapters
            Annual Nodes Sold
            Cumulative Nodes

Figures in Section 2.0
PC Multimedia Ecosystems
Importance of Multimedia Applications in the Lives of Consumers: U.S. Households
Digital Cameras and Portable MP3 Players in U.S. Broadband Households
Entertainment Features Found on Home Computers
Sources of Digital Music
A Comparison of Online Music Services
Service Provider Distribution of Digital Music Services
Satellite Radio Subscriber Growth
XM Satellite Radio and SIRIUS Home Receivers
Growth of Digital Music: Internet and Satellite Content Services
Penetration of Portable MP3 Players
Primary Music-Listening Locations: U.S. Broadband Consumers)
PC-Music Ecosystem Solutions
Penetration of Digital Cameras
Between Which Devices do Consumers Desire to Share Photos?
PC-Digital Photography Ecosystem Solutions
Growth of TiVo Subscribers
Cumulative PVR Households: 2003-2008
PC-Television Ecosystem Solutions
Examples of Internal TV Tuner Solutions
Examples of External TV Tuner Solutions
PC DVR Solutions
Primary Source of Movie Content: U.S. Households
A Comparison of Emerging Movie Services
Growth of Online Video: Internet-Based Movie Services
PC-Movie Ecosystem Solutions
Penetration of Digital Video Cameras
Penetration of Digital Video Cameras

Figures in Section 3.0
Features and Benefits of Media Center Edition PCs
Most-Frequent Applications Used by “Media-Center” PC Owners
What is Connected to the “Media-Center” PC?
Most-Attractive Features for “Entertainment PCs”
Features of Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition PCs
Likelihood of Purchasing a Digital TV Receiver
Examples of “Media-PC” Remote Controllers
Interest in a Universal Remote Controller
Interest in a Universal Remote Controller: The Link to “Media-PCs”
Annual Sales: “Media-PC” Remote Controllers
Interest in Music/Video Digital Media Adapters
Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition PCs
Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition PCs
Microsoft Windows® XP Media Center Edition PCs
“Living Room” Media Center PCs
PC Located in Same Room as Primary Entertainment Center?
Preferred In-Home Location for a “Home Media Server”
Consumer Software Packages: “Media-PC” Applications
Annual Shipments: “Media-PCs”/Software Packages

Figures in Section 4.0
Penetration of Data Networks
A Scorecard for Home Networking Technologies
Middleware Solutions for Networked Multimedia
Examples of Standalone Digital Media Receivers
A Digital Media Receiver Primer
Standalone Digital Media Receivers: Specs
Examples of Integrated Digital Media Receivers
Examples of Music Media Adapters
Examples of Gaming Bridges
A Digital Media Adapter Primer
Digital Media Music Adapters: Specs
Digital Media Gaming Adapters: Specs
Interest in Music/Video Digital Media Adapters
Current Data Network Users: Interest in Purchasing DMA at Less Than $100
DMR/DMA Drivers: Broadband and Data Network Growth
DMR/DMA Drivers: Data Network Node Growth
Annual Sales: Digital Media Receivers
Cumulative Digital Media Receiver Nodes
Annual Sales: Digital Music Media Adapters
Cumulative Digital Music Media Adapter Nodes

© April 2004 Parks Associates
Dallas, Texas 75230

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