Bad News For Google TV

       Google TV in the Logitech review box is built to embrace your cable box. Google TV announces itself to the web, and for that reason--is being blocked by networks, Hulu and others. The thing about Google TV is that it is, at its heart, a text based search engine that hasn't been conceived to deal with the complexity and massive volume of web video.

You see, what video requires isn't what Google built for: text--but rather a different method that mixes technology and human filtering to create signal from noise.

       So why are we optimistic about the future of Google TV and web video in general? Web video is great big plum--just waiting to be turned into a plaything for hobbyists, hackers, and software developers. Google knows this--just look at the app market for the Android powered smartphones. Expect a software update in February (Google TV 2.0) that should coincide with the new Android 3.0 OS, named "Honeycomb" that could include the Android Marketplace on Google TV. One day I hope to learn why Google TV was rushed out. Google TV is a software platform that comes equipped with the Android operating system and Google's Chrome browser.

       Not only did Google launch a Web TV strategy that required users to shell out money for hardware, such as the Revue or a TV from Sony, but at the same time, competitors such as Netflix offered a much simpler and less-expensive option--they enabled users to watch Web TV with little more than a browser.

       Google TV's content strategy also stumbled badly out of the gate. Google set itself up for a headline-grabbing smackdown, and that's what it got when the networks all blocked Google TV access. Google TV isn't the only way the search company is trying to compete in Web-video entertainment. Google's YouTube operation is seeking to become relevant in feature film distribution as well.