We've known that individuals were turning to the internet to catch their favorite shows for some time now, but we aren't living in the future just yet. According to new research conducted by Nielsen and CTAM, most adults (94%) who "subscribe to cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television on traditional TV sets." Still, over a third of those surveyed who had a broadband connection admitted to watching at least one television program originally shown on TV via the internet, and nearly 40% of online TV viewers also use the world wide web to "get the scoop on actors and upcoming episodes." For numbers galore on this very topic, head on down to the read link and have a look.

[Image courtesy of BebeReviews]

Oh, joy. Yet another report suggesting something about the year 2012 -- as if we're just going to let 'em spew anything and not check back for accuracy in 3.5 years? Anywho, not long after hearing a laughable article suggesting that Blu-ray decks would outsell DVD players by August (yes, of 2008), along comes another that makes a little more sense. The Entertainment Merchants Association's (EMA) 2008 annual report on home entertainment has found that "nearly 9 million high-definition discs were sold in 2007," and just 12,177 DVDs were released last year, down from a peak of 13,950 in 2005. More interesting, however, was the notion that "in 2012, sales of Blu-ray Discs will exceed those of standard DVDs and will generate sales of $9.5 billion," while spending on home video in general is expected to increase to $25.6 billion. Remember those days when you just couldn't find a VHS tape to save your life? You've got just under four years before that same feeling hits in relation to DVD (their assertion, not ours).

For now, the HDTV market is doing just fine as-is. We've still got stragglers seeing the light on a daily basis, and the looming DTV transition is probably pushing sales somewhat as well. However, according to Calvin Hsieh, DisplaySearch's Director of Research, the market is set to peak between 2009 and 2011. In order to grow beyond then, he suggests that the sector will have to focus on "enhanced features for TVs, such as higher resolutions, expanded broadband infrastructure, internet connectivity, versatile applications and interactive capabilities to meet the needs of the connected digital home." Hard to argue with any of that, no?

[Via The New York Times]

The most previous quarter is a sore subject for both Pioneer and Hitachi, as the pair of mega-corps have just posted substantial net losses. The latter announced a $559.3 million net loss, while the former said its net loss for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March widened to $287.2 million. Hitachi pointed at "large restructuring losses in its flat-screen-TV business" as the primary culprit, and it didn't predict a return to profit until the fiscal year ending March 2009. After experiencing the fourth straight year of losses, Pioneer even mentioned that it would "start talks with its unions to shed 300 jobs in Japan" along with closing two domestic plants following the pullout from PDP production. So yeah, we'd probably rethink that plan about jumping into the plasma production biz. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

Welp, that didn't take long. Just months after Sony found itself surprisingly atop the North American LCD sales rankings, Samsung has vaulted back to the pole position while watching Sony slip to second. Granted, the top three suppliers -- Samsung, Sony and Vizio (in that order) -- were all separated by just three-tenths of a percentage point, with each firm's market share checking in at 12.8%, 12.7% and 12.5%, respectively. Below the trio, we find Sharp, LG and everyone else gasping for air. It was also noted that Vizio recognized the strongest year-over-year growth of any top five flat-panel brand, and interestingly enough, Sony managed to maintain its leadership position in the LCD category of 40-inches and up for the tenth straight quarter. Alright number lovers, hit up the read link for even more statistics.

Those looking to better unify your lighting, security, HVAC and home theater are in luck, as a new team has just been formed to investigate what you want, what you need and how to deliver it. Whirlpool, Bell Canada, Cisco, Direct Energy, HP, Legrand, Leviton, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Zensys and the Z-Wave Alliance have all come together to "conduct an in-depth study about the state and future of the smart home." More specifically, the crew will be asking consumers what types of connected home applications could be created or improved upon, with a few examples consisting of TV-based Caller ID screens, remotely controlled temperature / lighting and the ability to crank your home stereo to 11 when a crook breaks in. Yeah, we're totally bluffing on that last one, but you never know.

We already heard plenty of rosy news out of the Comcast camp, and generally speaking, the message is equally positive from DirecTV. Granted, the firm reported "only" $348 million in net income compared to $356 million a year earlier, but revenues managed to skyrocket some 17-percent. The reason, according to CNN Money, is the substantial uptick in demand for "more costly high-definition TV and digital recording features." Also of note, DTV hooked nearly half a million new subscribers in Q4 alone, and the monthly churn rate had dropped to 1.42-percent -- its "lowest in eight years." Consumers flocking to HD? Imagine that!

[Via Bloomberg]

As if this dead horse hasn't been beaten enough, a Pittsburgh reporter is pleading with the public yet again to turn a cold shoulder to those wildly packaged, generally overpriced cables that catch your eye. As we've seen time and time again, "gold plated" and "speed-rated" cabling essentially produces the same image as sturdily constructed alternatives that ring up at substantially lower prices, and it's no surprise to hear that confused HDTV buyers are still being lured into dropping hundreds on wires that offer up little additional value in return. Another tip put forth by Aaron Saykin is to make sure you're picking the best type of cable for your particular application, and of course, we'd recommend avoiding big box retailers for your cable needs and surfing over to one of the many e-tailers that offer similar items in less fanciful packaging for gobs less money. So whether you're planning to go all out on a new home theater setup, or if you're simply looking to wire up a snazzy new component, just make sure you're not padding someone's pocket in exchange for a fantastically attractive marketing campaign.

[Image courtesy of GaffleTopia]

Because there haven't been enough consumer studies released regarding HDTVs. Kagan Research is back with another high priced technology report and as usual, we're reporting on it.

The big news here? For the first time ever, they expect high definition televisions to make up the majority of TV's sold ithis year. As prices continue to slide and programming continues to increase, more and more people replacing their existing televisions will pick up HDTVs.

All this will add up to 20 million HDTVs sold this year, and 104 million by 2008. Broadcasters, electronics manufacturers, content producers, the consumers are out here waiting, just give us what we want, more HD content and more ways to view it. My rant is over for the day.