Google TV Brings the Web to Your Television

After getting into Internet telephony with Google Voice, Google is now bring the web to television with Google TV.  

With Google TV you can surf the web and watch TV at the same time from your couch using your existing HDTV in a dual-view.  Not only can you search the web, you can also search for TV shows. 

You can even have apps on your television, just like you have apps on your smartphone.  We know that phones can access the internet; they are called smart phones.  Now TV can access the Internet too. Perhaps we should call them smart TVs.  In fact, Wikipedia has already done that by saying "Google TV is a proprietary smart TV platform for set-top boxes and HDTVs based on the Android operating system, and co-developed by Google, Intel, Sony and Logitech." ^[source]

There are two ways to get Google TV:

1) purchasing a add-on box and connecting it to your existing HDTV and using your existing home Internet connection. 

2) Or purchasing a stand-alone TV that is built with Google TV built-in.

You can learn more on Google TV official site and  Google TV blog.

The Logitech Revue box and the Sony Internet TV Blue-ray disc player are two Google TV based devices that work with your existing TV.

The Logitech revue comes with a companion box and a wireless keyboard. What you need to have already existing is a high-speed home Internet connection (not a dial-up modem) and a high definition television (HDTV) with a HDMI port. Now you connect the pieces together.

The companion box is the central component that links your HDTV and your Internet together. This box is sometimes referred to as a "set-top box" -- a historical term that supposedly meant that the box can be set atop your TV. But today's HDTV are much thinner than picture tube televisions so I doubt that you can set it on top of your TV. And of course you don't have to. This box connects to your television using your television's HDMI port via a cable. So make sure your HDTV has an HDMI port. The box also connects to your Internet via ethernet cable or wireless WiFi.

It is also possible to use your iPhone, iPad, and Android smartphones as a remote control, provided that you download the Harmony App to your phone or iPad. With the purchase of additional accessories such as the Logitech TV Cam, you can make video calls on your HDTV while sitting on your couch in your living room.

You can learn more about Logitech Revue on their site.

The Sony Internet TV Blue-ray disc player system is similar.  But it is also a Blue-ray player. So you can play Blue-ray movie discs.   You not only get the TV, but it comes with a wireless keyboard.  That is expected because according to Engadget, "Google's mandated that all Google TV devices include a QWERTY keyboard and some form of mouse control in addition to a standard arrow key layout" ^[source]

The Sony wireless keyboard this different from the Logitech keyboard.  But it serves the same function -- to let you type, twitter, update Facebook, and search the web while sitting on your living room couch and watching your HDTV.  We are now living in a multitasking world. 

If you want fewer hassle of hooking up all the various pieces (your home Internet, your HDTV, companion box, etc), then you can purchase the Sony Internet TV instead. It is currently labeled as "the world's first and only HDTV power by Google TV" -- as of December 2010. but I'm sure it will not be the only one for long.

It too comes with same wireless keyboard that comes with the Sony Internet TV blue ray disc player. You don't need the companion box, because that technology is built into the television. The television comes in various screen sizes of 24, 32, 40, and 46 inches measured diagonally.

However, you still need to have your own home Internet network if you want Internet on the TV.  But if you want to just watch TV, then it works like a regular TV.

Internet on your TV is still fairly new technology for 2010. So the technical setup for hooking up the various pieces may not be as simple as the general public would like. And there may be some technical compatibility issues. You can read more on Engadget's review a Google TV. Some criticism mentioned is the lack of a integrated TV guide and somewhat disappointing video search results and laggy performance of the Chrome browser on Google TV.

This article written in December 2010. Technology improves and things change. By the time you read this, the above content may by outdated. Author may receive compensation from display ads in content and links.