Blu-ray players, game consoles, and TV sets are connecting to the Internet, and everything on the Internet is becoming accessible on smartphones and other connected devices.  Internet video is the new "must have" service.  Hybrid Web-to-TV Set Top Boxes will bring a new set of Internet services to TV sets, by integrating Internet capability into cable, satellite, telcoTV (IPTV), and digital terrestrial set top boxes.  Work is being done to create “hybrid” services that bring "apps" and "widgets" to TV programming, along with advanced advertising, according to In-Stat.  The value of Hybrid Set Top Boxes that are immediately put into use will reach US$ 1.3 billion worldwide by 2014.

“TV programs have come to the Internet.  Now, the Internet is coming back to TV, and savvy software engineers and smart TV producers are finding ways to create new "hybrid" services that bring it all together,” says Gerry Kaufhold, Principal Analyst for In-Stat.  “The set top box industry is scrambling to create designs that facilitate all these new features.”

Some of the research findings include:
Hybrid-capable STBs are shipping today, but only a small percentage are using the capabilities.
Digital terrestrial boxes will be the hybrid-box growth leader, with a CAGR of 42% between 2010 and 2014.
Western Europe will be the hot bed for development of hybrid services, and the leader for early hybrid STB shipments.
Intel’s x86 Instruction Set promises to be a key enabler, as Adobe FLASH, Windows Media, Microsoft Silverlight, DiVX, and VP8 appear first on an x86 Instruction Set.
Each category of set top box and each geographic region is developing along unique trajectories.