The news that LG is launching a new line of high definition televisions that have Netflix video streaming built in is kind of cool.

But the bigger news here, I think, is that the era of the Internet-connected TV is almost upon us.

Previously, if you wanted to get online with your TV, you needed some kind of intermediary component, whether it was a “media extender” like an Xbox 360 or PS3 game console or a Roku Netflix box or an actual mini PC that used your television like a giant computer monitor.

But soon televisions won’t need those crutches to get online. You’ll just plug an Ethernet cable directly into your TV (as with the first LG “broadband HDTVs”) or, eventually, the set will have built-in wireless networking capability.

Your TV will be just one more wireless device connected to your home Wi-Fi network.

So getting the Internet (and Internet video) on your TV will be as simple as changing channels.

And when that happens, online video could take off, as Hulu and YouTube and the various sites of the individual broadcasters go from being of niche interest to a handful of hardcore home theater enthusiasts to mass market services that will appeal to anyone who knows how to use a remote control.

Indeed, even with the hassle of dealing with set top boxes and media extenders, viewership of online video on the TV is expected to jump. According to one estimate, the average broadband user will watch about 140 downloaded or streamed videos on their televisions in 2013, compared to about 17 in 2009.

If television makers can dispense with the external boxes, that number will probably accelerate even faster.

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