4K STB Market Size to Be USD 3.65 Billion by 2024

Increasing demand for UHD 4K video content and surging sales of compatible 4K TVs and display devices are expected to propel 4K set-top box (STB) market’s growth. The global 4K STB market size is expected to reach USD 3.65 billion by 2024, according to Grand View Research.

Content providers have begun offering sharper and immersive video content to consumers on account of significant breakthroughs in the 4K technology. Large-scale penetration of smart TVs has proved to be instrumental in escalating the demand for such sophisticated STBs. Industry vendors have leveraged on providing STBs with enhanced broadcast capabilities on digital video broadcasting-satellite (DVB-S/DVB-S2) standards.

IPTV UHD STBs contributed to over 20 percent of the market revenue in 2014 and are anticipated to witness significant growth over the next eight years. IPTV focuses on network scalability, end-user applications, and infrastructure. With IPTV, content is provided through an Internet service provider’s own infrastructure, thereby ensuring UHD content streaming across subscribed devices.

Hybrid STBs are expected to witness a substantial CAGR of over 5 percent throughout 2016 to 2024. They enable smart TV programming and help viewers to access multiple TV delivery methods including cable, terrestrial, satellite, and the Internet. In addition, they include services such as video-on-demand, time-shifting TV, Internet applications, and gaming applications.

Projected to grow at a CAGR of over 3 percent from 2016 to 2024, the North America UHD STB market is expected to witness steady growth over the forecast period. STB hardware vendors are extensively focusing on providing UHD STBs with add-on features such as HDMI 2.0 multimedia interface and USB ports for playing media from external memory devices.

China and India are expected to offer considerable opportunities for regional industry growth, due to the strong presence of UHD STB manufacturers. OTT-based streaming devices are becoming the STB of choice for satellite TV providers in emerging markets such as China and India, where open-source content is abundant.