Google TV vs Apple TV
If you missed it, Google announced Google TV last week and just like Apple fanboys do, Google (with their MEDIA fanboys) jumped all over it, stating that Google has just changed the face of television. Even others got in on the excitement.Except one thing.
I didn't realize that Google had already delivered Google TV. At this stage, it's still an empty promise. What have they actually executed? Sony's TVs don't come until the fall and that means, they have a good quarter to really screw it up. Logitech makes great consumer devices - but they are "gadget" devices.
As someone who has run the gamut from WebTV, Tivo, Media Centre, and AppleTV - as well as the simple PC hookup, all Google has managed to do is bring a bunch of people on at stage (I think MS did that too at one point). A larger issue is control for the networks. Google's recent strategy has been to make things free and then get paid from the ads or enterprise. That won't fly with TV or the networks. So Google will effectively make Google Search a more global torrent filter.
Apple was trying recently to provide some form of subscription plan for individual channels on AppleTV. This would work for all involved as Apple does have a track record on getting users to PAY for content. DVRs will go the way of the dodo - BOTH Google and Apple see that. When I can get everything I want (and have purchased) online with a fast connection, a DVR is immaterial.
Yes, Cupertino has treated AppleTV as a hobby (self-admitted) but all Google has done is said "we're getting in there". The opportunity is still there for Apple to do the right thing.
I love Google for a lot of stuff - but this is an area that has been tried before and all they really announced was a search box and a subscription service (via RSS or some other mechanism).
If RSS content was better, I could get news video properly via the Apple TV. Google's announcement wasn't that big - it simply drew attention to an area that has always craved attention and never delivers on its promise.
As Tom Foremski said in the comments, content is what controls the TV experience. With Google TV, the delivery mechanism is simply being broadened.
If news networks delivered their shows streaming semi-live via podcast (a la stitcher but video), then the RSS functionality found in the Apple TV could suffice, provided the UI to it could be improved.
One issue that Google did NOT answer with Google TV is how they will deal with all of the international issues related to TV. Here in Canada, we have a major problem with Apple TV content because of the CRTC and its laws. The same situation occurs everywhere around the world. Google will have to :
a) follow these same rules and regulations and be left with the same content as Apple TV, MS and others
b) change the way business is done (we saw how well that worked with Nexus)
c) become a huge Torrent and illegal downloading haven, which likely won't be allowed on Google TV
Labels: appletv, googletv, media centre, webtv
posted by Andrew MacNeill @ 2:42 AM
