互联网电视渐成潮流

    我们可以随意剖析网飞（Netflix）和康卡斯特（Comcast）的策略，但电视机从有线电视向互联网转移的速度在很大程度上将取决于消费者决定在客厅里做什么。鉴于他们已经拥有了上网获取电视节目（当然还有许多可以观看的视频）所需要的硬件和软件工具，现在所有的目光都在盯着家庭观众。

    据市场研究公司Diffusion Group发布的《2013年定义家用消费电子产品和网络生态系统报告》（Defining the In-Home CE and Network Ecosystem 2013）显示，在拥有宽带互联网接入服务的美国家庭当中，一半以上（56％）的家庭现在至少有一台电视机与互联网相连接。美国约有三分之二的家庭拥有宽带。

    虽然观众采用各种方式在电视屏幕上观看从网飞及其他服务平台获取的互联网视频，但智能电视似乎越来越受到欢迎，不过大多数人仍然通过微软Xbox 360、索尼（Sony）PS3及任天堂（Nintendo）Wii等游戏机来传输视频内容。约有62％的家庭拥有这样一款设备，平均而言，这些设备约有四分之一的时间被用于观看电视。

    但是，智能电视目前气势强盛，增速超过了Roku或Apple TV等专用的“互联网至电视”设备（即流媒体机顶盒）。约有14％的宽带家庭用户拥有一款专用设备，同时约有25％的宽带家庭用户拥有一款智能电视。过去一年以来，智能电视的拥有量增长了一倍，而专用设备的拥有量仅增长了两个百分点。但据这份报告称，目前实际上只有约三分之二的智能电视是与互联网连接的。

    另一份来自市场研究公司NPD集团的报告发现，到明年，所有这些将互联网与电视相连接的方式将超越通过蓝光播放器与电视相连接的方式。现在，通过蓝光播放器连接的用户人数高于通过智能电视连接的用户人数，但是这个状况正在迅速发生变化——成为消费者不再通过光碟看电影的另一个标志。NPD集团题为《互联家庭》（Connected Home）的这份报告还发现，在有电视机与互联网相连接的家庭当中，有40％通过网飞观看视频，17％观看YouTube视频，11％通过Hulu观看电影和电视节目。（财富中文网)

    译者：iDo98

    We can examine the strategies of Netflix (NFLX) and Comcast (CMCSA) all we like, but the speed at which television moves off of cable and onto the Internet will be determined largely by what people decide to do in their living rooms. Now that they have the hardware and software tools to access TV online -- and, of course, lots of videos to watch -- all eyes are on home viewers.

    More than half of them -- 56% of all households with broadband Internet access -- now have at least one TV set connected to the Internet, according to a report from Diffusion Group, "Defining the In-Home CE and Network Ecosystem 2013." About two-thirds of the nation's homes have broadband.

    While viewers use a variety of means to get Internet video from Netflix and other services onto their TV screens, it appears that smart TVs are increasingly in favor, though most people are still porting video content through game consoles like the Xbox 360 (MSFT), the Sony PS3 (SNE), and the Nintendo Wii (NTDOY). About 62% of households own such a device, which are used about a quarter of the time for TV viewing, on average.

    But smart TVs are coming on strong, growing faster than dedicated Internet-to-TV devices like Roku or Apple TV (AAPL). About 14% of broadband households own a dedicated device, while about 25% own a smart TV. Ownership of smart TVs has doubled over the past year, while ownership of dedicated devices grew by only two percentage points. But only about two-thirds of smart TVs are actually connected to the Internet, according to the report.

    Another report, this one from NPD Group, found that by next year, all of these means of connecting the Internet to TVs will eclipse connections via Blu-ray players. For now, more people are connected through Blu-rays than through smart TVs, but that's swiftly changing -- another sign of people moving away from movies on discs. The NPD Group report, "Connected Home," also found that 40% of households with Internet-connected TVs watch videos from Netflix, 17% watch YouTube (GOOG) videos, and 11% watch movies and TV shows via Hulu.