The next GoogleTV?

[BobbyDing]

In the spirit of looking forward to the new product(s) that will be incorporating the SageTV/GoogleTV technologies, and keeping a positive attitude, I thought I'd look into what GoogleTV presently offers, and determine what additions could be made to it to sway me into purchasing the next iteration. I looked here:

http://www.google.com/tv/features.html

No surprise that it is packed with all the best online goodies already. For me personally, if it had native support to DVR from local network tuners (OTA & Cablecard with local guide data), and the ability to load third party plugins to customize the UI (sounds pretty firmiliar ), and be multi-room, I would have to have it.

One other feature I'd love to see (and maybe it does this already) is the ability to select shows from whatever online sources and have them DVR'd locally so I can watch them later straight from the DVR without experiencing any buffering. Can the present state of DRM handle this?

What would it have to have in order to sway you? (no snarky responses please).

[wado1971]

What does GTV needs for me?
1) Professional UI - has that
2) Ability to access and distribute in a professional manner all my stored media from local HDD (no cloud). Including Music, photos, and all video in all formats.
3) Ability to interface with a dvr - absolute MUST have. More specifically for me it must interface with my PC based dvr software but other interfaces may include someone's pioneer dvr, or a TiVo, or even the cableco's dvr. Let's just imagine that some huge company with deep pockets simply devolopes the base software which easily allows these various interfaces, freely distributes this software, and leaves it up to the various companies of these "DVR" devices to finish the program interface and call it an app.
4) Must be expandable throughout my home easily and low cost. (extenders)
5) Online content (netflix etc) - has that
6) Quality Hardware (keyboards, remotes, etc) - confidence it will come in droves

Bonus material beyond my expectations:
A) APPS, APPS, APPS - this is what will change my TV viewing experience. Two examples: The pandora App & the sports-tracker app which is my new favorite app. The possibilities are endless.
B) 3rd party development environment
C) Search and display web sites alongside of playing video (picture-in-browser)
D) Display pdfs, msword docs, etc. from local HDD, web, etc.
E) Ability to send an item of my local HDD (ie - a photo I'm viewing) directly to a cloud basic storage with a click of the remote.
F) Ability to send a specific photo or web page I'm viewing to a friend via email. Again with the click of a remote button.

Reading the feature list of GTV I see that #2 is not listed and #3 is only currently supported with a single dvr source. This is where sagetv has huge experience to help out.

Further dissecting #3 (dvr capabilities). I really only think GTV should have the ability to switch on/off my tuner hardware, whether that be a networked HDHomeRun or a PC based tuner. GTV should only have the EPG data, allow me to choose items I wish to record, and store the wizbin file which preserves the history of my family members. Huh - sounds as if sagetv has a clear directive going forward?

[Monedeath]

I think what I'd really like to see is this:

1.) Where a GoogleTV client is embedded in the TV itself(already the case for some sets, I understand), so the TV has network connectivity in its own right.
2.) Home, Local Area Network based, PVR/DVR functionality offering those services to GoogleTV clients. Home (custom) built solutions and more commercial builds alike. (big reason I'd want provisions for custom is I don't want to be locked into only being able to have ~100 hours of HD Television recordings stored on my network. If someone wants to build their own storage solutions to have 20 TB of television recordings on hand, they should be continue to be able to build it.)
3.) Access to other "personal media" present on the network, this would be pictures, home videos, music, etc. (service)
4.) Where other media devices (DVD/BluRay) offer playback services to GoogleTV Clients. (Sage had some capability to do that, although you had to use a PC to do so, and IMO, it was rather kludgy. What I'm talking about is the commercial off the shelf players for home entertainment centers, not computers.) *I could also see the disc players performing the role of network client for the other "services" both on the local net and the internet.

Really, I'd be happy with #1 and 2 alone. #3 I would miss dearly if it wasn't replicated(I'd be amazed if it wasn't however).

#4 is more of a pie in the sky type thing for the near future I think as I think the manufacturers would push back on that. Although, some manufacturers may try to use #4 to perform as a surrogate to #1 which would be fine by me(particularly for "legacy" systems).

I'd just as soon not have to deal with a dedicated extender where that is all it does. Although dedicated extenders can have their own benefits at times.

