QFT: When will set top boxes become niche products? Or when will the technology gradient for curation (toc) create a singularity?

The answer rests not so much on politics, industry resistance or even set box technology.

It depends on the "technology of curation" (toc)  of content and how customers schedule their lives.

Consider the latter first. When the ratio of the number of people who schedule content to fit their needs to the number who schedule their lives around content exceeds a "tipping"  number, then assuming supporting toc availability set top boxes will be niched (or obsolete). What is the tipping number? for want of a better guess, perhaps it is the Fibonnaci ratio (or Pingala or Virhanka) 1.618! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibonacci_number)

Alternatively, when over 62% of the "customers" schedule content to fit their needs (including on-demand needs) and can afford the technology to do so, set top boxes --> niched.

What should toc look like?

1. Self-learning

2. Trust worthy in both content veracity and fit

3. Device independent

4. With memory

5. Be shareable

6. Be interactable- AR? This is perhaps a later iteration- though the speed with which such technology is becoming available it may be a reality (pun intended, of course)

7. Be multi and non- adjacent persons AR (MANDAR)

In other words when >62% of customers can be sure, using affordable technology, that they can get the content they want from a trusted source at the time they want it- watch how e.g., RYOT-Huffington Post like combinations evolve- then set top boxes will fade away.

What part of the content be directly paid for versus third party (say ad) supported?

Will it be a taboo industry that drives MANDAR?