Simplicity not price is the key for IPTV

North American households are ready to embrace new forms of video content through their televisions, are buying advanced gaming consoles, but want easy-to-use equipment and someone to install and maintain their increasingly complex home networks, a new report on unmet customer needs has found.

The report for Broadband Services Forum by the Ovum research group, found the major US IPTV players see their consumer base as searching for new content forms--however, hampered by the inflexibility of the current digital rights regimes, valuing new services--but not willing to pay for them and wanting costly installation--and again not ready to pay.

Over two thirds of consumers surveyed identified ease of installation as a top priority when purchasing consumer electronics. "This means that consumers won't buy what they believe they can't install, and ultimately this will become a point of service differentiation," the report said. "In the past, price was the top consideration when considering a consumer electronics purchase. Now ease of use tops the scale. The recent success with the iPhone underscores this trend."

For more:
- Read the full report 
- Telecomtv interview Broadband Services Forum about the report

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