Google TV: More TV Please
So personally, this Engadget article contains really bad news as far as my interest in the Google TV is concerned:
Q: Any integration with Hulu or any other networks? A: Right now Hulu is actually blocking the box, but Hulu and Google are in discussions right now.
Same problem Boxee ran into a while back doing the same thing. And currently, the Hulu desktop app is the main use of our Mac Mini hooked up to the television — in other words, all I want really want from another box is Hulu.
Most likely Hulu will eventually grant Google TV Hulu Plus, which due to less content than Hulu on a computer, despite the monthly fee — isn’t good enough.
In my mind, the content issue pretty much obliterates everything else Google TV promises. Yet some believe Google TV is being unfairly criticized for lack of broadcast content when there’s so much more it can do.
I still believe content is king, and more so for some box trying to shoehorn itself into the entertainment system. A quote from PC World — regarding the lack of much traction for any tech company trying to take over the living room — sums up my feelings perfectly:
“Part of the reason for such low adoption rates may be that people just want more TV from their TV and not much else. A recent blog post by Forrester Research said that while Internet-connected TVs may be popular among manufacturers “consumers are struggling to understand the benefits.” People “seem unable to imagine doing anything with these TVs other than watching more TV,” Forrester said.”
Forrester surveyed nearly 4000 adults in the United States and found that the top uses people want for their Internet-connected TVs includes Netflix, full-length television episodes, movie rentals and accessing photos, music and video stored on their home computers. Facebook, Twitter and Farmville don’t appear to be attracting users to Internet-connected TVs.
This is totally how I see it. I basically want one thing from Google, Apple, Boxee, Roku, or any other new tech TV box: help me watch more TV shows and movies without need for a cable company.
The biggest problem facing all these boxes is the content-holding studios, who want people hooked on cable, and intend to keep things that way. This is why Netflix is making deals with movie studios for more Watch Instantly content and Apple is pushing studios for those 99 cent TV show rentals. And there’s no reason why any of the studios will hand content freely over to Google instead of Netflix and Apple.
And meanwhile, Hulu insists on treating a computer differently from an iPad, iPhone, or any box connected to the television which is keeping this whole Internet-connected TV thing on pause. Intentionally.