Dutch viewers continue to watch traditional Teletext pages and are still reluctant to use internet on connected TVs and watch 3D content, according to research by the consumers’ union Consumentenbond.
The union questioned 1,058 people who bought a new TV set since 2006. Of these, 55% said they use Teletext on a daily basis, mainly to watch the news headlines, check the weather forecast and the TV guide. Also, sports results are still popular among Dutch viewers.
3D has not yet caught on – just 38 of the people questioned say they have a 3D compatible set, but 21 of those said they rarely, if ever, use this functionality. Probable reasons for this lack of usage are the fact that there is only limited 3D content available. Also, the high price of 3D glasses could be a reason.
267 people said they have a connected TV set (around 25% – 100 of those never use to watch internet on the TV, but 50 people say they use it on a daily basis. The most widely used content are YouTube and VOD movies from Videoland and MovieMax. Also popular are the catch-up TV services Uitzending gemist (from the public broadcasters) and RTL Gemist.
The EPG is the most widely used application of digital TV sets with 50% using the guide daily or multiple times a week. With regards to watching digital TV, 42% said they use a set-top box, 39% a PVR and 17% the built-in tuner. The remainder is not aware of the way they watch digital TV.
Around 80% said they have the possibility to watch their own photos on the TV set and about half of those said they use this fuctionality a couple of times a year.
