Top 5 Tech Articles You Might Have Missed – Week Ending April 1, 2016

FierceCable highlighted the ‘ Home of the Future’ presentation that ARRIS CTO Charles Cheevers delivered at the company’s Investor Day event. The presentation looked at a number of technologies, su...

FierceCable highlighted the ‘Home of the Future’ presentation that ARRIS CTO Charles Cheevers delivered at the company’s Investor Day event. The presentation looked at a number of technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), 4K streaming and virtual reality (VR) that will require in the future broadband capacity four times that of today’s average. Cheevers predicted that within five years, an early adopter’s home will include 3.5 set-tops, four streaming video devices, four Internet-connected cameras and three Wi-Fi extenders on an average.

Mutlichannel News reported that Comcast is planning to offer its new Xfinity Stream TV service to customers who are not subscribers of Comcast’s broadband service. Xfinity Stream will run on Comcast’s own managed IP network, but will not be delivered as an over-the-top (OTT) service.

Fullscreen, AT&T’s joint venture with the Chernin Group, announced that it will introduce an ad-free subscription video on demand (SVOD) service for teens and young adults next month, reported Variety. The $4.99-a-month offering will include original content as well as a collection of movies and TV shows licensed from established producers, such as Warner Bros. Television, Sony Pictures, NBCUniversal and MTV among others.

According to a recent report by Parks Associates, OTT video usage in Western Europe continues to rise, but still trails behind the U.S., reported CED Magazine. The OTT Video Market Tracker report revealed that 55 percent of UK broadband households and 51 percent in France watch TV programming and movies online, compared to 70 percent in the U.S.

Finally, TVTechnology reported that according to NSR’s UHD via Satellite, 3rd Edition report, 2016 is seen as a “key inflection point” for the rollout of Ultra HD (UHD) via satellite. The report projected that by 2025, there will be more than 785 UHD channels. And the bandwidth capacity required to carry these channels will drive an added $280 million in annual leasing revenues.

  1. Arris 'home of the future' presentation ends illusion of monastic broadband existence (March 28, 2016) By Daniel Frank, FierceCable: As I enter my 23rd month on the beat at FierceCable, one of things that has confounded me is the push towards gigabit-level speed.
  2. Comcast Eyes Standalone Option for Stream TV Service (March 31, 2016) By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News: IPTV Service to become available on MSO’s network to subs, who don't get broadband from Comcast.
  3. Fullscreen Unveils $5 Subscription-Video Service, Taking on Netflix and YouTube Red (March 30, 2016) By Todd Spangler, Variety: Company investor AT&T on board with marketing, distribution and co-production deal.
  4. OTT Market Strong in U.S. and Growing in Europe (March 29, 2016) By Laura Hamilton, CED Magazine: OTT video usage in Western Europe is continuing to expand with 55 percent of U.K. broadband households and 51 percent in France watching TV programming and movies online, compared to 70 percent in the United States.
  5. Report: UHD Channels to Exceed 785 by 2025 (March 29, 2016) By Michael Balderston, TVTechnology: UHD via Satellite report marks 2016 as key inflection point.
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