Video Hardware Market Shaped By New Viewing Trends

The ways people consume video content has been changing dramatically in the past few years. This change impacts how we design SVOD and OTT services at the core. 

In the past two decades, technology has evolved at a rate so fast, it’s difficult to stay abreast of every emerging innovation as it hits the market. And the world of visual entertainment is a prime example of this seismic technological shift.

Concerning video-based devices, all we had available as consumers 18 years ago was the humble VCR. Now we have a variety of video enabling technologies at our disposal - at least nine to be precise, as the chart shows:

As you can see, while the VCR has become almost obsolete in terms of household penetration, the use of smartphones, tablets, streaming devices, computer desktops, Smart TVs and streaming devices are well and truly on the rise.

In fact, considering the relative infancy of streaming devices, these viewing mediums have grown exponentially in recent years, even though they were seen as ideal targets for piracy attacks. 

To put this growth into perspective, viewing hours on Apple TV have skyrocketed by a whopping  709% year on year, while the Roku Streaming Player still holds the top spot regarding overall device plays and the number of hours enjoyed on the platform.

In addition to this, a recent report from Conviva discovered the following insights on streaming devices:

• In Q1 2018, 3.4 streaming video apps per household were reported, on average. On these applications, the viewing time averaged 20 minutes per stream.
• From Q1 2017 to Q1 2018, viewing hours rose by 114%. This increase indicates an acceleration in market growth. Moreover, a rise in peak concurrent plays grew 70% from the same period as last year. This discovery suggests that more and more people are streaming at the same time.
• The biggest peak of concurrent viewers during the quarter – which totaled at 5,489,160 million people - happened on February 5, 2018 (the day of the Super Bowl). This equates to an increase of 70%, year on year.

It's plain to see that video streaming devices are on the rise, reflecting a consumer thirst for choice and freedom. Vendors and service providers have to take all this into account and develop technologies that support mobility, flexibility, and scalability!

In 18 years, the visual entertainment industry has come on leaps and bounds - and as things progress, we're excited to see how far the industry goes within the next decade.