By Reed Tucker
The newest line of HDTVs lets you stream thousands of movies and view select online content. Now we'll never get off the couch!
Just when you've traded up to a flat-screen and figured out HD, a new trend is poised to cause major ripples in the market: Internet-ready TVs.
They were the big news at electronics shows earlier this year, and although they accounted for only about 3% of TV sales in 2009, that number is expected to jump to 24% in the next four years, reports research firm Parks Associates.
Several TV manufacturers, among them LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, currently have or will soon introduce models that are Web-enabled, meaning viewers can watch a show and simultaneously look online to get news, view photos -- even check out what Ashton Kutcher is blabbing about on Twitter.
"Beyond HDTV, this is the next thing," says Richard Doherty, research director at Envisioneering Group, a digital technology consulting firm. "People will want the Internet their way, through the TV set. They won't want to have a laptop open or race over to the desk."
These new TVs are ready to connect to the Internet out of the box, without any additional set-top boxes or equipment. Most feature a built-in ethernet port, just like computers do.
If you own, say, one of the models in Sony's W5100 series (starting at $1,500), then you would plug your modem's ethernet cable into the back of the TV, and the Bravia Internet Video Service would populate the TV's menu. (It's similar to the PS3's media bar.) Users can stream thousands of TV shows and movies through Amazon Video On Demand now, or Netflix starting in the fall. It'll make schlepping to the local video store seem like a total drag.
Unlike your Mac or PC, the Internet-connected TVs don't have browsers, so you can't visit just any site in cyberspace --
If you own, say, one of the models in Sony's W5100 series (starting at $1,500), then you would plug your modem's ethernet cable into the back of the TV, and the Bravia Internet Video Service would populate the TV's menu. (It's similar to the PS3's media bar.) Users can stream thousands of TV shows and movies through Amazon Video On Demand now, or Netflix starting in the fall. It'll make schlepping to the local video store seem like a total drag.
Unlike your Mac or PC, the Internet-connected TVs don't have browsers, so you can't visit just any site in cyberspace -- which is reassuring for parents who want to limit what their kids can access. Instead, TV makers have cut deals with Yahoo!, Twitter, Blockbuster, Showtime, MySpace and eBay, so surfing, at least for now, will be limited to the options available. For instance, the website choices might appear in a thin bar at the bottom of the screen while the program you're watching plays above. Using the remote, you could click on the weather icon to get an instant update or choose YouTube to watch videos.
It'll probably take a few more years for this technology to reach its full potential. With the Internet seamlessly incorporated into the TV viewing experience, imagine voting for your favorite "American Idol" contestant using your remote control, jumping to the official movie website for an advertised film or finding supplementary stats for the ballgame you're watching.
The holy grail, Doherty says, would be for viewers to participate in altering plotlines -- say, voting not to let Sawyer die on "Lost."
That's just too cool to even ponder.
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