2010-05-20: Google introduces Google TV at Google I/O (https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/announcing-google-tv... , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASZbArr7vdI)
2014-06-24: Google introduces Android TV at Google I/O (https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2020/09/introducin... , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3dCUPeyhag), a rebranding of Google TV
2017-02-28: Google introduces YouTube TV (https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/finally-live-tv-made-fo...)
2020-09-30: Google introduces Google TV, which might be a rebranding of Android TV back to Google TV, but I'm not sure.
To make this more complicated/interesting - Google renamed the Play Movies and TV app to "Google TV." I'm guessing so you can have Google TV on Google TV?
Will the Play Movies app on my existing Android TV open the Google TV launcher like shown off here, or is it still just a browser for the content I already have?
Is the change to Android TV just that this app becomes the launcher?
It's not a Chromecast, as we used to understand them - it's a full Android TV device with a new skin/launcher called Google TV.
It is, essentially, an updated Nexus Player, a competitor to the Nvidia shield and cheaper no-name android stick devices. One can hope it will be easily rooted, thus allowing for some interesting potential uses.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/30/21492549/google-tv-app-pl...
It seems to be not quite exactly that, Android TV seems to still be an active brand; Google TV is a new UI on top of Android TV. OTOH, since it implies Android TV, once all new devices with Android TV are also using the Google TV interface, I'd expect Android TV to stop being an actively-used brand.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidcentral.com/what-goo...
Oops, got the first link wrong on Android TV. Should have been this: https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2014/06/android-tv...
Style over content, and the presentation just plain getting in the way of the information, to the point that the user ends up leaving rather than finding out what the site is attempting to convey.
Awful. Just awful.
I am curious what they've used to achieve the endless scrolling type parallax. A while back I looked for libraries to achieve this and didn't find anything other than fullPage.js which doesn't seem to have an option for this (only full page transitions).
Will this be different? I doubt it. I'm not putting more money into Google hardware to find out that they'll break it and then lose interest.
Meanwhile my second gen Apple TV is working great.
There is just so much wasted potential there. We have a "legit" security system that my wife wants to turn on expensive $50/month monitoring on, and I have been fending her off saying look we have all these motion detectors and cameras in the house, Google will pull this all together and do it 10x better, but it seems that day is never coming.
Reason Shield TV is still doing great is because they didn't cut any corners and future proofed in a way no one expected it from nvidia. It's great. It complely replaced my 6700K + GTX 1080 powered HTPC because streaming games from my PC to shield was easier than using windows from 10 ft away.
I was a little worried that it stops getting updates, but now I just have no reason to upgrade it because it's getting all the updates and performing great. I got the new dongle tho because it cost as much as new remote for shield...
Only weak points of 2015 shield to me: game pad was trash, remote control was large and yet easy to lose and bend.
The software can still update. Does the hardware needed to play a video really become obsolete in 1 year? Why, do hardware decoders improve that fast? People aren’t using these panels for games
That's how it used to work about 20-15 years ago before flat panels become popular and still does to the some degree - at least in Poland. You had a CRT tv and DVB-S receiver and service providers were teasing all the time with revolutionary tech that will come soon and change our life; we were promised home banking, shopping, VOD, interactive channels and content, even Internet browsing with phone line used as upload channel.
Years later, we got a new flat tv and gave up on satellite tv as ISP finally upgraded infrastructure to FTTH from classic copper and it made sense to have all services in one cable and pay for it at single provider. The Samsung UHD ICU 100 receiver comes with ISP branded linux software that handles tv features like EPG, show recording etc., parental control, USB external storage playback, there are also 3 VOD choices - ISP own one, Netflix and HBO in separated "apps", weather and radio interactive channels (radio comes with predefined stations you can't change). You can check bill, change the tv plan (channels are handled by company that still operates with DVB-S; once it was possible to buy channels separately, now you gotta aim at full packet offer). There are "ads" - of shows from VOD services but nothing else; no idea if device pukes anything if you decide to not opt-out from tracking but so far, I'm satisfied. The smart tv itself become obsolete quite fast - applications doesn't load anymore, Netflix notoriously crashes upon launching, but with this receiver it's like it got a second chance.
Summing up, some ideas advertised become the reality but on a different medium - VOD, interactive channels and content is here, done by FTTH (and of course DVB - all comes what you need and what you can have, where do you live) but some stuff never arrived or become pointless to implement (Internet browsing, home banking and shopping).
https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_google_tv_com...
That page is a bit better at explaining things.
Remember the old book/saying "Don't Make Me Think"? (Krug, 2000. Wow, it's 20 years old now?!)
This site made me think in ways that seem really unnecessary.
Serious question, why is this site designed like this, I honestly don't understand the goal here. It's like a slideshow? People in general are so interested in this they do actually page through it? I feel like it took some real effort to finally learn things that should've been on page 1.
My only problem is I've scrolled through the whole thing and I'm still not clear if Google TV is a website, a piece of hardware, a bundle of content, or what...?
It's clearly not just hardware because it says "Chromecast with Google TV". But then it definitely involves an app because it says "Use the app" and "Coming soon to smart TVs."
