I witnessed a Netflix-connected television on my recent trip to the US, and I must agree, this will lead to a fundamental shift in viewing habits, especially when such players also allow for delivery of internet-based open content, such as the Netgear example quoted below.

Via Globe and Mail:

“a new breed of Internet-connected televisions is threatening to shake up both the technology and broadcasting industries while making millions of recently purchased high-definition TVs yesterday’s news.

Yesterday, LG Electronics Inc. unveiled a new line of high-definition TVs at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that will include software from Netflix Inc. – to allow users to download movies and television programs directly to their TVs over an Internet connection.

Mr. McQuivey said Internet-connected TVs will have truly arrived when we see a major Web video services like Hulu.com start taking viewers away from cable companies.

Hulu – a joint project of NBC Universal Inc. and News Corp., which is not yet available in Canada – is ad-supported and offers free on-demand videos, allowing users to watch popular U.S. programs at their convenience.

“[Cable companies] have the most to lose and it’s their business model which is at greatest risk of redundancy in this transition,” said Carmi Levy, an analyst with AR Communications Inc. “Their consistent revenue stream will come under attack as new offerings come to the market. … It’s similar to what the telephone companies have faced from voice over Internet telephony (VoIP), cellphones and free instant messaging tools.”

Netgear’s Internet TV Player seems of particular interest:

“Netgear has just announced its Internet TV Player, a set-top box that allows users to play content from video streaming sites like YouTube, directly on their TV. Perhaps of more interest is the device’s built-in BitTorrent client, which makes it an ideal TV-torrent player as well.”