There are a lot of future applications. Videoconferencing through your television is one of the things they're talking about, or being able to chat with friends as the television program is going on.

We are seeing a more pronounced dichotomy between full-featured boxes that are used by pay-TV providers to offer other services in addition to satellite TV reception and basic boxes for TV reception only. Advanced features include hard drives for DVR services, multiple tuners, more connectivity options, and high-definition decoding for receiving HD signals.

Video CD players weren't necessarily supported by the Hollywood studios, but Indian and Chinese movie studios made content available and people were willing to buy them. I think you could see, to that extent, more than one standard.

The success of competing formats depends on the availability of content. If the content from Hollywood studios is only available in one of the blue laser formats, then I don't see the other technologies being successful.

There will be a lot of new choices for consumers and operators to make over the next decade.

In countries where DTH pay-TV has been available for over five years, as in North America and Europe, the market is mature and subscriber growth is slowing. Where DTH pay-TV platforms were launched after 2000, subscriber growth rates are higher. In India, for example, DTH pay-TV subscribers are expected to have tripled in 2005.