THE POPULARITY OF over-the-top video has created a demand for Wi-Fi-connected home video entertainment devices such as digital TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, and all versions of set top boxes, allowing the devices to connect to the web and to each other.
According to the new report Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) by Device, Q1’12 Forecast from NPD In-Stat, the evolution of the home network will drive the number of in-home video WLAN-enabled video devices to approach 600 million in 2015.
The research findings also include:
– Digital TVs will reach a 40% WLAN-attach rate by 2015;
– Over 28 million WLAN-enabled Blu-ray players will ship in 2013;
– In 2014, mobile hotspots will have an 802.11n attach rate of 98%; and
– The 802.11ac standard will achieve an attach rate in mini-notebooks of 23% in 2015.
“Wi-Fi has moved from a nice-to-have feature to a must-have feature as it provides the connectivity necessary to support IP-based video content”, said VP of research Frank Dickson, in the report’s news release. “It is important to note though that Wi-Fi is growing from being simply about getting content from a network to devices, to sharing content between devices. As Wi-Fi evolves from being a network-centric connectivity standard to one that enables peer-to-peer connectivity, new innovations such as Wi-Fi Display and Wi-Fi Direct will fundamentally change the way that content is moved and shared in the home.”
