Market forecast: 46% of LCD and flat TVs to have Internet feature by 2013

ABI Research has estimated 19% of flat panel TVs such as plasma and LCD TVs shipping with Ethernet in 2010 will grow to 46% in 2013, and connectivity is expected to become a mainstream feature.

According to industry analyst Michael Inouye, "New features will include media guides/browsing, Web browsing, and more tightly integrated social and information-based datasets."

New opportunities for advertising and cross-marketing will flow from these developments too, as well as new roles for the television manufacturers. "TV makers no longer want to build 'dumb screens,'" says Inouye. "Rather than simply selling boxes, TV makers themselves could try to secure part of the revenue generated by ads their devices present."

The popular interface is going to be both wired and Wi-Fi. G.hn, HomePNA, MoCA, and Powerline are the other interfaces.

Inouye concludes, "This market is very fluid and uncertain, and with so many parties vying for a piece of the action, that fluidity may persist for years."