IDF: SmartTV can't win as long as it's treated like a PC
If we've learned nothing else from Bill Gates over the years, we should at least know by now that a computer in the living room is a bad idea. No, I'm not talking about sitting in a sofa with a laptop, catching up on the DVR and hammering out a few emails after dinner.
I'm talking about the idea of an actual computer with wires and plugs and a remote of its own, with a keyboard, a mouse and a browser that shows actual Web pages - but in an awkward way because the TV screen just doesn't seem to feel right as a monitor.
And yet, that's still what SmartTV looks like, as least based on what's on display at the Intel Developer Forum this week. Next door to each other at the conference, Boxee - which announced a set-top box of its own this week - and Google TV were both on display. And even though I've been a fan of both in the past, I didn't leave Moscone Center feeling all that great about what I'd seen at those booths.
In the case of GoogleTV the emphasis seemed to shift at IDF, away from the "search for anything" idea that the company presented at its own developer conference to something more along the lines of a browser to send a tweet on twitter.com or check-in with your Facebook profile.
Like a computer. In the living room.
I know, it's an Intel show and the idea is to look at what developers could do with the technology. But trying to force the Web experience into the living room is a trainwreck waiting to happen. That's not to say that Web-like content - maybe a Flickr stream of scenery or a Pandora playlist - can't be built into the experience. But please don't expect me to go to www.twitter.com and type in a tweet from the keyboard on my bluetooth-connected mobile phone - which doubles as a remote control.
As for Boxee, the pressure is on if it wants to make a name for itself in the shadows of deep-pocketed Google and Apple, both of which have recently upped their games in the TV space. But, even as I look at a picture of a Boxee set-up, what with all those wires sticking out and a remote control that doubles as a keyboard, I can't help but cringe.
Again, computer. In the living room.
The timing is tough for a company like Boxee. As a software download product, which it had been before, it escaped the headache of getting into the hardware game. Yet, until the technology is advanced enough for the broadband to widely be embedded into the set itself, the software download has limited reach. If it wants to be on the big screen today and, more importantly, jump into the game with Apple and Google during the first inning, it's going to need a set-top box.
Larry Dignan and I have gone back and forth over this in the past. TV, for him, is not an interactive experience. He doesn't want to chat, Facebook, Tweet or any of that during the football game. I actually have had some cool football trash talking exchanges over Facebook during exciting parts of the game. And you can only imagine the Facebook chatter that my wife and her friends are sharing during the Housewives shows that they all seemed to be hooked on.
TV can be interactive. In fact, it already is in some ways - via Facebook and Twitter on a laptop, mobile phone and now the iPad. But just because TV is interactive, that doesn't mean it has to interrupt the viewing experience. The power of the Internet on TV should remain centered around searching everywhere for content. Interactive tools or apps should stick with mobile phones so viewers can interact - or at least record a show or change a channel with it - if they'd like.
The Internet is the TV of the future. It may not look like this when the dust settles - but at least we're seeing some cool stuff as we test the waters.
Related: