Internet TV is the Future, So Why Can't Anybody Deliver?

Internet TV devices are becoming a standard in American living rooms, so why don’t any of them meet expectations?  There are a lot of hardware and software options, and the list gets bigger all the time.  From the huge tech giant Sony that has been in the game for some time, to the Boxee Box released in 2010, consumers have plenty of choices.  As more and more people cut the cord on cable and satellite the demand for these devices will keep going up.  I’m going to tell you why every single one of them has got it wrong.

First, let me briefly explain internet TV devices.  These products allow the user to stream videos over the internet.  They can generally play subscription based content, like Hulu Plus and Netflix, or videos from free websites.  Many of these devices can also play videos that you have shared over your local network or on an external hard drive.

The Playstation 3 (PS3) was released in 2006.  This device was really at the forefront of internet TV.  It supports almost all the major subscription services and plays shared network media.  Taking into account that the major advertised purpose of the device was to play Blu-Ray movies and video games, this is a pretty impressive piece of hardware.  My wife and I have been using a PS3 in our home primarily as a media device for about the last 3 years.  We cancelled our Dish subscription, put an antenna in the attic, and have been very pleased with the results.  The problem with the PS3 is that it isn’t terribly user friendly.  Most people who own the device probably don’t realize this, but watch have a non-gamer try to operate it and you will see what I mean.  The controller might as well control a space ship for them.  It took my wife quite a bit of coaching and practice to become proficient at navigating the system.  Try writing out printed instructions on how to access a network video through the PS3 for a beginner and you will end up with several paragraphs of confusing and complex instruction.  I did this for our dog-sitter.  Playstation does make a remote for their product, but after spending $250-$350 dollars on the system itself, who wants to buy another piece of hardware?

Some other players in the market are Apple.TV, WD TV Live, Roku, Boxee, Vizio Co-Star, xbmc, Netgear’s NTV200, and the LG Network Media Player (SP520).  Each of these play various combinations of internet content.  The major content providers, in my opinion are: Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, MLB.tv, NBA League Pass, NHLGameCenter Live, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora.  The devices that play the most are the Roku, the PS3, and the LG device.  The only service the last two don’t provide is NBA League Pass.  Roku won’t play YouTube.  However, only seven of these devices will play shared network content.  (Roku will not.  Apply TV will play iTunes content, but only if you have iTunes running on a Mac sharing the media.  In my opinion, you should not have to have a computer running in one room just to watch your videos in another.  This is too inefficient to consider.)  Now the devil is truly in the details.  Of the seven I listed that stream network media, only two do it right.

XBMC was originally created as a media center application for the original Xbox game console but is today officially available as a native application for Android, Linux, BSD, Mac OS X, iOS, and Microsoft Windows operating systems.  I built a custom HTPC running xbmc to improve the experience of playing local network content that the PS3 could not execute eloquently.  Xbmc is only software, and it doesn’t include any of the internet TV channels listed above, so you may wonder why it is even included in this discussion.  The reason is because it plays network media so well.  Rather than presenting you with a simple file browser interface, like all the other devices that can access your local network, xbmc pulls information from the internet to enrich your browsing experience.  The problem with the PS3 is that when my wife browses through the folder of movies; all she can see are file names.  If she doesn’t recognize the name of the movie, she has no idea if it is something she wants to watch or not.  Xbmc pulls from IMDB and presents you with a movie poster, plot summary, cast, and other links for additional information.  It does the same for TV shows and music files.  It does this all seamlessly and aesthetically.  There is such a huge difference in the user experience I find it amazing that nobody else is doing it. This brings me to the Boxee Box.

Boxee Box began shipping in November 2010.  The interesting thing about Boxee (made by D-Link) is that the software shares it origins with xbmc.   It also plays the many of the traditional content providers like Netflix and Pandora.  To me, Boxee offers the best of both worlds, and is why I recently purchased one.  The reason the even Boxee hasn’t got it right, is that two major content providers are missing; Hulu Plus and Amazon.  NBA League Pass is also missing.

As I have explained, none of the currently available options have all of the features they should.  Keep in mind I am only rating these devices on content capability rather than user experience.   All information has been gathered from perspective manufacturers’ websites, and I have done little or no physical testing with some of the models.  So which device is right for you?  If you have lots of media on a local network drive or an external hard drive, the Boxee Box is the best choice.  If you want all of the major internet channels, go with the LG device, which can still browse local network content, or the Roku if you have no local network content.  Finally, the Apple TV should be mentioned for its ease of use, and for integrating with other Apple devices.  Please leave your comments and feedback.  If you have experience using some of these products, please describe it.