The ability to access the Internet and stream...

The ability to access the Internet and stream content was the top factor in a TV or video device purchase decision among 50 Chicago-area homes canvassed over 15 weeks ending April, said the Council for Research Excellence in a study. Smart TVs were the device of choice among most of those canvassed, followed by over-the-top streaming devices such as a Roku component, it said. Content was the driving force behind most purchase and usage decisions, it said. “Consumers demand devices that can stream content -- to enable time-shifting or binge-watching, for example.” All participating homes in the study sought ways to stream content, “regardless of demographic or technographic differences,” and “casting” content from one device to another was another “material attraction,” it said. When TV sets with over-the-top access were introduced into a home, “they became the most-used device for video, generating increased group viewing,” it said. But the TV set, whether “smart” in its own right or connected to a streaming device, “remained the dominant video-viewing device, although other devices were often present in the same room,” it said.