• by Wayne Friedman , January 19, 2012

Lackluster 3DTV sales may be getting an unexpected lift.

That's thanks to expected growth of Internet-connected TV shipments, according to U.K.-based Futuresource Consulting. The company forecasts such TVs will comprise 80% of all worldwide TV shipments in three years. Right now, connected TVs shipments are at 27% of all TVs shipped globally.

When it comes to 3DTVs, shipments of 16 million units are estimated for 2011, growing to represent 50% of the market in 2015. But there might be an asterisk here.

Futuresource says: "One of the key reasons behind the growth of 3DTVs is that consumers are purchasing the 3D function by default when looking to upgrade to higher-end models." The firm notes the public is "unaware of the in-built 3D capability at the time of purchase."

Right now, Net-connected TVs have the biggest share of the market in Japan, where they represent 59% of all TV shipments last year. Looking at other big markets -- USA and China -- both are getting 29% share of Internet-connected television sets. Europe receives a 24% share.

Even more technology could be coming for TV viewers.

Some TV critics say OLED technology provides even better quality TV than current HDTV sets. At present, that technology is mostly available in smartphones and is gradually moving to traditional TV sets -- but the price tag is much higher than HDTVs.