Five major Japanese manufacturers have announced plans to develop the standards needed to manufacture televisions that can connect to the Internet, TheWall Street Journal reported.
Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba and Hitachi are hoping to take advantage of changing trends in viewing habits, which have seen the personal computer play an increasingly important role in accessing and viewing video content. The new sets reportedly will be based on the Linux operating system.
The companies have jointly set up the TV Portal Service Corp. to do the standards work. Sony and Matsushita each own 35 percent of the company, with the remaining companies each owning 10 percent, according to the report.
The standard to connect the new televisions to the Internet could be available in early 2007, with deliveries of sets later in the year, according to the report.
