Basically the TV industry could could up with a standard spec for a component to fit into the television so that it would be upgradable. The Apple TV and Google TV units would be sold separately as they are today (or will be for Google), but instead of the "old" mentality of components having to be separate, it would fit into it like a glove.

The great part is that while a standard, the standard could evolve, and then you'd need to buy a new T.V. for the new adapter (it just wouldn't fit in the old one cleanly) creating more of a forced-consumer situation than the big ugly external components with wires that allow more flexibility that we have today. Basically, the purpose to the consumer is style and simplicity (no one who is non-technical likes wires), and the upside for the TV manufacturer and Apple/Google/etc. is that they play off each other and upgrades to the standard to increase profits.