Edit to add: I guess there is one other thing to add to the dream list:
A clear upgrade path from SageTV to Google(-Sage)TV so that my current recordings could migrate without pulling teeth. =)

[pieroxy]

To be honest, the page pointed to is far too generic and marketing-oriented to be of any use really. As we say, the devil is in the details. I have more questions about it after reading this page...

Plus, Google TV only exists in TVs today. I already have TVs, I don't need to buy them all over again. Content delivery and display should not be mixed together this way. The added value of Google TV shouldn't mandate one to buy new TVs.

[Monedeath]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

To be honest, the page pointed to is far too generic and marketing-oriented to be of any use really. As we say, the devil is in the details. I have more questions about it after reading this page...

Plus, Google TV only exists in TVs today. I already have TVs, I don't need to buy them all over again. Content delivery and display should not be mixed together this way. The added value of Google TV shouldn't mandate one to buy new TVs.

I hope that the SageTV acquisition was Google realizing that GoogleTV isn't going to accomplish much for a home user as a client only setup.

For GoogleTV to make a serious inroad into people's homes and make it something they want to have. Google is going to have to be able to interface with things people want to use their TV for already. Which means Picture viewing, watching home videos shot on the digital camcorders/digital cameras, and possibly inroads into the Network DVR world as well.

Sage already has demonstrated how to do all of that.

All Google has to do is polish it a bit more, add a few more features(like CableCard support for people who want to record HBO without 50,000 hoops to jump through) to make it more friendly to the average consumer, and start offering people an option for additional "services" they can have running in their own home that would make GoogleTV that much more appealing.

Some of the jokes/comments about Android@home probably weren't that far off the mark. Google can't just get into your house through your smartphones and your TV set. They need to offer a bit more than that. SageTV can be a significant piece in that "bit more" particularly where the TV set is concerned.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

Plus, Google TV only exists in TVs today. I already have TVs, I don't need to buy them all over again. Content delivery and display should not be mixed together this way. The added value of Google TV shouldn't mandate one to buy new TVs.

Not true. This is what the "companion box" device category is all about. The Logitech Revue and Sony NSZ-GT1 (blu-ray player with integrated GoogleTV) are on the market now and Samsung is also building a GTV 2.0 companion box device.

I own the Revue and use it inline with the HD300.

[RazorUK]

Originally Posted by jm9843

I own the Revue and use it inline with the HD300.

How well does it integrate with the HD300? I'd concsidered purchasing it myself in the past, but was concerned it wouldn't end up being my front end device, and would really only offer me a browser on my TV and I'd end up switching back and forth between it and Sage to view content I wanted.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by RazorUK

How well does it integrate with the HD300? I'd concsidered purchasing it myself in the past, but was concerned it wouldn't end up being my front end device, and would really only offer me a browser on my TV and I'd end up switching back and forth between it and Sage to view content I wanted.

I'm of the opinion that it integrates really well but it depends on how you'd use it. The GoogleTV UI almost acts as a "layer" on top of the HD300 that you can use as little or as much as you want. You could probably add a Revue to your setup without anyone noticing; which I consider to be a positive.

I admittedly don't use the feature where you can schedule recordings through GoogleTV search results - but it should work if you want that capability. The biggest caveat is that the Revue won't pass through bitstreamed HD audio to a receiver if that's an important feature to you. It will, however, pass dolby digital 5.1 which is most important for broadcast HD content.

I use the Revue primarily for Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, and web-based video content (especially websites optimized for GTV). It really excels at the later: YouTube Leanback, Vimeo, Crackle, Cnet, etc. Video podcasts you can add to your "queue" which auto refreshes and is accessible from the home screen. For example, if you're browsing the HD Nation site in the Chrome browser, you can hit the Favorite key and it'll ask you if you want to add it to your bookmarks (also accessible from the Home screen) or your queue. You can then just go to your queue from the Home screen to check out the latest unwatched stuff that you're subscribed to. Kind of like a personalized web channel.

The Revue, imo, does a good job of augmenting the SageTV experience in those areas where Sage is lacking. The addition of Android Market access, native apps, and (possibly) a SageTV client app is going to really take it to the next level. The new $179 price doesn't hurt either, but it will soon be eclipsed by v.2 devices.

