Everyone seems to be talking about TV nowadays. Everywhere I turn I’m seeing new technologies being created to alter how people currently use and interact with their TV. I can’t say this is bad news – technology tends to improve what already exists.
Let’s take a look at what’s new in TV-land nowadays:
Hulu
If I had told you five years ago that you would be able to watch your favorite television shows for free and when you wanted you would have thought I was nuts. Yet how time has changed things.
Hulu has been around for just over two years (launched March 12, 2008) and it has drastically shifted the way people watch (or don’t watch) TV. Before Hulu you would have to stay in on weekends to see the new Saturday Night Live episode, or wait for it to re-air. Now you can watch the full episode online, when you want, and how you want.
Although Hulu still limits how you can watch its videos expect those limitations to be changed in the future. There have been rumblings of a paid Hulu-subscription being launched that would (hopefully, probably) include entire back-logs of seasons.
Boxee
A Tel Aviv startup that spun off from the XBMC project (Xbox Media Center), Boxee hopes to be the center of your TV experience. Although Boxee doesn’t allow for live TV it does pretty much everything else.
If you’re a fan of podcasts, videocasts, or web-shows then Boxee is for you. Through applications built for Boxee you can enjoy new episodes of Revolution4 podcasts, FunnyOrDie videos, or CollegeHumor.
And, if you already have a large collection of digital content Boxee makes the process ridiculously easy. Point your Boxee software to where your media is and you’ll be streaming it to TV in no time.
Google TV
Announced just last week, Google TV is Google’s take on augmenting the television watching experience.
Through the use of the Quick Search Bar you will be able to search the web while watching TV. By using a smart interface and staying out of the way of live TV, Google TV has the potential to bring about major changes in how we currently watch TV.
What’s Next?
The future is only going to get brighter as current technologies improve and new technologies are invented. Right now the software being made to improve TV seems highly competent and promising. What I’m looking for is a promising hardware solution. My AppleTV only gets me so far and I’m not looking to put a hole in my pocket.
So many TV shows have resumed their TV seasons in the past two weeks. Among them are True Blood, Weeds, Louie, and Futurama. What does this mean for me? Frankly, my productivity level is going to dip as I’ll be spending less time in front of the computer, and more time in front of the TV. Although to be fair all the time that I spend on the computer isn’t necessarily productive…it’s just time spent trying to lull myself into a state of productivity. This doesn’t always work. Sometimes I find myself going on Facebook, only to close Facebook and re-open Facebook in a new tab. So maybe with these distractions I’ll find myself even more productive than before, when I didn’t have TV shows that I needed to watch. Just so you know, there are NO spoilers ahead. I’m speaking as generally as a Major General.