The future is here — get excited.
The seamless integration of TV and Internet now rests in my living room.
Released last month, Google TV provides users a brand new experience when it comes to watching TV.
With the click of a button, TV watchers can easily transition to Web surfers while not missing a second of their favorite programs.
There are currently three different ways of getting Google TV into your home.
Consumers can choose to purchase the Sony Internet TV with a choice of 24-inch, 32-inch, 40-inch or 46-inch screen sizes with prices ranging from $600 to $1,400.
This line of TV sets has Google TV internally integrated and comes with a QWERTY keypad in lieu of a traditional remote control.
If you already have a TV, Sony also offers a Blu-ray disc player with Google TV integration for $400. The player comes with the same QWERTY keypad as the Sony Internet TV.
However, if you’re like me and already have a TV and Blu-ray player, you can buy the Logitech Revue for $300 and incorporate it into your existing home theater setup.
The Revue comes with a full-size keyboard with trackpad for navigating menus and surfing the Web.
I purchased the Revue, so I’ll focus on that Google TV solution.
Although my time with Google TV has been short, I’ve been
impressed with my experience.
Let’s start with the hardware.
The Revue itself is a sleek black box a little smaller than my Xbox 360. The box has an HDMI input and output, Ethernet jack, an audio optical output and two USB inputs.
Setup is quite simple, and the onscreen instructions do a great job walking users through the initial connections.
I should warn those with a Motorola set top box (STB) from Cox who also have their home theater through a primary receiver: You may hit complications trying to incorporate your Google TV.
Because of limitations from the Motorola STB, you cannot simply run HDMI from your box to the Google TV to your receiver and then to your television.
Instead, you must run HDMI from the Google TV straight to your TV set, and if you want surround sound, then run an optical cable from your television to your receiver.
It’s a minor gripe, but it’s still an annoyance.
Now to the Google TV experience.
While many people have simply plugged their computers into their TVs to surf the Web on the big screen for years, Google TV provides a much simpler solution to those not as technically savvy.
Not only can Google TV run apps like Netflix and Pandora — seriously, what device can’t do that these days — it also seamlessly merges your Internet and TV experience.
For example, I did a simple search of “tech news” to prepare for a recent column. Not only did an expected Google search become available, but Google TV also let me know G4’s “Attack of the Show” — a program based around technology and gaming — was starting in eight minutes and also brought up the top tech news from CNN and The New York Times.
Also, while searching for a movie or television show, Google TV provides users not only with information about the show, but also informs the viewer when the show will air again.
Users can also download an app to their iPhone or Android-powered device to control the TV through their phone.
No more fighting over the remote.
While my time with Google TV has been limited so far, it has been quite an impressive experience to me and those I’ve shown it to.
Sure, the Logitech Revue can be sluggish and a bit intimidating to a less tech-savvy person, but I think Google is on to something, and I can’t wait to see in which direction they go next.
Adam Arinder is a 21-year-old communication studies senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.
 
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Contact Adam Arinder at
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