[sleonard]

Embedded into TV's is great and all but I can't afford to replace all of my current TV's just for this. There needs to be a client box for use with your current TV. I'd want something like the Sage-Revue 2.0

S

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by sleonard

Embedded into TV's is great and all but I can't afford to replace all of my current TV's just for this. There needs to be a client box for use with your current TV. I'd want something like the Sage-Revue 2.0

S

or maybe teh hd300 running android perhaps :-D

[wayner]

Originally Posted by wado1971

the sports-tracker app which is my new favorite app.

A live sports app and a PVR do NOT co-exist well. I don't want to turn on my TV at 9:30 pm to watch tonight's hockey game only to see the score on my TV's home page!

[polen]

Originally Posted by jm9843

I own the Revue and use it inline with the HD300.

Can the Revue browse your home network for picture and videos and view them?

I was planning on getting a new TV with Netflix and an HD300 for a Bedroom, but now I'm looking at a Sony Internet TV with Google and I'll just connect my old HD100 to it. It's good to know that it works well.

[wado1971]

Originally Posted by wayner

A live sports app and a PVR do NOT co-exist well. I don't want to turn on my TV at 9:30 pm to watch tonight's hockey game only to see the score on my TV's home page!

Sports-Tracker is actually a fitness app. But either way my current sagetv setup draws in an RSS feed of all sporting scores while also streaming mlbtv via playon. I simply don't go to the RSS feed prior to watching a game.

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by polen

Can the Revue browse your home network for picture and videos and view them?

I was planning on getting a new TV with Netflix and an HD300 for a Bedroom, but now I'm looking at a Sony Internet TV with Google and I'll just connect my old HD100 to it. It's good to know that it works well.

The Revue includes the Logitech Media Player which will play media from a UPnP server. It is limited in the file formats that it supports but it does play 720p h.264/dd5.1 mkv. Seems to be an, ahem, popular video format these days.

I'm more interested in what Honeycomb on GoogleTV will bring since VLC for Android has been in the works for quite awhile and should be released soon.

[jahouse]

I was going to start a similar post but not as technical, just dreaming.....

what if google tv is open source? what if we can program tvs that have google tv built in? One component (our tv) would be our extender. If it was open source should be able to port sagetv? Still need sagetv server support but I think that would not be a problem with current support? What else...someone mentioned that google tv can control other dvr or cable boxes?

All I'm trying to say is let's not be negative and give google some ideas (if they don't have them already), just dreaming.

[Grant]

How hard would it be to write a SageTV App for Google TV? Extender App with all the functionality of a HD300 in extender mode. ...or am I dreaming?

[BobbyDing]

All I'm trying to say is let's not be negative and give google some ideas (if they don't have them already)

My thought exactly when I started the thread

[jm9843]

Originally Posted by Grant

How hard would it be to write a SageTV App for Google TV? Extender App with all the functionality of a HD300 in extender mode. ...or am I dreaming?

It might take awhile until an (unofficial) SageTV app for GTV would reach near feature parity with an HD300, but it's certainly possible. When the new update hits that adds the Android Market/app capability, Fonceur's taSageTV app will likely work basically "as is" for some immediate SageTV integration. Now to get him to optimize the app for Honeycomb tablet/TV.

[polen]

I went to Bestbuy last night to look at the Sony GoogleTV and I have to say that SmartTVs are deffinitly the way to go. I bet Jeff thought the samething when he saw them and then started thinking, "How do I get SageTV into these SmartTVs?"

[lfilomeno]

Originally Posted by pieroxy

To be honest, the page pointed to is far too generic and marketing-oriented to be of any use really. As we say, the devil is in the details. I have more questions about it after reading this page...

Plus, Google TV only exists in TVs today. I already have TVs, I don't need to buy them all over again. Content delivery and display should not be mixed together this way. The added value of Google TV shouldn't mandate one to buy new TVs.

+1. No need to upgrade to a TV with Google\SageTV in it! A small, unobstrusive box that can be placed behind the LCD screen and can be networked with other clients should be the way to go.