Peter Clarke EE Times (11/10/2009 6:23 AM EST)

LONDON — A new class of consumer electronic equipment is emerging that encompasses Digital Media Adapters (DMAs), Digital Media Players (DMPs), and Digital Media Receivers (DMRs), according to In-Stat (Scottsale, Ariz.). And the class will be responsible for 4.5 million units shipping in 2013, the market research company has predicted.

DMAs, DMPs and DMRs allow consumers to connect audio players, televisions, PCs, and other devices to the Internet and to digital storage devices for media recording and playback. According to In-Stat more than 50 percent of home network users in the United States are at least "somewhat interested" in a consumer electronics product that enables online video streaming and downloading.

In-Stat has identified over 40 companies offering products in the segment. Similarly, a range of semiconductor companies have positioned processors and application-specific standard products (ASSPs) targeting the emerging equipment market.

In-Stat predicts that nearly 4.5 million DMAs, DMPs, and DMRs will be sold worldwide in 2013 and said that the leading chip companies seeking to address this opportunity include Intel, NXP, Sigma Designs and Texas Instruments.

"Early competitors were primarily either networking equipment companies or small startups," said Norm Bogen, vice president of In-Stat's digital entertainment research. "But now a much broader range of device manufacturers are positioning competitive devices.

However, the biggest challenge to this market category is the proliferation of networked game consoles, Internet-connected set top boxes, networked DTVs, and networked Blu-ray devices that support web-to-TV video and other services."

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