Microsoft's introduction of Windows Vista for consumers this year is expected to help drive the PC-TV tuner market, a research firm said Monday.

Among the Microsoft initiatives positioning the OS for TV programming is the software maker's push to get PC-TV tuner vendors to centralize their drivers through the Windows Update program, according to the report from market analyst firm In-Stat.

"The most common PC-TV tuner will enable digital terrestrial television reception and be integrated with the PC as part of a Microsoft Vista bundle," In-Stat analyst Chris Kissel said in a statement. Tuners that won't be part of the Vista bundle, but will still have a portion of the market, include hybrid USB TV tuners, PC-TV tuners for free-to-air satellite TV services, and pay-TV capable tuners.

By 2011, 50.8 million PC-TV tuners will be sold worldwide, generating $3.1 billion in revenue, In-Stat predicts. Nearly 37% of all PC-TV tuner revenue will come from end users in Europe, and 32% from those in Asia.

Market researcher IDC predicts that shipments of PCs with a media-focused operating environment and hardware, such as a TV tuner and remote control, will reach 27.5 million units worldwide by 2010, including 9.5 million in the United States. The market value is expected to reach $29.4 billion globally and $12.6 billion in the United States, according to IDC.

The success of the PC as the entertainment hub for the home will depend on the amount of content that's pushed to consumers. Movie studios are moving slowly to the Internet and have only recently started offering some new films for download the same day they're released on DVD. The vast majority of films, however, aren't available for download to a PC.