News Bytes: September 4

19% of U.S. Households Watch Online TV

via NewTeeVee

Probably one of the most important benchmarks for online video, in my opinion, was the study conducted by TNS and the Conference Board last year that found 16 percent of American Internet households watch TV broadcasts online. That seemed pretty impressive at the time, especially given that it pre-dated the existence of Hulu along with widespread promotion of other network’s streaming offerings. It signaled that there was a real audience for premium entertainment on the PC screen.

Well, perhaps as expected, but certainly as an important milestone, that number is now larger: “Nearly one-fifth” of American Internet households watch TV broadcasts online, according to a release put out by the two firms today. So assuming the number is something on the order of 19 percent, it’s actually not that dramatic of an increase year-on-year. (We’ve asked if they can send over a more precise percentage. The firms do say this year’s figure is double what they measured two years ago.)

In its study of 10,000 households, TNS and the Conference Board found that of those who watch TV online, 43 percent tune into the news, the most popular category. Thirty-nine percent watch drama shows, 34 percent sitcom/comedy shows, 23 percent reality shows, 16 percent sports, and 15 percent user-generated content.

Almost nine out of ten online TV viewers watch online broadcasts at home, while 15 percent watch from their office. Some 68 percent of online TV watchers stream video, while 38 percent utilize free downloads (Meaning illegitimate downloads, I assume. Most places offering authorized downloads, like iTunes, do it for a fee.) The top streaming destinations are official TV sites, with 65 percent of viewers, and YouTube, with 41 percent.

Analysis: Set-Top, Shmet-Top: TV Makers Take It Inside

via Digital Media Wire - connecting people & knowledge

The annual CEDIA Expo has been underway in Denver this week, where consumer electronics manufacturers were unveiling their newest top-of-line hardware for an audience of custom home theater installers. This year's show was heavy on (very) high-end Blu-ray Disc players from Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, JVC and others (not much for the Wal-Mart crowd there). But it also featured hardware makers' first substantial forays into Internet-enabled TV sets, which are designed to serve as their own bridge between the Web-delivered video and the big-screen TV in the living room without the need of a separate set-top box or PC.

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What You Need to Know about the LG-Netflix Box

via NewTeeVee

LG and Netflix have been doling out more details on their joint hardware project day by day. Here’s what we know about the BD300, with thanks to Wired Gadget Lab, The New York Times Bits Blog, and of course, the official press release.

• It’ll be available the first week of October at Best Buy, Circuit City and specialty retailers.
• It will cost $399.95 (the Roku Netflix player is $99.99).
• It will be a Blu-ray disc player with BD Live (though accessing the Internet will require an additional memory dongle).
• You’ll have to have a Netflix subscription, but LG will offer two weeks free Netflix service for new members with the player.
• It will play 12,000 Netflix movies and TV episodes, but you’ll have to queue them up in advance from your PC.
• Netflix content will not stream in HD, but rather “near DVD-quality,” depending on the speed of your Internet connection. Netflix hopes to stream movies in HD by next year.

The appeal of this particular device is in getting Blu-ray and streaming movies in the same place, even if the difference in quality is that much more apparent. But the Xbox 360 is also getting Netflix streaming, as well as a hefty price drop. Meanwhile, Amazon doesn’t have its own box, but it does have 40,000 titles and multiple hardware partnerships.