But I still am not exactly clear how it integrates with the streaming apps? In fact I have no idea whatsoever. Do I watch HBO and Netflix through Google TV? Or is Google TV just a glorified playlists app that lets me get recommendations across services, that then links out to watch them in separate apps? Is it a free app or a paid subscription service? Does it give me access to exclusive content? Or network TV?
I'm left with no idea why I would use this or not because I still don't know what it is.
If it doesn't get shutdown by Christmas its probably because they working out how to integrate it into Google Docs.
I bought this for the remote. There's not really anything to "improve" here. It's a dumb box that aggregates streaming apps.
The real differentiator is google assistant (and associated google home ecosystem - if you've bought into that)
Google's take on the TV app from Apple that runs on Apple TV, iOS, and Mac, serving as a common UI to content from apps that buy into the partner ecosystem.
Awkward how unclear that site is: this new app from Google is to be the UI pre-installed on future Android TVs, but for now, you can get as a thing running on a $49 Chromecast puck.
Edit: Clarify it's the dongle
£59.99 = $77.45
$49.99 = £38.72
It's actually twice the price!
Google merges Chromecast and Android TV with the “Chromecast with Google TV”
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/09/google-merges-chrome...
The Google TV 10 years ago was rebranded as Android TV, so the Android TV reskin and slowmo rebrand is literally the linear successor.
(Of course, they are also rebranding Play Movies & TV on Android as Google TV, which makes me wonder what the Google Play Movies & TV app on Android TV is going to become Google TV on Google TV?)
It appears to be an aggregation service. Instead of individually searching across N platforms for content (hulu, disney+, youtube, crunchyroll, netflix, etc), you can now just use a single app (Google TV) which will allows you to search and stream across all platforms you are subscribed to.
Furthermore you can cast stuff directly to chromecast from Google TV as well as watch locally on your device.
The idea is sound: Let's use a common interface to all the content offered by the apps you already have installed.
But in practice (on Apple at least), it's awful. There's no telling whether you'll actually be able to view the content you see, or if it's just going to lead to some screen where you need to buy the content individually. Want to watch Family Guy? Oh it turns out YouTubeTV (your TV provider) has it but it's not donated to the AppleTV app, so you get a purchase link to buy an episode for $5, even though YouTubeTV actually has the same episode in your DVR library.
Want to watch the $sportsteam game that's on? Oh there's a link right there to watch it in the $sports_app app! Except that link takes you to a page that explains that you don't have the subscription necessary to actually watch the game. Or oops, it's blacked out in your area.
Or maybe you finally select something that's actually available to watch, so it links you out to the app that contains that content, only to have the app fail to support the appropriate intent/deep link, so you just end up on that app's home screen.
It ends up being this very hit-or-miss experience where anything you want to watch has like a 70% chance of actually succeeding, so you don't trust it, and it ends up being worthless.
Yes I'm bitter.
Why should like me get such aggregation services that require 4 different subscriptions that add up to 600 Euro per year?
I never got these aggregation services - and there are already MANY of them. Here in Germany the Telcos are having setup boxes that are more powerful than this Google TV thing as they aggregate subscriptions AND are able to stream live TV via Cable. Just google Magenta TV and GIGA TV.
How come nearly all video dongles want you to plug them into an HDMI port on your TV? Wouldn't it make more sense to plug them in to an HDMI port on your A/V receiver?
Unless you have a fairly recent TV and receiver, the TV can only send up to 5.1 DTS or Dolby compressed audio to the receiver, due to bandwidth limits of ARC. You need a system with eARC if you want to handle more, like Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD Master Audio, and the like, or uncompressed 5.1.
Also, with all video sources going through the receiver, it is one less remote to deal with. The only function you need on the TV is power on/power off, and one of your other remotes almost certainly will know or be able to be taught the TV's on/off code.
Another advantage of that approach is that you don't have a need, after initial setup, to look at any of the control or setting or information screens of your TV, which means if you've got a Smart TV that has started festooning those screes with ads, you don't see them.
I don't know if it's possible for the HDMI-CEC to pass through a receiver to the TV itself for this purpose.
Jokes apart, I am not buying that this time is different. as much as it pains me to say, google needs a little power to the product managers to push through a consistent vision of consumer product side.
I'm happy Apple TV (the device not the service) starts up with no ads. Android TV / Google TV is all ads (for shows). I managed to manually turn them off but now my is super ugly. You can't set a startup image or anything since it's reserved for ads. (well, short of writing my own launcher)
I don't know what I'm going to do for my next TV. I'd love to get a dumb TV but casually glancing through options it looks hard to find a dumb TV with high end features for a reasonable price. Most of the display oriented monitors seem to be 4x-10x the price and/or use 10yr old tech.
I literally stopped using Google Play Music for podcasts because that Adam Ruins Everything guy is always at the top of their recommendations. No problem with the guy or his content, just, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, seeing that guy, every time I switch podcasts, with no way not to see it.
Doesn't matter now anyway, Google Play Music is another service that lost the PM wars
It is laughable yet sad.
