Google TV

One of the more interesting events last week (at least it was "last week" when I first started writing this post..) was the Google I/O conference and the announcement of Google TV. While there have been some efforts towards integrating the Internet into the TV viewing experience (for e.g. Apple TV, integration of the Yahoo widget engine into TVs), Google's initiative seems to have the potential to have a far more significant impact on the TV market. There is a good post on Google TV at http://blog.louisgray.com/2010/05/while-apple-slept-on-their-hobby-google.html

I wonder how long it would be before this integrated experience will be available in India. In the mobile industry, I do not think that consumers in India are at a big disadvantage compared to their counterparts in the US. Operators in India may not have rolled out advanced services comparable to operators elsewhere (for e.g. the mobile TV / video solutions pushed by various operators in the US); however users possessing the latest handsets can enjoy the device-only features (e.g. a cool new user interface) and the features created by integrating with services on the Internet (e.g. integration with Facebook, a Twitter app etc). Also given the absence of operator-subsidized devices, users do not need to overcome the temptation of getting a operator recommended device available at a lower price (with a contract).

The situation in the television industry is different as set-top boxes are given by the service provider (cable or DTH). Therefore I cannot purchase Google TV enabled box and start using this service until it is offered to me by my service provider. I could probably create a setup that allowed me access to Google TV (e.g. have two set-top boxes , one of which would have Google TV) but this would be a poor imitation of the real thing.

Another question to consider is whether DTH operators (such as Tata Sky, Airtel or Reliance Big TV) or cable operators (like Hathaway) are more likely to offer Google TV enabled boxes? While the DTH camp seems more technically capable and organized, they also seem to have more to lose than the cable operators. This is because video content on the internet may reduce subscriptions to premium channels: while this is a big thing for DTH providers, cable TV (at least in Bangalore) is available at a fixed price that includes all channels (however this may change once Conditional Access System (CAS) is implemented).