Research organization NPD estimates that approximately 25 million U.S. households currently have smart TVs. While nearly six out of 10 owners are using their smart TVs to watch over-the-top video services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, and roughly 15 percent are accessing music services like Pandora, the majority of Americans are not utilizing applications beyond streaming video and music. The latest NPD Connected Intelligence Application & Convergence report suggests the Internet connected HDTV screen has yet to reach beyond its TV-centric heritage.

Consumers are more likely to use a second screen, such as a tablet or smartphone, to check social networks while watching TV. The report indicates that less than eight percent access Facebook through their smart TVs. Additionally, popular social apps Twitter and LinkedIn attracted the smallest amount of users.

Surfing the Web via a browser on the TV screen drew 10 percent of smart TV owners, but apps — related to reading books or magazines, accessing maps, posting videos to YouTube, calling over Skype, uploading photos to Flickr, online shopping, and playing casual games — have failed to gain traction.

“The decision is not for want of application choice, but rather seems to be focused on how consumers are used to interacting with their TV,” explains the NPD Group Blog. “HDTVs, gaming consoles, Blu-ray Disc players, and other connected devices offer an array of applications, ranging from Twitter and Facebook to Web browsing. But, in general, these have failed to resonate with the audience, not least because there are better platforms, such as the PC, tablet, or smartphone, for such services. The one saving grace to-date has been music services, where the location of the TV and the availability of key music streaming apps such as Pandora has driven reasonable consumer uptake.”

NPD analysts suggest the slow adoption of application use could be blamed on the array of Internet-connected devices already part of the home theater, which may be too complex for consumers. The same apps currently available on smart TVs have already been made available on devices including the Roku set-top box, Apple TV, TiVo, Blu-ray players, DVRs and gaming consoles. Additionally, most of these devices offer a larger selection of streaming video applications.

Consumers may also be disregarding smart TV apps since they have the ability to stream content from a smartphone or tablet to a TV (“content throwing”). “This is yet another challenge to the uniqueness of any one TV OEM’s device offering, especially as the throwing technology may also be driven by peripheral devices such as the Xbox,” explains NPD Group Connected Intelligence Director John Buffone. “Indeed, the whole peripheral option, combined with emerging technology on specific OEM devices can lead to a host of complexities for consumers. Taking the ‘throwing,’ screen-sharing concept as an example, there are multiple options emerging in the market, such as the Xbox SmartGlass, Samsung AllShare, Apple AirPlay, and many other DLNA variants.”

“As a result, it’s no wonder that most connected consumers are currently stopping short of exploring options beyond video,” writes Buffone. “To counter this, OEMs and retailers need to focus less on new innovation in this space and more on simplification of the user experience and messaging if they want to drive additional, and new, behaviors on the TV.”