Android By Russell Holly Jun. 26, 2014 8:33 am
Google is entering the set-top box game once again, but it looks like the failures of its*past combined with one rampant success has taught the company*quite a bit.
There seems to be a massive wall in between the manufacturer of the most popular mobile OS in the world and the biggest screen in the house, but that has not stopped Googlers from trying over and over again. The first attempt, Google TV, fizzled out when the combination of content providers blocking access and repeated hardware failures left the platform as little more than a subject of mockery.*The second attempt, the Nexus Q, flopped so hard that Google actually refunded everyone who had purchased one.
Google is ready to try again with Android TV, a platform geared towards set top boxes and integrated smart TVs that leverages the visual unity of Android L with the lessons learned from all of their mistakes so far.
Out of the gate, Google has already addressed several of the concerns that plagued the previous versions of its*living room invasion plan. Case in point: Google revealed an attractive user interface with access to the Google Play Store and plenty of content. Since the announcement only a few hours ago, dozens of game developers have announced support for the platform. This means that not only will there be the usual suspects when it comes to streaming video, but plenty of games to play as well.
The Google Play Store is front-and-center, where in the past it was clearly an afterthought with the hope that developer support would come later. Knowing that you can actually do something with your hardware when you take it out of the box is apparently a big deal, and Google addressed that in a big way.
There will actually be a reason to take advantage of the HDMI passthrough capabilities or the native TV functionality in Android TV that was completely missing from Google TV and is still absent in the significantly more successful Chromecast. Google is leveraging the in-app functionality from Google Play Movies in a live function with incoming television signals that will offer a pleasant UI for additional content as well as searching for more content from each actor or artist being shown on the screen. This is something Google has yet to pull off realtime so far, and it’s a significant accomplishment when compared to their current and previous offerings.
Google didn’t demo any third party streaming apps native to the platform, but we know that Android TV will support almost all of the apps everyone knows and loves today because the platform has native Chromecast support out of the box. This means that not only will there be the same ocean of content that is currently available for Google’s Chromecast platform, but there’s going to be plenty of power under the hood to make sure the streams are smooth and fast.
While it wasn’t announced during the event, there’s no doubt after seeing Chromecast mirroring in the Android L preview that 1080p Chromecast streams will be a part of the platform moving forward. Since the existing Chromecast can only support 720p and occasionally struggles to do even that, this is going to be a natural upgrade path for many Chromecast users.
Finally, Google has made sure there’s no shortage of compelling hardware options out of the gate. The company has paired up with all of its*old hardware partners and several new ones to make sure there are set-top boxes and Smart TVs with the platform installed by the time Android L launches this fall. Also, when it comes to control mechanisms Google said that anything with a D-Pad will work on the platform. This means that apps, smartwatches, and most importantly gamepads are going to be part of the Android TV experience. While there’s been no announcements regarding pricing, the volume of options and the special focused placed on Nvidia’s Tegra K1 platform. More hardware choices will mean multiple price points, and as long as those who opt for the low end of the scale don’t compromise in a significant way on performance this is going to be a great way to introduce the platform.
The untimely demise of Google’s Nexus Q and the overly drawn out death of Google TV have clearly taught Google some things, and the explosive success of the Chromecast platform has shown the company where things need to go. Between the hardware and the software, it really looks like Google has things together this time around. Now all we need to do is wait and see what the final product looks and feels like. Is it fall yet?
More...
There seems to be a massive wall in between the manufacturer of the most popular mobile OS in the world and the biggest screen in the house, but that has not stopped Googlers from trying over and over again. The first attempt, Google TV, fizzled out when the combination of content providers blocking access and repeated hardware failures left the platform as little more than a subject of mockery.*The second attempt, the Nexus Q, flopped so hard that Google actually refunded everyone who had purchased one.
Google is ready to try again with Android TV, a platform geared towards set top boxes and integrated smart TVs that leverages the visual unity of Android L with the lessons learned from all of their mistakes so far.
Out of the gate, Google has already addressed several of the concerns that plagued the previous versions of its*living room invasion plan. Case in point: Google revealed an attractive user interface with access to the Google Play Store and plenty of content. Since the announcement only a few hours ago, dozens of game developers have announced support for the platform. This means that not only will there be the usual suspects when it comes to streaming video, but plenty of games to play as well.
The Google Play Store is front-and-center, where in the past it was clearly an afterthought with the hope that developer support would come later. Knowing that you can actually do something with your hardware when you take it out of the box is apparently a big deal, and Google addressed that in a big way.
There will actually be a reason to take advantage of the HDMI passthrough capabilities or the native TV functionality in Android TV that was completely missing from Google TV and is still absent in the significantly more successful Chromecast. Google is leveraging the in-app functionality from Google Play Movies in a live function with incoming television signals that will offer a pleasant UI for additional content as well as searching for more content from each actor or artist being shown on the screen. This is something Google has yet to pull off realtime so far, and it’s a significant accomplishment when compared to their current and previous offerings.
Google didn’t demo any third party streaming apps native to the platform, but we know that Android TV will support almost all of the apps everyone knows and loves today because the platform has native Chromecast support out of the box. This means that not only will there be the same ocean of content that is currently available for Google’s Chromecast platform, but there’s going to be plenty of power under the hood to make sure the streams are smooth and fast.
While it wasn’t announced during the event, there’s no doubt after seeing Chromecast mirroring in the Android L preview that 1080p Chromecast streams will be a part of the platform moving forward. Since the existing Chromecast can only support 720p and occasionally struggles to do even that, this is going to be a natural upgrade path for many Chromecast users.
Finally, Google has made sure there’s no shortage of compelling hardware options out of the gate. The company has paired up with all of its*old hardware partners and several new ones to make sure there are set-top boxes and Smart TVs with the platform installed by the time Android L launches this fall. Also, when it comes to control mechanisms Google said that anything with a D-Pad will work on the platform. This means that apps, smartwatches, and most importantly gamepads are going to be part of the Android TV experience. While there’s been no announcements regarding pricing, the volume of options and the special focused placed on Nvidia’s Tegra K1 platform. More hardware choices will mean multiple price points, and as long as those who opt for the low end of the scale don’t compromise in a significant way on performance this is going to be a great way to introduce the platform.
The untimely demise of Google’s Nexus Q and the overly drawn out death of Google TV have clearly taught Google some things, and the explosive success of the Chromecast platform has shown the company where things need to go. Between the hardware and the software, it really looks like Google has things together this time around. Now all we need to do is wait and see what the final product looks and feels like. Is it fall yet?
More...
