8 billion connected video devices in 2017

Four years from now, the average family with broadband access will have 10 connected, video-enabled devices.

According to a study by IHSIn 2017, there will be more than 8 billion connected video devices worldwide. The number of tablets, smart TVs, game consoles, smartphones, connected set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and PCs will grow by almost 90 percent by 2017 (4.3 billion).

In four years, each citizen of the world will have an average of 1.1 video devices connected to the Internet.

Merrick Kingston, senior analyst of broadband technologies at IHS, has assured that this average "will represent an important milestone for the electronics market. In practice, ownership of Internet-connected hardware is concentrated in users whose homes are equipped with broadband connections. We are rapidly approaching a world where the average family with broadband will have 10 connected and video-enabled devices. This means that each television set installed in a home will be surrounded by three Internet-connected devices."

The more mature regions of North America and Western Europe will grow at a CAGR of 10% between 2013 and 2017. By contrast, Asia-Pacific will grow 20 percent over the same period. Driven largely by Chinese demand, Asia-Pacific will add 1.9 million connected devices to the global installed base between 2013 and 2017.

At the other end of the regional spectrum, sub-Saharan Africa will contribute 145 million devices over the next four years.

In 2005, PCs made up 93 percent of all connected devices. By the end of 2017, the connected device base will diversify dramatically, with computers accounting for just 23 percent of the connected installed base. Other devices, depending on the share, will be smart televisions (5%), consoles (2%), and smartphones and tablets that will together represent 67 percent.