With 35% of US cable TV subscribers surveyed saying they would terminate subs in the next 5 years for online TV viewing, cable companies in the US are planning to evolve out of their set-top boxes.

T&A: Knowledge@Wharton released an article here describing how the cable television industry in the US is facing an increasing threat from Internet video sites like YouTube and Hulu.

To counter this, the cable TV industry is working on a plan to make cable subscriptions portable to any Internet-enabled device, be it a notebook or a mobile phone, at no extra charge.

One example mentioned was an announcement in June by Time Warner and Comcast to launch TV Everywhere, a service that allows cable subscribers to use their PC/Macs to watch on-demand programs from Time Warner’s TNT and TBS networks. Since then, CBS, HBO, Cinemax and Starz have made known their wish to be involved.

Of course, with 35% of respondents from a consumer survey done by Bernstein Research saying they would consider cutting a cable subscription in favor of online video in the next five years, this is definitely something the cable TV companies should be worried about (and do something about before it’s too late).

T&A: Nikkei’s Tech-On released a story on what’s coming up for HDMI sometime this year. High-Definition Multimedia Interface, or HDMI, is an indispensable cable connection that transmits uncompressed HD video and audio from sources like Blu-ray Disc players, current high-end gaming consoles and high-definition media centers/PCs to HD screens with just one cable.

According to the story, the HDMI Licensing LLC of US (they who decide on the HDMI specs) will be introducing the next form of HDMI connectors sometime in H1 of 2009. These connectors will serve two purposes - new applications and new functions.

HDMI cables today - expect them to change in form and function sometime this year.

For new applications, you will see HDMI connectors appearing for mobile phones and car navigation systems. Basically watching and listening to HDTV-like images on portable devices. This also means a refresh of the current Type C Ver 1.3a HDMI connectors (seen on camcorders), so that they fit better on phones and digicams.

For new functions, HDMI will move into three new areas - support for 4096 x 2160 pixels (4K x 2K) resolution, including 3D displays; superior networking functionality and better audio. In summary, expect to see HDMI becoming your super-cable with souped-up transfer rates for not just HD content but also for networked data. It won’t be long before the S/PDIF optical audio cables and Cat-5 cables join floppy disks and CRT monitors very soon.