Delayed ignition of combustion synthesis precursors can significantly lower metal oxide film formation temperatures. From bulk In2O3 precursor analysis, it is shown here that ignition temperatures can be lowered by as much as 150 degrees C. Thus, heat generation from similar to 60 nm thick In2O3 films is sufficient to form crystalline In2O3 films at 150 degrees C. Furthermore, we show that the low processing temperatures of sufficiently thick combustion precursor films can be applied to the synthesis of metal oxide nanocomposite films from nanomaterials overcoated/impregnated with the appropriate combustion precursor. The resulting, electrically well-connected nanocomposites exhibit significant enhancements in charge-transport: properties vs conventionally processed oxide films while maintaining desirable intrinsic electronic properties. For example, while ZnO nanorod-based thin-film transistors exhibit an electron mobility of 10(-3)-10(-2) cm(2) V-1 s(-1), encasing these nanorods within a ZnO combustion precursor-derived matrix enhances the electron mobility to 0.2 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). Using commercially available ITO nanoparticles, the intrinsically high carrier concentration is preserved during nanocomposite film synthesis, and an ITO nanocomposite film processed at 150 degrees C exhibits a conductivity of similar to 10 S cm(-1) without post-reductive processing.