The convergence of television and Web-delivered content is going to grow up in a hurry this holiday season. Between Apple TV and Logitech's (Nasdaq: LOGI) Google TV set-top boxes, the home theater experience is setting itself up to be redefined.

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) are tech artisans, so I'm sure that early adopter couch potatoes -- the ones who trade a passive viewing experience in front of the boob tube for a passive experience camping out in line outside an Apple Store for every evolutionary rollout -- to embrace one box or the other.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if there were room for both in more than a few stockings this year.

The thing is that Google and Apple aren't necessarily breaking new ground here. Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) has been striking content deals with video game console makers, Blu-ray manufacturers, and anything short of margarita blenders to stream offerings from its digital catalog for a couple of years now. TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) has been playing the convergence card even longer.

However, lost in all of this is that the television experience isn't ideal. We've gone from rabbit ears to dozens of cable channels to hundreds of cable and satellite television channels. We have a growing number of on-demand options, and convergence means that you don't have to leave the recliner to tap into Hulu and YouTube.

Where's the spontaneity, though? Where's the surprise? Where -- may I ask -- is the radio experience?

The spirit of radio
I'm sure that television moguls laugh at their radio brethren. When someone is homely, they say they have a face for radio. When it comes to cable subscriptions, someone can easily be set back more than $100 a month.

Terrestrial radio is free. Those who seek deeper genre dives or want to skirt commercials can stream music discovery sites or pay up roughly $15 a month to join the 19.5 million -- and growing -- subscribers of Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI).

However, there's one thing that radio does that digital television doesn't do. There's no randomizer button. There's no shuffle play. There's no double-take surprise that finds you scrambling to learn more about the entertainer that you are experiencing for the first time.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Google TV or Apple TV will have the kind of functionality built in. If they can scour the Web for content, they should be able to serve up tasty recommendations.

Color me skeptical, though. Netflix prides itself on its deep library of flicks and viewer data. After a handful of subscriber ratings, the site can serve up customized suggestions. It rocks. I know. I've been a Netflix subscriber since 2002. So now that Netflix is streaming through countless Wi-Fi-tethered home theaters, why isn't there an "I'm Feeling Lucky" button that sorts through the roughly 20,000 available titles vegetating on its server farm to surprise me with something special?

I understand why Netflix has never bothered with a "Surprise Me" option for its mail service. Between the round-trip postage, handling, and any related licensing fees, an unwanted disc can cost the company if it's returned immediately. Bandwidth isn't free when it comes to a wasted online recommendation, but it's certainly more economical.

Maybe it's just me, but I want the Pandora-zation of my television. I want to be surprised. I want a set-top box that can dig up an obscure sitcom that it knows I will like, working in some local interest news bits, an amusing viral video or two, and other short-form content pieces.

Will I get it? Why shouldn't I? Apple's cheapest iPod is a shuffle -- and that's exactly what it does with a large playlist. Google is the originator of the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. This is an obvious feature.

Right?  

We are TiVo
By now, longtime TiVo owners will point out that the DVR pioneer has been recording shows that it feels box owners will like through its TiVo Suggestions offering for years.

It's a good start, but it's clearly not the finish line. TiVo recommendations are limited by hard drive space, and they must have been prerecorded. There is no shift to real-time programming or cloud-hopping excursions for timely Web-stored suggestions.

With a name like FLO, one would think that Qualcomm's (Nasdaq: QCOM) FLO TV gets it. However, it doesn't appear to go with the "flow" of the personalized television that I envision the medium should become. It has also been a financial albatross for Qualcomm, apparently.

There's still plenty to be learned from the radio industry. There's still a mix-tape culture to carve out when it comes to digital video -- beyond sharing YouTube clips on social networks. There needs to be the DJ equivalent for televised content programming for folks to fanatically follow. Right now, TV buffs follow individual shows and little else.

The future of digital television -- and all of its smarter players -- is bright. It just needs to get started.

What will it take for digital video to succeed in the living room? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.