Operators offering IPTV are going to find it increasingly hard to convince users that pretty TV guides and 10,000 video-on-demand titles are enough to switch from cable and satellite offerings. Parity in on-screen navigation is on its way.

Luckily for those operators, the quick market adoption rate of high-resolution displays is finally allowing a whole new series of applications based on motion-enablement for the traditionally television-oriented display. Controllers embedded into toys as well as application-specific devices will engender a far more intimate consumer relationship with television — and intimacy breeds revenues.

There's lots of activity going on behind the scenes, so expect announcements starting in 2008. Here are 10 IPTV products we want to see soon (and likely will if Disney, Hasbro, Mattel and others have any sense):

1. A Disney Mickey Mouse/Minnie Mouse handheld controller, in which the nose is a scroll and the ears are mouse-click buttons, to drive activity in Toontown, navigate the guide (auto-limited to child-appropriate topics), and play on-screen games. Bioauthentication drives the guide display and user login.

2. A Fisher-Price Little People bus that users “drive” around the screen, picking up and dropping off passengers, with on-screen activities controlled by the user physically moving the bus and loading pieces on and off it.

3. A handheld magic carpet that lets the user fly through the air, dodging buildings on-screen while trying to keep player pieces on the carpet from falling off; if a piece falls off, the character falls off on-screen.

4. A simple mini-keyboard for on-screen shopping at popular portals, complete with bioauthentication for one-click purchasing. Add visual browsing and/or 3-D shopping for a more tangible, real-world experience.

5. A Barbie toy that interacts with online worlds, similar to the Barbie Girls unit, an MP3 player that connects to a computer and unlocks a virtual world where girls create an avatar and design their own “room,” shop at a mall, play games, hang out and chat live with other girls. On-screen movement is controlled by moving Barbie.

6. World of Warcraft swords and shields that players brandish in battle (comes with living room lamp repair kit).

7. A Bob the Builder tool belt that allows kids to build a house on the television by hammering those nails in on the screen.

8. A firefighter hose that allows kids to train, extinguish fires and rescue survivors. They can sweep the hose across the screen and change the settings to alter the spray on the TV.

9. A true Harry Potter wand that has the discrete wrist movements required to properly turn Malfoy into a ferret. No Muggle-born can resist the chance to pass Potions.

10. A full bodysuit for motion enablement in 3-D worlds. Its motion sensors can translate the movement of a user's avatar while he or she wears 3-D goggles for the full effect. (Sound flaky? A 3-D bodysuit is under development, inspired by a teacher who wants to use real-life movements to add character to his classes in Second Life.)

The dramatic improvements in technology; the rampant market acceptance of the Wii; and the passion for electronic, social network-style devices are rapidly driving this industry behind the scenes. The interesting activity in the near term will concern standards for motion-enabled interfaces.

One thing is for sure: IPTV players need to be on the leading edge to gain first-to-market advantages and to avoid having the consumer electronics players (once again) walk off with all the revenue.

Danny Briere is CEO of TeleChoice. He can be reached at dbriere@telechoice.com.