Google enters the PC to TV arena
Google today made its own contribution to solving the PC to TV problem with the release of Google Media Server. The Windows-only software works in conjunction with Google's desktop search application - Google Desktop - to locate various media (photos …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had already been linked to the living room through set-top-box speculation framed around Android. Google Media Server takes a software-first route instead, using Google Desktop's local index to make a Windows PC's photos and other media available on a television.
First-order effects
- Windows users of Google Desktop gain a Google-supported path to send locally stored media from the PC to the TV, making Google Desktop a required layer in the setup.
Second-order effects
- Google Desktop becomes more strategically useful as a media catalog rather than only a desktop-search tool, giving Google another reason to keep users' files indexed inside its software.
Third-order effects
- The move points toward PC-to-TV products being built from software, search, and media discovery layers as well as dedicated set-top hardware; Google’s eventual position depends on whether that desktop layer becomes a preferred living-room interface.
The trend: Google is extending its search and indexing software beyond the PC screen toward the television, treating local media discovery as an entry point to the living room.