Connectivity is the business opportunity in the digital home.

August We are rocketing into the future and it pays to look at the trends if you’re planning on being a significant part of the digital economy. Accordingly, the new report from Parks Associates entitled “Networks in the Home: Connected Consumer Electronics” is worth noting - the number of U.S. households with a connected entertainment network will reach 30 million by 2010, according to the report. “Broadband proliferation is a fundamental driver of connected entertainment opportunities inside the home,” said Harry Wang, research analyst at Parks Associates. “But more importantly, better network configuration tools and easy-to-navigate user interfaces will assuage consumers’ concerns about setup difficulties or application glitches.” Connected entertainment will be at the heart of the development and business opportunities in the digital home.

A connected entertainment network is a network composed of either a PC connected to at least one consumer electronic (CE) device or multiple interconnected CE devices such as a whole-house DVR system.

For the near term, video service providers and CE and home networking manufacturers are driving this space with the deployment of whole-house DVRs and digital media adapters, respectively, but there will need to be cross-industry collaboration, such as efforts like the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), to realize fully the opportunities in connected entertainment.

“Consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers are still searching for the Rosetta stone of the connected entertainment market,” Wang said. “To move beyond the early-adopter stage, CE manufacturers must ally with content and service providers, software developers, and silicon designers to build elegance and usability into the product design and bring popular digital content to consumers’ fingertips anywhere in the home.”

Networks in the Home: Connected Consumer Electronics is a comprehensive industry report that examines the market potential for network-capable consumer electronics products, profiles early adopters and use cases, probes the requirements for connectivity technology and home networking infrastructure, and forecasts market demand.

For additional information on Networks in the Home: Connected Consumer Electronics, visit the Parks web site