• by Aaron Baar , June 14, 2010

People are more excited about the prospect of content delivery than they are about the devices the content may be delivered on. 

According to a survey of 1,200 U.S. consumers by Chadwick Martin Bailey, people were significantly more excited about the prospects of renting movies over the Internet and surfing the web while watching television than they were about 3D televisions, the iPad and Google-powered Android phones.

Twenty-nine percent were "extremely excited" about the prospect of renting movies over the Internet, while 24% felt the same way about surfing the Web via an Internet-connected television. By contrast, only 15% and 16% felt the same way about the iPad and 3D television, respectively.

"After many years of media hype and false starts, we're finally starting to see the concept of accessing feature-length films and TV shows through the Internet cross the chasm into the mainstream," Chris Neal, vice president of the firm's technology practice, tells Marketing Daily. "We're starting to see more mainstream consumers come around to these things."

Neal attributed the increase to several factors, including greater access to faster Internet speeds, a greater comfort level with Internet video and better online content quality. He added that televisions are coming with their own Internet ports, which makes merging the screens easier in the mind of consumers.

"More and more TVs are coming with port connections to sling Internet content to your TV," he says. "It's becoming easier and the quality is getting better. The light bulb is starting to come on with consumers."