Is Google TV just a fancy name for technology we already have?
I finally got around to watching the Google TV video below on YouTube and I'm pretty excited about it.
Many of you know that I have been predicting the demise of airwave television for a couple of years now. I believe airwave content will be replaced by Internet content. No more recording shows. No more DVRs. Just 100% on demand television over the Internet. And I think Google TV will take us one step closer to my prediction.
But judging on the comments on the Google TV YouTube video, there are a lot of people who think Google TV is just a fancy new name for technology we already have. Check out some of the comments:
- I guess Google has never heard of an HDMI cable...
- lol i had my computer hooked up to my? big screen for the past 4 years
- anyone capable of hooking this up will have already known that you can just hook your computer to the tv through hdmi and be set. Nothing new here? google.
I don't care I still love it
While I agree with the people leaving these comments that you can already watch Internet content on your television simply by hooking up a computer, I still think Google TV has the potential to be huge.
Why? Because most people I deal with on a regular basis have absolutely no idea (or desire) to run an HDMI cable from their computer to their television. But if it is built into their television and easy to use, there's a chance they might embrace it.
So what do you think? Is Google TV going to be the next big thing? Watch the video and let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
If you can not see the embedded video above, please use the following link: Introducing Google TV
5 comments for this blog post so far...
June 23, 2010 at 8:22 am
asudduth
To answer your question “Is Google TV just a fancy name for technology we already have?” I’m going to answer no. I don’t believe its a fancy name, however it is technology we already have - even in easy to use devices however not necessarily all in one place. For example, I have an awesome Sony TV that has YouTube, NetFlix, Pandora, Yahoo widgets, etc built right in. I also have a WD TV Live which brings similar functionality to other TVs as well as streaming things from other computers. I know there are other devices (Apple TV, Popcorn Hour, xbox, etc) out there that do these things maybe even better. But I’m not sure you have been able to get everything in one simple to use box (Maybe Windows Media Center - but that requires a computer so not a simple/noobie thing to do) not to mention a full web browser and a platform built on search (as I assume this is)
so, do I want one of these? nope. but it could certainly move TV in to the future.
time will tell…
June 23, 2010 at 8:34 am
Patric Welch
@asudduth - It seems you and I are on the same page. I don’t care how much of this stuff already exists, the winner is the person or company that can package it all together in one easy-to-use interface.
June 29, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Kriss
Your theory of no more tv is probably very far off. I live in an area that does not offer high speed internet, as well as many other people in this world with the same problem. I have to use an air card which does not at all go fast enough to watch tv online. Faster and more reliable internet has to be availble world wide before online only tv would even be a thought.
Plus there are people out there who cannot afford internet, but they could afford free tv. While being able to watch shows online is nice its availability is lacking.
I only watched half of your video because I didn’t want to wait for it to load the whole thing but GoogleTv sounds great. It makes it easy for the non computer person. Yes, you can just plug up an hdmi cable but GoogleTv is better because it makes it easier for anyone to do and not have to worry about a laptop being around to plug in.
July 02, 2010 at 10:34 am
Patric Welch
@Kriss - Just so I’m clear, I’m not saying television is going away. I’m just saying that programming delivered over the airwaves is.
I assume that even though you are in a remote location, you could get satellite Internet and thus eventually television programming over satellite Internet?
July 02, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Kriss
Patric, yeah that is what i figured you meant. Yes, I can get satelite internet, but like I was saying for internet based tv to be the only option internet would have to be more available. Satelite internet is very, very expensive.
I just meant if tv went internet based the viewers would drop because the internet is not as easily available as tv. TV is free to many people, internet is not free. There are a lot of people who watch only free tv and even more people now that the economy is so bad. A lot of those people would have no tv at all if tv through internet was the only option. that would cause advertisers to lose money.
Maybe something will work out in the future. I don’t doubt that. But I can’t see it in the near future.
The funny thing is is I am not as remote as you may think. DSL is availble in houses about 2 or 3 blocks away, but it cuts off somewhere before it gets to my house. It has been years and the phone company has no plans to make DSL available to my area anytime in the near future. So close but so far is a bit frustrating.
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