It’s not only smartwatches such as Samsung’s Galaxy Gear (review) and Sony’s SmartWatch 2 (review) that are expected to be big sellers over the next few years. Strategy Analytics (SA)

is expecting internet connected TVs, set-top boxes, and other TV-connectable devices to reach 1.8 billion over the next four years.

The market research company is predicting a future of increasingly connected living rooms with enhanced streaming capabilities, based upon the global number of connected TV devices set to increase from an average of just one per two households in 2013 to one per household by 2017.

Web connectivity to be big in the livingroom

According to SA’s Connected Home Devices (CHD) forecast for 2008-2017, a five-year compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 20% from 2012 to 2017 is anticipated for these devices.

“Although AV devices have become increasingly overlooked by consumers in favour of infotainment devices such as smartphones and tablets, the integration of IP connectivity is breathing new life into the sector and creating new opportunities for vendors,” said Eric Smith, SA analyst.

“We see sustained growth in connected models of flat panel TVs, set-top boxes, DVRs, Digital Media Adapters (i.e. Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Sky NOW TV), and Blu-ray players. And although ownership of games consoles is expected to shrink from current highs as gaming becomes more casual and increasingly mobile, these powerful devices will continue to act as important multimedia hubs in the living room.”

Additional findings

The report also forecasts that worldwide, the average home will own 2.6 portable connected devices by 2017, which represents an increase from 1.7 this year. Despite falling ownership levels of traditional notebook PCs, the global average number of mobile computing devices will reach one per household by 2017, on the back of rapid adoption of low cost tablets as well as new form factor notebooks.

Another growth area forecasted by SA is Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras that aims to facilitate easier uploading of images and videos to social networking sites or for backing up onto cloud storage services, sans the need to have the device connected to a PC.

Connected home devices service director David Watkins added: “Consumers are increasingly drawn to over-the-top (OTT) services in the home and on the go, so it’s not surprising to see shipments of connected devices rising year after year.”

“Furthermore, vendors are looking to build in IP connectivity into devices that have traditionally been unconnected to garner higher retail sales prices but also take advantage of the expanded availability of and interest in OTT content. Accordingly, we see market retail value growth of connected CE devices doubling the pace of growth in the overall CE device market,” Watkins concluded.

In other market related news, IDC recently lowered its global tablet shipment forecast for the year from 227.4 million to 221.3 million.