11g is present, but 11n dual-mode and MIMO will be future

CALIFORNIA, USA: 802.11g is the leading IP STB WiFi technology among carriers today, but by 2014 technologies that enable wireless streaming of high-definition content, such as 802.11n dual-mode and 802.11n MIMO, are the most required, finds market research firm Infonetics Research in its new 'IP Set-Top Box Features and Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey'.

"Apple's HTTP Live Streaming tops the list of video streaming services that operators think are important for delivering over-the-top video, followed by HTML5," says Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research. "We expect HTML5 adoption to grow, especially if the W3C adds new security features (a top concern among content owners), as it can scale quickly across multiple platforms and has already gained the support of Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook and LinkedIn."

The study participants rated video on demand (VOD), OTT/broadband video, remote programming via tablet/mobile device, and whole-home DVR as the top IP STB apps. Most operators do not plan to add video transcoding to their IP STB offerings by 2014, it adds.

"In our talks with carriers, we're also seeing growing interest in MPEG-DASH, a new standard for video codecs. Backed by companies like Microsoft, Netflix and Adobe, it's gaining traction in North America and Europe, and we expect it to get more support from vendors in coming years," Heynen adds.

Only about a quarter of survey respondents currently require QAM or over-the-air (OTA) tuners on their IP STBs.