Google TV is going to change the way people watch TV. I believe it will support BitTorrent and live p2p video streaming protocols, also making tv and movies piracy easy. Requiring a change in digital copyright laws to support blanket licencing of all contents in monthly reasonable global subscription plans. I am very much looking forward to testing the Logitech Revue, even though it gets released in the USA first, my guess for $300 or more it may even require subscribing to cable/satellite TV content packages. But once Google TV is really open source, I think we will see ARM Powered $99 Google TV alternatives come to the market, with the whole HDMI throughput and IR blaster thing being optional and eventually not even the most used option.

Sure Google TV is better with content partnerships in place, if Google can access all the program guide informations it can provide better search of what is on TV. And the amazing feature of Google actually storing the DVR recordings on the cloud and streaming those from there, also completely disrupts the whole DVR business, fantastic.

But I also think Google TV does not need content deals. It works on top of existing TV, no matter if the current TV channel owners and distributors agree or not. HDMI input and output cannot be blocked by established TV moguls. Google should just go ahead and release the open spec and source code to the world, and release this to all set-top-box makers. This will instantly make obsolete all the other solutions by Philips NetTV, Samsung, LG SmartTV, Panasonic VieraCast. They will all see it in their interest to use Google TV protocol of features instead. And the best way to do this for the consumer is definitely in the set-top-box not inside of the HDTV, unless there is a module in the HDTV where the hardware for Google TV eventually can be upgraded at cheaper price than buying a new set-top-box.