Its a Chromecast (4k60 HDR HDMI Dongle) that is running Android TV (Which they appear to be calling Google TV). And a remote control with voice controls. [1]
Not sure I see any reason why someone should get this over an Nvidia Shield. Which at least has a track record of long term support. Certainly a lower price point though, so maybe a market there?
[1] https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_google_tv_spe...
It makes me wonder if there is anyone working at Google who understands what the term "value added" even means.
Maybe they should just buy Roku and crap on that. After all Roku is moving into an analytics for sale company away from a streaming company. Why? Because everyone wants to be a portal but they can't afford to be with the studios demanding extortionate sums for their content. So instead of getting money for bringing you the content (because they have to pass on more than they can afford to the content owner) they sell their observation of people watching content to people who want to make content that people watch which is "their data" because it happened on "their device."
It makes me physically ill sometimes with how messed up this whole system came to be.
I also try to avoid being a panelist in behavior datasets. For this reason there are financial planning services I won't use and I won't buy a Vizio TV.
So, I'm very curious about your assertion that Roku is doing analytics for sale. I hadn't seen that before, so any further insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
We need to reward companies that keep things alive for longer. I got an iPhone recently (over a somewhat cheaper Android) precisely because Apple provides OS updates for longer than any other smartphone maker. Sometimes over 5 years.
Especially as tech products have started to somewhat plateau in functionality, I value longevity over features or performance.
I already paid to own those songs. Why do I now have to pay a monthly subscription to keep using them?
Thanks but no thanks, Google.
Netflix chose to use recommendations as their first channel. Google TV acts as aggregator for those channels.
https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_google_tv_com...
Then I was confused again- is this an actual TV? Oh it's a dongle- no, wait, that's a Chromecast with Google TV.
Anyway, I guess this is a new content app like Hulu.
Is my 65" TV I splashed out on going to stop getting updates now...
It honestly makes me angry how much human capital was wasted on making this. Everything about this is a UX nightmare, from the scrolljacking site, to the apps-in-apps UI, to the abomination of a remote. This is such a waste.
There should be some law against Google launching products that invalidates existing products in their own lineup. Google PMs are high on adwords/adsense revenues trying to score points via product launches to get higher bonuses. That is an apt summary of Google's internal political economy.
Time to get an Apple TV and get off the Google ecoystem. sigh.
It's software that is included on the newest Chromecast. (And will soon be included in Android TVs.)
> What is the upgrade path from Chromecast.
It is included in the newest Chromecast, which is also the upgrade path for existing TVs that won't get it.
> There should be some law against Google launching products that invalidates existing products in their own lineup.
There should be a law against improved versions of existing products?
However, it would have to jump out of the TV and make me a bacon sandwich before I allowed Google to track what I was watching that evening.
Even then I would delete the app having ate the bacon sandwich.
Also, I agree, except the bacon sandwich is going to have to be a BLT, and it would have to bring me a Coke as well.
If they're going all in on remotes, then I need to move back to DLNA.
Would love if someone with more experience with Android TV could clarify though. I daily a Chromecast Ultra not Android TV.
I think for 99% of people though this new Google dongle will do everything they need but cheaper.
Client or client + server?
TV is dying and few will miss or even notice it.
Maybe I'm just getting old lol
It would help if they would put some actual effort into the services behind Google Home/ Mini let alone Google Assistant before expanding hardware options.
Problem of course is that in practice Google nowadays is really about "organizing world's ads", so I am sure they will find more than one way to screw this up by insulting the intelligence of people using it.
Or is this a closed device, like a Chromecast?
It seems the whole TV viewing experience, both hardware and software is still mess, just like it was 10 years ago. I guess Steve [1] described it best, the lack of Go to Market Strategy.
I sometimes wonder why cant we build a Tuner that works on all International market.
https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3704270/how-apple-can-bu...
Something, something, cold dead hands.
Not the page’s fault (maybe), but it kept triggering reader mode on my phone multiple times as I scrolled down.
Um, well... coming from Google this is more of a turn-off, not a selling point.
(Hoax video from 2007 about how to get Google TV)
Every high-end TV today comes with some sort of OS pre-installed. So a set-top box in 2020 is not a very popular device. Even Apple figured it out and released Apple TV app on most smart TV platforms.
> The Google Play Movies & TV app on Android mobile devices in the U.S. is now Google TV.
I'm not in U.S., though, so I guess no rebranding for me...
Movies and shows are grouped in ways that reflect your interests."
I can't be the only one who _wants_ to be surprised, out of their usual bubble of interest, at least sometimes.
How can one tell this to all these "clever" things?
I have firetv dongle(two of them) that can run youtube too.
Roku is also pretty popular in this space.
Some also uses apple tv(not an Apple fan here)
what google tv buy me? what's its unique selling point? that was not very clear to me.
Besides the fact that many TV manufactures are owned by Chinese government subsidiaries, it's simply not safe to connect a TV to the internet. Who's collecting and selling the data? Why are they taking screen captures and sending them off to who-knows-where? Your TV spies on you[1].
Instead, my TV stays offline and I use an Apple TV. At least I know they're not selling my data to advertisers, and the experience is quite good.
[1] https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-warns-about-snoopy-smart-t...
