Internet-Connected HDTVs Not Being Used For Internet Browsing, NPD Says

NPD’s latest Connected Intelligence Application & Convergence report suggest that, despite internet-connect HDTV’s becoming more popular, very few buyers actually use those set-tops to access the internet.

The report finds that a majority of TV owners access video media but fall short of other services that have grown to include mapping, gaming, shopping, social networking, and more.

According to the NPD study, 60 percent of connected televisions are used for streaming video services, while only 15 percent of internet-connected TV owners use their devices for streaming music platforms. Only 10 percent of owners browse the web from their internet-connected TVs, and no other single use platform has received a 10 percent or higher adoption rate.

The NPD research study suggests that TV manufacturers have not done a good enough job making their televisions user-friendly enough to access outside sources. According to NPD, TV manufacturers should forget about adding new “innovations” and should instead work on simplifying their often confusing user experience, which includes clunky messaging platforms, hard to navigate menus, and often jumbled use infrastructures.

Many analysts agree with the NPD research study; in fact, during the last several years of CES, we have reported on the jumbled mess of TV innovations to arrive at market. The one shining spot at CES 2013 may perhaps be Google TV 3.0, which will debut on several HDTV units.

In the meantime, connected-TVs continue to become the norm in the HDTV industry, and, since users often don’t have a choice at which TV tech they buy, adoption rates are remaining steady, even if features are being ignored.