Google TV is a Value-for-Money Device

The content on the web is exploding, our Internet speeds are getting better and, fortunately enough, there are a plethora of affordable devices available that can bring most of the online content to our living room TV without even requiring a computer.
This category of devices, also known as digital media players, connect to your TV at one end and the set-top box at the other.
It doesn't matter whether you have a standard TV or an HDTV – they should have the right input ports and then all you need is a wired or wireless Internet connection to enjoy the web from your couch.
Which Media Player should you choose?
When it comes to choosing a media player, your main options are Roku, Boxee, Apple TV, WD TV Live and Logitech Revue powered by Google TV. If you are in the the US, you would probably compare the boxes based on their support for Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, Amazon Movies, etc. but the selection criteria would be very different here as none of streaming services are available in India.
The $99 Apple TV is polished but mostly designed for people who buy content from iTunes. Boxee supports most common video formats and offers a wide variety of content but at $199, Boxee TV is twice as expensive as the other digital media receivers.
The new Roku media player, Roku 2 XS, also offers content from popular sources and the box itself is quite portable but there are some major limitations - Roku does not 'officially' supports YouTube nor can it stream content over the home network out-of-the-box. That means if you have photos and videos stored on your computers, you cannot enjoy them on your TV even if the Roku box and the computers are on the same network.

The $99 Logitech Revue with Google TV

I therefore decide to go with Google TV based Logitech Revue which runs on Google TV. Revue is available on Amazon.com for $99 and the convenient part is that you can get it delivered to any address in India for a $26 shipping fee - I didn't have to pay any import duties either so it was kind of a good deal.
I have been using it for about two weeks now and really like the thing. Here's a quick video tour /review of the device in action:

Google TV Review - It works outside the US too!

The installation was pretty straight-forward. You connect Google TV to the TV unit with an HDMI cable while the other HDMI cable connects the set-top box to Google TV - the latter step is optional but you would need that in case you like to watch Internet content alongside your regular TV channels.
The integration of Google TV with YouTube is absolutely fantastic. You can switch to the Leanback mode for a full-screen experience. If you are signed in with your Google account, you can also access your YouTube playlist and favorites on TV.
Google TV offers one-click access to video content from popular sources like CNN, The New York Times, CNET, Revision3, al-Jazeera and more. On a side note, I am quite surprised that Leo Laporte's TWIT.tv is missing in the list though you can always add that channel on your using the Queue feature mentioned below.
The unit ships with Google Chrome browser so you can enjoy virtually all Internet content on your TV just like you do on a computer. I doubt if I would ever use a TV for replying to emails or for creating a presentation but that is quite easy to do with Google TV's browser.
It might feel a bit odd to use a QWERTY keyboard as a remote control for your TV but you don't have to - there are free mobile apps available that will turn you iPhone, iPad or your Android mobile phone into a remote for Google TV. Unfortunately, these apps aren't available in the Indian iTunes store but you can easily bypass that with a second iTunes account.
The other interesting feature in Google TV is Google Queue. This actually a podcast catcher application where you can subscribe to video podcasts and stay updated as new shows become available. The podcasts are however streamed directly from the Internet as Google TV has no storage for downloading podcasts.
The Revue keyboard, like the Chromebook laptops, have a dedicated search button that lets you simultaneously search the web, video channels and Twitter among other places. It is easy to switch between Internet TV and cable TV or you can use the Picture-in-Picture (PIP) button to watch regular TV while also replying to a tweet on Google TV.
Google TV is designed for the American market and thus it would only recognize your set-top box as a "Generic Video Source" meaning you won't be able to search your TV programing schedule from Google TV. Also, I was unable to configure the Revue controller as a remote for the cable set-top-box.
Most online publications slammed Google TV when it launched initially with a $249 price tag but with the recent price drop, Google TV is suddenly a value-for-money device. And with Honeycomb upgrade expected in the coming weeks, which will bring more Android based apps to your living room TV, the scales could further tilt in favor of Google TV.

