CLICK to read article on Technolog"Google TV arrives this month in the form of Logitech's Revue and the Sony Internet TV and set-top box. The fact that it comes on the heels of a major overhaul of Apple TV may not be a total coincidence. If you get the sense that Google's consumer strategy is to follow Apple around, listening to Apple customer complaints and then tweaking their own products to avoid them, well, you may not be far from the truth. With Android, Google has exploited the 'second-mover advantage' on the smart phone stage, and it appears to be ready for a repeat performance in the home theater with Google TV.
Both Apple TV and Google TV are platforms for serving up movies, TV shows, music and photos from the great beyond — and in some cases, a nearby computer or mobile device. As the name suggests, the primary purpose of both is video on demand, though they go about this in very different ways. This isn't so much a product review as it is a run-down of those differences, as well as the notable similarities.
Content is king right? Hardware can be super snazzy, but if you can't watch the three shows you actually want to watch, the hardware goes busto. Maybe that's why sorting out which content is available on each box is increasingly a challenge.
Apple TV is, predominantly, a vessel for the programs Apple already has deals for. If you want to know if they'll have your favorite shows on Apple TV, just look 'em up on iTunes. However, the new Apple TV has a very nice Netflix app built in, too, so anything available for instant viewing on Netflix is included, and 'free' with your Netflix subscription — no extra money required. Apple TV also has a YouTube app.
Google TV is even trickier, since it doesn't really have a reservoir of content at the ready, like Apple does. Though Google did announce deals with Time Warner video properties including TBS, TNT, CNN and HBO, and another deal with CNBC, the rest of NBC along with CBS, ABC and Fox still aren't on board with Google TV. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.)
Without major TV and movie studio support, at least at launch, the primary source of video for most Google TV watchers will be third-party apps. Movies can come from Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, or Sony's Qriocity service, all with varying degrees of cost and picture quality. Google promises to link all of this together in a unified search, and let's be honest, they had better. The burden is on Google to make it easy to find 'Knight Rider' reruns at 2 a.m.; it sure ain't on you.
The coming content flood might not be welcome if it takes huge effort to wade through it. Already on Apple TV, there are instances where, say, a '30 Rock' episode is available for a rental fee in one place, and free (at least with a paid subscription) elsewhere. With Google TV, given the app approach, these sorts of discrepancies could eventually be a lot worse.
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