I think it helps to break “Internet TV” up into a couple of categories. The lines do get blurry in some cases.
One of the main motivations in all cases is to be able to get to video and music content that’s out on the Web, but to be able to watch it on your TV. Ideally in a way that’s no more complicated than using your cable box right now. A lot of this content is free (like Hulu), a lot of it is not (like Netflix). There are probably about a dozen heavy-hitter sites that account for most of the video and music out on the web, but there’s an awfully long “long tail” as well.
Some people also want to do things other than watch video. Check their email, play Farmville, read the local newspaper, look through Flickr, etc., etc. Basically everything people do now on the Web.
So there are a couple of different ways to do this, and each one has advantages and disadvantages.
- A dedicated “Internet TV” set-top box. Basically any box that plugs into your TV as another input, alongside of your cable box, your Blu-Ray player, your video game console or whatever else you have attached. The main job of this new box is to be a bridge between the Internet (either hooked up to your home wireless network or with a direct Ethernet cable) and your television. They generally come with some kind of remote, and some kind of user interface that works well with that remote.
Some of these boxes only connect to a couple of different sources of content. The Roku box is primarily for watching Netflix, for example. Some are pushing the idea of an “app store” (it goes by many different names), with the ability to hook up to a bunch of different sites. 99% of these apps are the same websites that you can get to through a normal computer, just reconfigured to work better on the device without needing a mouse or a keyboard. It’s pretty rare to get an “app” that has original content that wasn’t a website first.
Other entries in this area include the Syabas Popbox, the (not yet released) Boxee Box, and the upcoming Google TV box.
-
An existing device, like a Blu-Ray player or a game console, that can also do Internet stuff. Netflix has been very aggressive about getting their content on lots of devices like this. YouTube is another very common option. Most of these devices don’t have a full “app store” - they generally have perhaps a dozen different sources of ‘extra’ content. Generally you don’t buy one of these devices just for their Internet content; it’s a nice extra. Although I don’t think it’s uncommon for someone to get a Blu-Ray player with Netflix included and find out that they spend more time watching streaming Netflix than they do actually watching Blu-Ray movies.
-
An Internet-enabled TV. This can mean a couple of different things in Marketing-speak, but essentially this is like #1 above, but built into your TV. Your Ethernet cable plugs right into the back of the television, or it might have a wireless card included. You get “apps”, which again are typically reskinned versions of Internet content. Just as in the other cases, the manufacturer has the option of adding apps over time, so the next time you turn on your TV you might get a couple of new icons to check out.
Some people like this for the simplicity and the lower cost. Some don’t like it because you’re locked in - it’s a lot harder to buy a new TV than it is to replace a set-top box if something sexier comes along.
- Just hook up your computer to your TV. For just about any combination of TV and computer, there’s a cable you can get to hook them up together, so your TV functions like a giant monitor. The easiest thing is to get a computer that has an HDMI out on the video card. That way your video and audio all go into the television through one cable.
This setup gives you the maximum degree of flexibility; by definition, anything you can do on your computer, you can now do on your TV. If you want to view the Podunk Picayune on your TV, this is about the only option - Samsung is never going to build a Podunk Picayune App into their TVs. And you can still get to Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, etc.
The downside is that it’s a little more trouble to set up and you probably need to dedicate a computer to being hooked up to your TV full time (although some just plug in their laptops when needed). Also, you’re a little more on your own. If you have a problem with your Roku box, you know there are thousands of other people out there with the exact same setup. If you have a problem with your computer hooked up to your TV, you’re kind of on your own.
There’s lots of software designed to run on your computer that specifically works well on the television. Windows Media Center (for Windows, obviously), and Plex for the Mac are two popular options. Many people who use this option end up using a wireless keyboard and some kind of wireless pointer (like a trackball or a mouse), which can also throw off someone who’d rather use a more typical remote control for everything.
The company I work for produces software in this space, but I’m not sure of the policy here on commercial-ish posts, so I’ll leave that lie for now.
Hope this is helpful.