SINGAPORE -- Asia-Pacific consumers will increasingly opt for higher-end set-top boxes that support personal video recorder and high-definition features, according to a new study from ABI Research. This trend will be driven to a large degree by China, which will see the region's largest increase in subscriber numbers.

The firm forecasts China to take the lead in shipments, with approximately 75 million digital cable STBs and 9 million telco TV STBs, respectively, by 2012.
"The Asia-Pacific pay-TV industry still has considerable room for growth, especially in countries like China and India, where the base of potential customers is huge but there is still relatively low pay-TV and digital penetration," says broadband research analyst Serene Fong.

China will also lead in subscriber growth rates, fueled by growing affluence and increased consumer spending on TV and video services. Chinese consumers will also invest in technologically more advanced set-top boxes in order to view digital broadcasts over their traditional analog TV sets.