Telco TV DRM Vendor Matrix

In this Vendor Matrix, ABI Research evaluates the top vendors in the Telco TV DRM market. Some of the key aspects considered in this Vendor Matrix include the number of client announcements, value chain integration, support for open standards, type of technology by software or hardware or combination of both; market share, and support for broadcast CAS among other things. Support for multiple platforms (PC based devices, other CE devices) and end devices (number of STB vendors) are two main factors taken into consideration, followed closely by current market share, technology innovation and open standards. Altogether 16 different criteria are divided into two main segments: Innovation and Implementation. Each has been weighted to give a total score out of 100.

The Implementation score is derived by examining the vendor’s capacity to supply a complete system, either alone or with partners, its announced orders or trials, and its abilities as a system integrator. There are caveats because some trials or orders may not be public knowledge, and vendors may be able to provide more resources through partnerships, which, again, may remain undisclosed because of confidentiality. This assessment is made at a specific time, and because the industry is developing quickly, it must be read with that in mind.

The Innovation score is derived from measuring the system vendor’s R&D budget, interoperability, support for multiple platforms and end devices. Whether its products are based on open standards or proprietary technology is also taken into consideration, as well as whether they are software- or hardware-based. Also, the research may not have identified all of the vendor's partnerships because of confidentiality agreements.

Implementation score is represented on X-Axis and Innovation score is represented on Y-Axis.

Rankings



After individual scores are established for Innovation and Implementation using the above criteria, an overall company score is established using the Root Mean Square (RMS) method:




The resulting overall scores are then ranked and used for percentile comparisons.

The RMS method, in comparison with a straight summation or average of individual innovation and implementation values, rewards companies for standout performance.

For example, using this method a company with an innovation score of 9 and an implementation score of 1 would score considerably higher than a company with a score of 5 in both areas, despite the mean score being the same. ABI Research believes this is appropriate as the goal of these matrices is to highlight those companies that stand out from the others.