Digital TVs vie to bring Internet connectivity to living room

SCOTTSDALE, USA: With digital televisions (DTVs) supplanting analog models in much of the world, manufacturers are adding new features such as Internet connectivity and wireless HD capability to broaden their appeal, reports In-Stat.

“DTVs are competing with computers to be the entertainment hub of the home,” says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. “Sets with Internet connectivity are already commercially available in the US, Europe, and Japan. Models from Hitachi, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony can connect directly to the Internet without a home computer.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

* Thirty-six (36) percent of digital sets sold in 2013 will be network-enabled.
* DTV revenue in Asia-Pacific will see a 6.3 percent CAGR from 2008 to 2013, the fastest growth among the major regions, except for Rest-of-World.
* DTVs are now the only TVs available in most of North America, Western Europe, and Japan.
* Silicon TV tuners capable of demodulating both analog and digital TV signals in a single chipset are beginning to replace Can TV tuners in high-end models.