Top 5 Tech Articles You Might’ve Missed - Week of January 5, 2015

This week, CNNMoney reported that some cable providers are increasing their modem rental fees in 2015 and highlighted the ARRIS SB6121 and SBG6580 as good options for consumers looking to purchase...

This week, CNNMoney reported that some cable providers are increasing their modem rental fees in 2015 and highlighted the ARRIS SB6121 and SBG6580 as good options for consumers looking to purchase their own modem.

In other industry news, Multichannel News covered a recent report from Infonetics, which found that nearly 90 million DOCSIS 3.0 modems and gateway devices shipped in the last 12 quarters and indicated that momentum shows no signs of slowing in the near future.

Fortune noted in its coverage from CES 2015 that 4K has finally found its foothold in the mainstream, due in large part to an increase in available 4K content and more affordable 4K TVs entering the market. Similarly, Advanced Television reported that a recent study from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that one-third of consumers may purchase a 4K TV within the next three years.

Separately, Cablefax included perspective from ARRIS engineering fellow Sean McCarthy on the evolution of Ultra HD and how high dynamic range (HDR) is further improving the entertainment experience, providing a new level of realism through the use of increased dynamic range and brightness.

Check back next week for the latest industry news.

  1. Comcast and Time Warner Cable hike modem fees as much as 33%. Time to buy your own. (Jan. 5) By Jose Pagliery, CNNMoney: Comcast and Time Warner Cable have just raised fees for renting a modem so high that it now makes sense to buy your own.
  2. DOCSIS 3.0 Device Shipments Continue To Rise (Jan. 6) By Jeff Baumgartner, Multichannel News: Nearly 90 million DOCSIS 3.0 modems and gateway devices were shipped over the last 12 quarters and the momentum is showing “no signs of stopping,” Infonetics Research said in its latest report on the broadband consumer premises equipment (CPE) market.
  3. CES 2015: The mainstreaming of 4K TVs (Jan. 6) By Chris Morris, Fortune: A funny thing happened in 2014. 4K/UHD TV began to carve a foothold. And now experts say the technology may live up to the hype.
  4. CEA: Viewers want 4K UHD, Smart TVs (Jan. 8) By Staff Writer, Advanced Television: While the television remains viewers’ primary means of accessing video content, the number of consumers watching video content via streaming (63 per cent) is gaining on those who watch through a traditional service provider (68 per cent), according to a pair of new studies from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
  5. CES Preview: The Year of 4K and Cross-platform Video (Dec. 30) By Joyce Wang, Cablefax: The 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a week away and attendees are likely to hear a lot about 4K—again. But what makes things different this time around is the price drop for large Ultra HD sets.