![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d18r0a86za96sg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27181700\/Top10.jpg\")
<\/p>\nIt seems that everywhere you turn, people are talking about the Squid Game series on Netflix. It\u2019s become a global phenomenon that has prompted millions of viewers to login into the platform and stream the show to their favorite devices.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u25b2 Figure 1. Top 10 OTT Streaming Programs \u2013 Week of 10\/04\/21 \u2013 10\/10\/21<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a prime example of why the competitiveness of OTT (over-the-top) streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and others has become so fierce. Sometimes, it only takes one overnight sensation show, something like Squid Game, to drive greater awareness and new subscriptions.<\/p>\n But unlike traditional television, which broadcasts shows at set times through an over-the-air transmissions, or even cable television programming, which also follows a structured scheduled and broadcasts through a set-top box, streaming services offer the flexibility for viewers to watch what they want to watch, when they want to watch and on the device of their choosing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u25b2 Figure 2. Netflix Paid Net Subscriber Additions \u2013 Q3 2021<\/a><\/p>\n Despite massive gains for Netflix in the early part of the pandemic in 2020, the company\u2019s subscriber growth had largely curtailed \u2013 until the third quarter of 2021, the same time period for Squid Game\u2019s debut. In that quarter, the company saw 4.4 million new subscribers \u2013 double what it reported for Q3 in 2020. In part, the credit goes to the show itself, which has been viewed by at least two-thirds of Netflix subscribers.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And now that the expansions of broadband infrastructure, public wi-fi and unlimited wireless data plans are driving even more people online, the growth of the market has exploded. And that\u2019s created opportunities for technology companies to innovate for the growing demand.<\/p>\n Consider that streaming programming, unlike traditional broadcasts, can be viewed with smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs, and other connected devices. The greater availability means that the demand for OTT increases, as does the amount of data passing through a network. More data creates more demand on data center storage and that\u2019s leading to greater innovation in semiconductor memory technologies and the evolution of the industry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u25b2 Figure 3. Worldwide Cloud Infrastructure Service Spend Q1 2018 \u2013 Q3 2021<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The high quality video that audiences are demanding from streaming content providers creates greater amounts of data and requires technology that can deliver improved resolutions at a higher rate. In the end, it all comes to down to power and the performance of the semiconductors that are literally doing much of the technology heavy lifting behind-the-scenes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u25b2 Figure 4. SK hynix HBM3 DRAM Memory<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In recent months, the innovation in semiconductor performance is adapting to new trends in video. In October, SK hynix announced<\/a> that it has become the first in the industry to successfully develop the High Bandwidth Memory 3, the world\u2019s best-performing DRAM. HBM3 is expected to be mainly adopted by high-performance data centers, and such a state-of-the-art memory solution will no doubt contribute to provide users with crystal clear video content with little latency.<\/p>\n Prior to that, SK hynix completed development of<\/a> the industry\u2019s most multilayered 176-layer 512 Gigabit (Gb) Triple-Level Cell (TLC) 4D NAND flash, a third-generation 4D product that secures the best number of chips per wafer. The result is an improvement in bit productivity, read speed and data transfer speed, and with such improvement the latest 176-layer 4D NAND Flash can be applied to both high performance enterprise SSDs for data centers and mobile storage solutions. Specifically, mobile solution products are expected to improve maximum read speed by 70 percent and maximum write speed by 35 percent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u25b2 Figure 5. SK hynix 18GB LPDDR5 Mobile DRAM<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n To stream such high-quality video with no latency on various mobile devices, it is also essential to support your devices with cutting edge mobile memory solutions. In March, SK hynix announced<\/a> mass production of 18GB (gigabyte) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM, which offers the industry\u2019s largest capacity, for premium smartphones, allowing support for high-quality video. That application will continue expanding to include the latest technologies, including ultra-high-performance camera applications and artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n These are important developments because, increasingly, these powerful mobile devices with high-performance image and video capture capabilities are being marketed as commercial-like video equipment. Most recently, Apple\u2019s iPhone 13 Pro is being advertised<\/a> as \u201cHollywood in your Pocket\u201d because of its ground-breaking video capabilities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d18r0a86za96sg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27181704\/Netflix.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\nStreaming Popularity Creates Data Explosion, Expands Tech Innovation<\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d18r0a86za96sg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27181709\/worldwide_cloud.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d18r0a86za96sg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27181714\/HBM3_DRAM.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d18r0a86za96sg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27181718\/18GB_LPDDR5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d18r0a86za96sg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27181722\/mobile_phone.jpg\")
<\/p>\n