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Re: Google TV

#71

Post by lapetitejort »

jtsiskin wrote: post #36
stickyricky wrote: post #20

This might be the wrong place to complain about this issue. But "smart" TVs need to be replaced with "dumb TV + set top box" bundles. As it is now, the best panels are obsolete after a year.

You can always plug a box into the TV, even if it’s a smart TV. 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

My smart tv constantly gets in the way. If I boot up a game device it starts with a footer bar with apps and such that won't disappear for up to a minute. I have to press back on the remote if I want it to go away faster. If I accidentally press or long press a button on the remote the whole TV will be hijacked for a voice command or something. A year or so ago the TV decided that if it wasn't getting any inputs it should switch to a video app I never installed and automatically play. The days of getting a giant monitor must be over as the profits from bundling crapware with TVs must have driven down the costs so much that they no longer cannot contain them.

Re: Google TV

#72

Post by op03 »

blakesterz wrote: post #4

Who is this website designed for? I'm on Chrome and it took me about a dozen presses of the space bar to get an idea of what Google TV is/does and then a bunch more to get some specifics and a price. I assume it looks different on mobile, maybe better / more useful? 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 unnecessa…

They send a memo out to the 17 groups working on various TV related projects about consolidation. Then those 17 group heads worry about who is going to be irrelevant by the end of process. Furious game of throne style events take place. And you get what you see. It will all be shutdown and written off by Christmas so don't worry about what it is too much.

If it doesn't get shutdown by Christmas its probably because they working out how to integrate it into Google Docs.

Re: Google TV

#73

Post by josteink »

evanextreme wrote: post #57
samizdis wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ars Article: Google merges Chromecast and Android TV with the “Chromecast with Google TV” https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/09/google-merges-chrome...

right, but that headline doesnt answer the underlying question. This chromecast runs Android TV, so what is Google TV? Is it an interface on top of Android TV, or the successor to Android TV as we know it? It says its coming to future TV's, so what about the Sony TV I just bought? There's so many questions about what this software even is.

When not even a site full of techies can tell what you’re tech-product is after studying its product-page intensely... You know you’re in for a hell of a marketing phase later on.

Re: Google TV

#74

Post by dougmwne »

roneythomas6 wrote: post #62
evanextreme wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

right, but that headline doesnt answer the underlying question. This chromecast runs Android TV, so what is Google TV? Is it an interface on top of Android TV, or the successor to Android TV as we know it? It says its coming to future TV's, so what about the Sony TV I just bought? There's so many questions about what this software even is.

The new Android TV interface premieres on the Chromecast with Google TV. It’s coming to third-party set-top boxes and TVs as well, although you’ll have to wait until 2021 before it reaches non-Google hardware. This doesn’t replace Android TV, to be clear — it sits on top. Google is just separating the ‘skin’ for Android TV from its underlying platform. https://www.androidauthority.com/google-tv-android-tv-116260...

So Google TV is a skin that sits on top of Android TV which has a separate skin called Android TV which isn't being used in new products but will continue to be supported in current products. And my Android TV I have right now is an Android TV with Chromecast, but the launch product for Google TV was Chromecast with Google TV, which I can plug into my Android TV when Android TV running Android TV is EOL but Android TV running Google TV is still supported so that I don't need to buy a new TV with Google TV. That clears it up, thanks!

Re: Google TV

#75

Post by gruez »

interestica wrote: post #23
blakesterz wrote: post #4

Who is this website designed for? I'm on Chrome and it took me about a dozen presses of the space bar to get an idea of what Google TV is/does and then a bunch more to get some specifics and a price. I assume it looks different on mobile, maybe better / more useful? 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 unnecessa…

It's designed for regular scrolling. Spacebar jumps break the flow. The goal here isn't to give you information fit for a short one-pager -- it's to create a story and bring you along. It works surprisingly well in Opera (chrome-based).

No, it's jarring for anyone using a mouse with scrollwheel as well. The motion ends up being very choppy. In fact, I'm convinced that this style of web page is designed by designers using apple touchpads (eg. MBP) who think everyone else uses them as well.

Re: Google TV

#76

Post by crazygringo »

Navarr wrote: post #69
adrianmonk wrote: post #67

Milestones in Google branding: 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 introd…

Google TV is a launcher for Android TV, so far as I can tell. Android TV is not being rebranded, as it is the OS - but Google TV is the "Google Experience" on Android TV. 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…

I swear I've read this comment like five times, because you seem to actually know what's going on... but it's left me only more confused.

What is a launcher?

If Android TV is an OS, then what is a launcher for an OS?

And I guess you're as confused as I am as to also what this has to do with the previous Play Movies and TV app.

Re: Google TV

#77

Post by umvi »

r-w wrote: post #66
umvi wrote: post #40

Ok, maybe I'm the only one, but I'm actually excited about this. 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 Goog…

This has already been possible for years upon years on Roku.

I don't own a Roku, just a Chromecast

Re: Google TV

#79

Post by chubot »

roneythomas6 wrote: post #60
ketralnis wrote: post #32

I owned the Logitech Google TV which I bought for about $300 early in its lifespan. After about a year they shipped some really bad updates to it that made it so slow that it was essentially unuseable and removed several key features, and then never shipped another update to it again. Logitech and Google both lost interest in it and after not long all of the apps like Netflix and even Google's own Youtube stopped wor…

My Chromecast from 2013 still works.

I bought two of them and loved them for a couple years, at least for the content it opened up.

However casting was unreliable. I never figured it out but I remember posting on HN about it years ago and other people had the same complaint.

Then the YouTube app on my android phone would hang or crash. My Android phone kinda rotted after 4 years or so. I had a dedicated one for chromecast.

Now I just use a wireless keyboard and an Ubuntu box connected to the TV. Works quite well, I can get all the apps and content I want through the browser.

Re: Google TV

#80

Post by oefnak »

crazygringo wrote: post #76
Navarr wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google TV is a launcher for Android TV, so far as I can tell. Android TV is not being rebranded, as it is the OS - but Google TV is the "Google Experience" on Android TV. 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…

I swear I've read this comment like five times, because you seem to actually know what's going on... but it's left me only more confused. What is a launcher? If Android TV is an OS, then what is a launcher for an OS? And I guess you're as confused as I am as to also what this has to do with the previous Play Movies and TV app.

A launcher for Android is somewhat similar to a desktop environment on Linux.
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