With AOLTV, It’s Lonely at the Set Top
In AOLTV, no one can hear you scream.
About two months ago, I shelled out $250 for a glimpse of interactive television--or more specifically, America Online’s first entree into this melding of old-fashioned boob tube with the Internet.
But sluggishness, quirky operations and a steep price ($249.95 for the set-top box, plus $14.95 a month) outweigh the current benefits of AOLTV, which amount to little more than a comprehensive program guide and the ability to chat while watching TV.
In fact, in spite of the much-touted appeal of trading instant messages with soap-opera fans while watching “All My Children” or joining an online discussion about Linda Chavez during CNBC’s “Hardball,” I found AOLTV to be a pretty cold and lonely place.
Despite numerous attempts to make human contact, I never found anyone else out there. Granted, the service, which launched last summer, is still fairly new. And AOL won’t say how many people have signed up, so the number must be embarrassingly small.
No doubt over time AOL will move many of its online subscribers to AOLTV and smooth out the wrinkles. History has proved that this is a company that knows how to develop a product that appeals to the masses.
But for now, there’s little reason for consumers to be pioneers. Technology buffs, who hate everything AOL does anyway, predictably will be disappointed by the lack of advanced options and the sluggishness with which the interface moves.
Internet newbies hoping to use AOLTV as a cheaper alternative to a PC also will be frustrated. Even as an add-on for current AOL subscribers, who the company says are the targeted audience for AOLTV, it’s hard to make a case for signing up.
Here’s a closer look at some of the reasons why.
Setup
The first issue users face is one of real estate. AOLTV comes with its own set-top box, wireless keyboard and a bunch of plugs and cables. Amid my DVD, VCR and cable box, there was no space left to stash the box and no free electrical outlets. Second, AOLTV must be plugged into a telephone jack to connect to the Internet. Not having a phone jack in my living room, I had to go to Radio Shack and buy a 20-foot extension cord.
The setup process is straightforward. Even those whose VCR clock perpetually blinks “12:00” should be able to follow the simple instructions and graphics for connecting the cables. Once connected, it takes an hour or so to download all the latest software.
Appearance and program guide
Once set up, AOLTV takes control of the set. A translucent AOL logo appears at the top of the screen at all times.
More disturbingly, the system reorganizes all the TV channels. Rather than numerical order, channels are arranged by topic, such as movies, networks, kids and family, sports, shopping and news.
It also inserts about 22 new AOLTV “channels”--two for each of the preset topics. One channel offers detailed program information. The second is a kind of virtual AOL channel, a place where users can experience some of the interactive features, including Internet access, chat and, sadly, advertisements.
This reorganization can be jarring at first. And though it may seem logical, it causes TV viewers to stop and think about how to navigate around their trusty TV, which could prove to be a fatal flaw. After all, who wants to use his or her brain watching TV?
However, the program guide--which provides summaries of most TV shows for the next week or so--was particularly useful, since my cable operator doesn’t offer such data.
I should add that I encountered several problems getting the automatic updates for program data. Apparently, updates are retrieved from the cable company while you are signed on to the Internet or in the middle of the night, when AOLTV automatically signs on to fetch the information. After several complaints and unsuccessful reinstallations, I once again was able to see who would be appearing on Letterman.
Getting around
Similar to AOL’s online service, AOLTV relies on a series of pop-up menus and boxes. For example, click Buddy List and a translucent box of buddies is superimposed on the TV screen. Other times, such as when reading e-mail or consulting the program guide, the TV screen is shrunk into a small box in the top right corner.
Perhaps the biggest drawback is that AOLTV is unacceptably slow, even when it isn’t connected to the Internet. The culprit seems to be the new AOLTV channels, which are sandwiched between the real channels.
For example, each time users surf past one of the AOL program-guide channels (and they are hard to avoid), the TV screen shrinks to make room for updated data and the whole system gets hung up for 10 to 20 seconds. That’s an eternity to a channel surfer just quickly flipping through to see what’s on. Invariably, I kept clicking the channel button impatiently during the delay, which only resulted in a subsequent explosion of channels zipping by as AOLTV tried to catch up.
Consumers may be willing to wait for a Web page to load. But waiting for a TV channel to change is excruciating.
Speed on the Internet seemed comparable to a PC. Although AOLTV claims it connects at 56 kilobits per second, I never connected at anything above 26 Kbps.
Web access
Marrying TV and the Internet is a no-brainer. Already, several TV networks and programs routinely direct viewers to their Web sites for more information. So it’s rather disappointing that AOLTV does such a dismal job of integrating these two technologies.
In fact, they’re not really integrated at all. On AOLTV, you can’t watch TV and surf the Web at the same time. Isn’t that the point? If I’m watching a PBS special about bridge-building and want to visit https://www.pbs.org for more information, I don’t want the TV show to disappear. But when you visit a Web site on AOLTV, even the tiny TV picture in the top right corner goes away.
Users also will find that navigating the Web on a TV screen is difficult. Web pages don’t fit properly on a TV screen, and they’re hard to view from your couch or easy chair.
It’s not entirely AOL’s fault. Web pages today aren’t designed for TV screens, though some sites are working on it. For example, type “HBO,” “CNN” or “Sports Illustrated” into AOLTV’s Internet navigation bar, and the system is taken to special Web sites with interactive features that don’t crowd out the TV picture. Not so coincidentally, all these sites are owned by AOL’s merger partner, Time Warner.
Chat
At first, I was unconvinced that most people--other than the MTV set--would have much interest in chatting while watching TV. Did I really want to discuss this week’s “West Wing” with a bunch of strangers?
But consider the “Survivor” craze. Or the volume of callers to Larry King or C-Span. Who wouldn’t have been interested in chatting about the unfolding presidential election drama last fall, rather than watching it alone at 2 a.m.?
Two final points: The Philips keyboard is smallish and takes some getting used to. At first, I found it impossible to type at instant-messaging speed. Also, the instant-messaging screen is hard to read on the TV from the couch, so prepare to squint.
AOLTV channels
These channels were fun to explore and may offer the greatest potential for AOLTV, but they’re not yet ready for prime time.
For example, AOLTV’s sports channel provides ESPN in the top right corner, with last night’s game scores in the bottom left and a list of who’s playing tonight.
At the AOLTV movie channel, I got AMC movie channel in the small TV screen (interestingly, AOLTV does not default to its new partner, HBO). There’s also a QVC advertisement for $9.94 DVDs, the latest dish about Ricky Martin and a link to see what’s playing at my local theaters. An online poll asks, “Who’s the best male actor?” Just how lonely is AOLTV? Including my own vote, there were a whopping two responses to that question.
Frequently, however, these channels didn’t live up to their own hype. “Is your favorite musician on TV? AOLTV Music can tell you.” But apparently, it couldn’t, because nothing happened when I clicked the box several times. “Will there be any surprises at playoff time? Join this chat.” I was transported to a chat room--all by myself.
Overall, these interactive features and Web links--though well-intended--worked only about half the time. Frequently, pages wouldn’t load or there were other problems.
*
Times staff writer Edmund Sanders covers AOL Time Warner and technology policy in Washington.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
THE SKINNY
AOLTV
What it does: Consolidates TV with Web surfing and chat functions using a television and set-top box
Price: $249.95 for the set-top box; plus $14.95 a month for existing AOL subscribers, $24.95 for new subscribers
The good: Comprehensive TV program guide, special interactive channels and chat while watching TV.
The bad: Expensive, clunky and excruciatingly slow
Bottom line: Despite the promise of AOL’s track record, for now, there’s little reason for consumers to be pioneers with AOLTV