Buying a TV? Here's What You Should Know

Our 32" Sony Bravia LCD TV wasn't really old but felt a bit obsolete. There were no USB ports, the TV wasn't network-capable meaning it cannot connect to the Internet or the home network, the 32" screen looked rather small in the living room and, most important, the TV didn't support full HD.
It was therefore time to upgrade to something bigger and more advanced.
I am no expert to offer you any advice on buying TVs but I'll still try to summarize the key things I learned from the various websites and my Twitter friends while researching for my own purchase.

A Buying Guide for TV

There are several points to consider before buying a TV. What screen size should you choose? Is LED better than LCD or Plasma TVs? Which ports should you look for in a TV? Is it worth paying extra for networking related features? HD (720p) or Full-HD (1080p)? Which TV brand should you go for? And finally, is 3D necessary?
There are basically two types of TVs - LCD and Plasma. The other category, LED, is actually a type of LCD but one that is slimmer (looks matters) and consumes less electricity than regular LCDs. I haven't had a chance to compare the picture quality of equivalent LED, LCD and Plasma HDTVs side-by-side but most online material seem to suggest that Plasmas offer the best picture quality.
The other point in favor of Plasma HDTVs is the viewing angle. LCDs and LEDs are best viewed from the front but if your room's seating arrangement is such that people may have to watch TV while sitting at either sides, Plasmas may be a better option as the have a wider viewing angle. That said, if your TV room is brightly-lit or has too many windows, the Plasma screen may carry glare or reflection. LCDs have a matte screen and thus don't have the reflection problem.
HDTVs are available in various sizes and the one you should choose depends on two factors - the length of your room and obviously your budget.
As a rule of thumb, the ideal size of the TV screen should be anywhere between .3x and .6x where x is the distance between your sofa and the TV. For example, if the viewing distance is 6 feet (or 72 inches), you can go for a 24" - 48" screen.
Most newer TVs have HDMI and USB ports but what's also important is the location of these ports. If you are planning to wall-mount the TV, make sure that there are enough free ports at the sides of the unit because, once you mount the TV, it will be inconvenient, or rather impossible, to use the back ports for connecting your gadgets to the TV.
The next factor is the screen resolution where your choices are 720p, 1080i and 1080p - also known as full HD. Unless you are getting a small screen TV - like 32" - go for 1080p resolution and here's why. More and more TV channels are becoming available in high-definition, the HD picture quality is vastly superior but you need a 1080p TV to experience the difference.
All brands are working hard to sell you 3D-capable TV sets but is 3D worth the extra cost or should you just settle for the good-old 2D? It depends.
We have a joint family and the TV is placed in a common room so we mostly watch it together. In order to enjoy 3D content, one needs to wear 3D glasses. If there are four other people in the room, they also need to wear compatible 3D glasses. The glasses are expensive but cost aside, I highly doubt if folks at home would be willing to wear a pair of glasses for watching a movie or a TV program. Also, there's isn't enough 3D content available anyway – especially in regional languages - so we decided to go with 2D.
The other important feature to consider while deciding a TV is network connectivity. The expensive TV models often have built-in WiFi (or Wireless LAN) while others are WiFi-capable meaning you can attach an extra dongle, always old separately, to connect the TV to the home network or for watching web videos - like YouTube - on your TV wirelessly.
All Internet-ready TVs have an Ethernet port so if you can stretch the LAN cable from the router to the TV, you can go for the WiFi-capable model but without spending on the USB wireless adapter. Also look for DLNA support as it will become easy for you to stream photos, music and videos from your computer and mobile phone to the TV screen.
One more thing. TV vendors like Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and LG bundle various 'apps' to help you watch YouTube videos, Flickr photos and other web content on the HDTV. However, the number of apps offered by these vendors is still small, they have no built-in browsers, no web search and you are thus limited to a very tiny portion of the web.
So what we finally picked is a 50" Panasonic Viera Plasma TV, full HD, lacks 3D, Internet-ready but without built-in Wi-Fi. It is definitely not "razor-thin" but since the unit is mounted on a wall, you rarely notice the thickness. Also, Panasonic offers limited Internet apps but not that we have connected it to Logitech Revue (read review of Google TV), family members can access almost the entire web in the living room.
While all have of us different requirements and there's no such thing as 'perfect' when it comes it to buying gadgets, the above points may help you make a slightly more informed decision and get more value for your money.