What the hell is going on with TV? – Fortune Tech.
Google TV. Xbox. Apple TV. Roku. All these gadgets promise to make television more like the web. There’s just one hitch: None of them are ready for primetime.
ByJessi Hempel, senior writer
You don’t have to wait for Thursday nights to watch The Office these days. Thanks to the Net, the show’s available nearly anywhere at any time — but you have to know how to find it. That’s not always easy.
I had great expectations for Google TV. When the brick-size plastic box that powered it arrived at my home, I was able to hook it up in less than 10 minutes — I didn’t even need directions. I scrolled through specially built apps for YouTube and CNBC, pulled up the Chrome web browser to check my e-mail, and logged on to Twitter (@jessiwrites: tweeting from my TV). Then, the novelty of the Net having worn off, I decided to check out the ABC sitcomModern Family.
It was no easy feat. I scrolled through my cable guide, but couldn’t watch old episodes. I toggled back to the apps, but ABC didn’t have one. I found my show on Amazon (AMZN), but I’d have to pay $1.99 an episode on top of the $99 per month I’m paying for cable. I pulled up the browser again to search for Hulu, but the site was blocked. And so I spent my first night with Google (GOOG) TV cross-legged on my couch watchingModern Family … on my laptop.
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