Google TV (GTV) won't be available until this fall (in the US) but it is possible to get some sense of what it will do to the universe of online video through a visit to YouTube's new offering, LeanBack. The YouTube XL site describes itself as "a version of YouTube optimized for watching YouTube videos on any large screen." Given that they are owned by Google and GTV will bring the whole Internet to your television set through a new set-top box to be sold through Best Buy, it's a good bet that the large screen YouTube refers to is in your family room.
XL content as I write this is mostly the short form video we are accustomed to from the parent site, but there are exceptions. One such is a 40-minute interview with Canada's Prime Minister, and the full screen quality suggests it was produced with a big screen in mind. Much of the content available on the site is coming from existing material not encoded at rates sufficiently high to stand up to full screen treatment, including some of my own travel pieces, available on the "dhurdon" channel at YouTube.  The shortage of long form material  will change over time as the ability to bring quality online video to the big screen television attracts traditional content owners who know that the television audience grew up on longer programming and expects it. Sweeten the pot with the interactive options available via the Internet and existing and new advertising initiatives to pay for the content and deals will be developed at an increasing pace.

For sellers of products and services who haven't yet introduced online video to their websites the coming of the web on TV ups the ante. If you have a wireless laptop and the right cable(s) for going from it to your big screen unit you don't have to wait for GTV to get the web on TV experience. But you're stuck with a keyboard for navigation and search and existing web browsers don't enhance the experience, although downloading and browsing with KYLO software from Hillcrest Labs will help until GTV comes along. The sooner you see your site on TV the sooner you'll likely begin planning for what's coming.

It has been reported that video is 53 times more likely than text-only to appear in page one search results. This is surely an advantage far too significant to be ignored - and one that justifies the appropriate investment in getting it right.