Technology in virtually ever sector is advancing at an alarming pace and home entertainment (television, in particular) is no different. When cable was first released to the masses it was pretty simple: hook your TV up to a standard coaxial cable from the wall and bam, you’re good to go. However, now that cable packages are drastically different and the content consuming world has made the switch to digital TV, cable boxes are a necessity.
Originally including just a few features like the ability to seamlessly view what shows are on next, cable boxes have advanced significantly allowing consumers to purchase, rent and preview video on demand content without the need for any additional peripheral.
However, now that the world is so incredibly connected, the technology featured in these set top boxes may not be enough. Google took note of this phenomenon and went on the announced Google TV. If you haven’t been with us for a while and aren’t familiar with Google TV, it’s an operating system developed by Google made specifically for television sets. It allows consumers to search the web in addition to their cable/satellite broadcasts for their favorite content, stream content from a networked computer and much, much more.
Although, seeing how Google TV is just a software package, it will never take off without the support of hardware manufacturers the world over. Luckily, Logitech stepped forth during the Google TV announcement to tell us they will be one of the firsts to test the waters with their Revue with Google TV set-top box. While the hardware has yet to make it onto the market its show immense appeal to those who want to upgrade their television viewing experience.
It seems that LG may be the second out the door with a Google TV powered set-top box with Simon Kang, cheif executive of LG’s Home Entertainment division, going on record as saying he fears his company will be left out of an Internet-connected TV shift if they don’t release such a box.
I’m curious, how many of you out there plan on buy a Google TV powered set-top box?
Originally including just a few features like the ability to seamlessly view what shows are on next, cable boxes have advanced significantly allowing consumers to purchase, rent and preview video on demand content without the need for any additional peripheral.
However, now that the world is so incredibly connected, the technology featured in these set top boxes may not be enough. Google took note of this phenomenon and went on the announced Google TV. If you haven’t been with us for a while and aren’t familiar with Google TV, it’s an operating system developed by Google made specifically for television sets. It allows consumers to search the web in addition to their cable/satellite broadcasts for their favorite content, stream content from a networked computer and much, much more.
Although, seeing how Google TV is just a software package, it will never take off without the support of hardware manufacturers the world over. Luckily, Logitech stepped forth during the Google TV announcement to tell us they will be one of the firsts to test the waters with their Revue with Google TV set-top box. While the hardware has yet to make it onto the market its show immense appeal to those who want to upgrade their television viewing experience.
It seems that LG may be the second out the door with a Google TV powered set-top box with Simon Kang, cheif executive of LG’s Home Entertainment division, going on record as saying he fears his company will be left out of an Internet-connected TV shift if they don’t release such a box.
I’m curious, how many of you out there plan on buy a Google TV powered set-top box?
