Internet giant Google will launch a new television platform where viewers can browse online content while still being able to access traditional broadcast and cable fare.
Google TV is pitched to make it easier for audiences to look for television shows and internet content via a single search box instead of clicking on the remote and unreliable on-screen program guides.
It is considered a breakthrough as Google predicted it to "change the future" of television during the company's developer conference Thursday in San Francisco. The company will bring solution to programming chaos the way it did to the crazy firehose of information on the Web.
The first batch of television sets, Blu-ray players and companion set-top boxes will be available to the market this fall through partnerships with Intel Corp., Sony Corp. and Logitech.
During the conference, project leader Rishi Chandra told 5,000 developers, "As other technologies have evolved and changed, TV has remained the same."
"Video should be consumed on the biggest, best and brightest screen in the house, and that is a TV."
The platform would allow viewers to search for both television and Web contents using a special remote control with a built-in keyboard. For example, when you search for the show "House", you do not only get results about episodes available on USA and Fox, but also those for sale on Amazon Video on Demand.
The question now is: Would Google be able to convince consumers who have shown interest on surfing the Web on their televisions to purchase the Sony Bravia with Google-TV and Blu-ray players, or to attach a set-top box that connects to the Internet? The company also needs to convince other television manufacturers to come after Sony's lead.
Senior partner for researcher thw Diffusion Group wrote, "Although Google has assembled an impressive array of partners, individually they represent only a fraction of their particular markets."
Cost could also be a reason for people not to get a hold of the equipment. Google and its partners refused to state the price, saying that consumers will want to invest on the platform.
Google TV is the "natural evolution of what's already happening in consumers' living rooms", according to Best Buy Chief Executive Brian Dunn.