With XBMC Ported To Android, There Might Finally Be A Reason To Buy A Google TV
Content is king, and so far Google TV is sorely lacking content. However, with the launch of the famed Xbox Media Center on Android, Google might have a chance in the battle for living rooms. The group behind the classic media player software announced the project and released the source code over the weekend. This could be big.
XBMC was a pioneer in media streaming software. Originally developed for the first Xbox (hence the name) back in 2003, the open source project is still the de facto standard of media streamers. I bought an Xbox just to run XBMC. The wildly popular project spawned many derivative projects and companies like Boxee, Plex and several others. Several key elements are still missing from the just-released Android port, but it reportedly runs on most devices — except Google TV.
Google TV still needs a lot of work. More than two years after its launch, the box is nothing more than a fancy Netflix device. Most of the GTV apps are garbage and a hassle to use. Worse yet, even if there are worthwhile GTV apps, Google has yet found a way to highlight them. Google TV already has several, albeit far inferior, media streamer apps. Essentially, Google hasn’t shown consumers and developers exactly why they need a Google TV in their respective lives. And now, with the odd Nexus Q competing in the same space, consumers are likely even more confused. Google TV needs a killer app like XBMC.
XBMC is nearly 10 years old and it’s by far the most mature media streaming solution. XBMC circa 2005 was better than many of today’s options. But XMBC was never available on its own Boxee Box-like device.
It’s entirely possible that I’m a bit too bullish on XBMC for Android. There is a still a lot of work to be done on the project. The XBMC Android port currently lacks the hardware decoding ability, and instead leans on software to playback video. This makes it difficult to playback 1080p videos wrapped in MKV containers. But if the original Xbox had enough computing horsepower, then modern devices shouldn’t have any trouble once the software is properly compiled.
As it sits right now, XBMC doesn’t run on Google TV. I tried running it on both the Logitech Revue and first generation Sony Internet TV. The app installs but fails when launching. I’m not alone. I have yet to find someone running the current build on a Google TV. That said, it runs on the Nexus Q, foreshadowing what could be for the legions of Google TV boxes and their bored owners.
XBMC doesn’t need an Android set-top box to be successful. The software won that title years ago. Google needs killer software like XMBC or even Boxee to advance its assault in living rooms.
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Google’s TV Strategy Is Doomed
I feel like we’re watching Google TV roll by and off into a nearby ditch. The company doesn’t have much dedication to the platform and, like Apple TV, GTV is failing to gain traction.
As Ryan notes, outside of a few I/O sessions, Google said very little about the Google TV project this year and I’m almost certain it means they’ve scrapped the project but don’t want to tell their partners. They are running seminars on the platform at I/O, but until they’ve officially announced the closure they have to maintain appearances.
To be clear, I’ve been a fairly accepting user of GTV for a while – it was once my go-to smart TV solution, after the Boxee Box – but it’s clear that Google can gain no foothold in the treacherous world of set-top boxes. Here are a few reasons why.
First, television broadcasters don’t want to work with anyone who aims to make money off their content. Sure they’ll sell a program here or there, but unless the set-top in your home is streaming out the unadulterated streams coming out of their satellites, they don’t want any part of it. By co-opting search and discovery, Google looks to the broadcasters like a parasitic organism rather than a money maker. TiVo (barely) survives because it acts as a smart VCR. Apple TV and GTV are slow to spread because they are, at best, glorified media players and they will never be anything more without real broadcaster buy-in.
Second, no one is sure what a smart TV is supposed to be, but GTV isn’t it. No one can quite put their finger on what they want a TV to do. Is it supposed to stream home content? Allow you to watch YouTube on the big screen? Offer ways to tweet from your couch? All those things happen more quickly and more efficiently on laptops and tablets. Why co-opt the biggest screen in the house?
GTV is sort of an overlay on the TV world just as Google Glass is supposed to be an overlay on the real world. Unfortunately, this sort of overlay rarely works in practice as it distracts from the program at hand. TV watchers aren’t an active lot. All of this talk about a second screen offering streaming stats is cool for about one minute when you’re trying to figure out who starred in Flight Plan. Once you realize the stewardess is Erika Christensen who was also in Swimfan, you’re pretty much done with the second screen. Nobody wants to check into programs or search for related videos or tweet from their TV. Nobody.
I could be wrong. Maybe Google has a real zinger coming up for us in the GTV space. But the set-top box will soon be eclipsed by more powerful DVRs or game consoles that offer real value versus perceived value. I’d far prefer, say, my Xbox to provide unfettered access to TV content than have the GTV sit there between me and a Dish subscription. DVRs already perfected the best things about television. Anything else is just a distraction.
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