Better At Shopping Than Reading Owner's Manuals
LG shows off a set-top box at the Consumer Electronics Show that will will upgrade a conventional televison to a smart TV. David Becker/Getty Images hide caption
LG shows off a set-top box at the Consumer Electronics Show that will will upgrade a conventional televison to a smart TV.
David Becker/Getty ImagesMillions of Americans already have bought a "connected TV," i.e., a broadband HDTV model that can connect directly to the Internet. That means consumers can use their new large-screen TVs to get all sorts of interactive online services.
"Connected TV should be a home run," James McQuivey, a media analyst with Forrester Research, said Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
One problem: Once consumers get the TVs home, they don't use the Internet connection.
"People don't get why they would want it," he said in a speech about his firm's research into consumer behaviors. "The majority don't connect the TV at all."
Forrester estimates that by 2015, about one third of all U.S. households will own a connected TV. The industry's challenge will be to persuade people to actually hook them up to the Internet, McQuivey said.