As paid video content becomes more available via different distribution channels, tablet and wireless phone-viewing usage has increased, while computer viewing usage has decreased from 2011, according to the J.D. Power and Associates "2012 U.S. Residential Pay-to-View Study" (http://www.jdpower.com/). But the amount of people who watch TV on their Macs or PCs is still impressive -- and a good argument for my longed-for iMac with built-in TV features.

The study, now in its second year, provides insights concerning attitudes, viewing preferences, behavior patterns, awareness and experiences among pay-to-view customers of the major home television and video service providers in the U.S. The study finds that 18% of customers use tablets for viewing paid video content, making them the most-often-used handheld device, up from 11% in 2011.

Usage by wireless phone customers increases to 16%, up from 14% in 2011. Overall, 29% of video service customers watch paid content on a handheld device. Computer viewing of paid content has declined to 39% from 48% in 2011.
release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.

However, 39% is still a serious number. That's why I hope to see Apple release an "iMac TV." See a previous column (http://macte.ch/vHpuK) of mine for details.

-- Dennis Sellers