Web-enabled components to triple in five years

200 million TVs, consoles to have Internet capability by 2013

By Danny King -- Video Business, 11/13/2008

NOV. 13 | The number of Internet-enabled electronics components will more than triple during the next five years, allowing more consumers to integrate Web functions with their TVs, DVD players and videogame consoles, according to a report released this week.

More than 200 million electronics components worldwide will have Web browsers by 2013, up from about 60 million this year, ABI Research said in a statement yesterday. Internet-protocol-enabled TVs, standard in Japan, will become more common in North America, the research firm said.

"One of the main facets of multi-screen offerings will be Web-based user interfaces and rich Web content across all three screens," ABI research director Michael Wolf said in a statement. "Beyond the PC and mobile environment is the Internet-connected TV screen."

TV makers are making more of their sets with ports that allow for Internet access, while features such as BD Live allow owners of Blu-ray Disc players to communicate to each other through the Internet.

Additionally, content distributors such as Netflix are encouraging Internet capability in components by recently reaching agreements to stream its movie and TV titles directly to TVs through LG Electronics and Samsung Blu-ray players as well as TiVo digital video recorders and Microsoft's Xbox videogames consoles.