Set-top box shipments worldwide are set to nearly double from 2007 to 2012, growing from 118.1 million last year to 215.5 million in 2012, according to research firm iSuppli.
However, iSuppli expects the annual growth rate in set-top shipments to decline to single-digits after 2011, compared with 28% year-to-year unit growth in 2007, primarily because of the widespread availability of new TV sets equipped with set-top functions.
The major factor driving the set-top market in the near-term, according to iSuppli, is the surge in demand in North America and Western Europe due to looming deadlines in those regions for the transition of television broadcasting signals from analog to digital.
The percentage of total set-tops outsourced to contract manufacturers will increase to 75.3% in 2012, up from 67.8% in 2007, iSuppli predicted.
