google tv

LAS VEGAS--History may be repeating itself as the Internet draws closer to televisions, but no clear front-runner emerged this year at CES; certainly not Google.

There was a television roughly every 10 feet last week in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, home to the massive CES gathering of the geeks. Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp, and virtually anyone else you can think of that makes a television constructed a sprawling booth to hawk their wares, with an increasing focus on so-called "smart TVs," or TVs that can access content from both the Internet … Read more

Slingbox functionality is on its way to Google TV, according to a new report.

Technology blog ZatzNotFunny is reporting that Sling Media has developed a Web-based application for Google TV that allows users to control their DVR and access programming from the site.

Sling, which is currently showing off the product at the Consumer Electronics Show, reportedly told ZatzNotFunny that the Google TV option features the same interface available on the company's SlingPlayer Mobile Android app, which launched in June.

ZatzNotFunny says the Google TV-optimized site streams content at 1080i and should launch "sometime this year."

Further … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Samsung is showing off two devices running Google TV in its booth here at CES, but employees characterized the unannounced devices as an experiment.

Samsung has not officially thrown its support behind Google TV--Google's ambitious but challenged plan for sophisticated TVs--but it was nonetheless showing off both a standalone set-top box and a Blu-Ray player running the software in a corner of its massive booth here at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Executives speaking on background said the devices were being shown as an "experiment," designed to gauge feedback from Samsung partners as to … Read more

Editors' Note Jan 8, 2011: The Vizio XVT3D6SP series was selected as the winner of CNET's Best of CES award in the TVs category.

Yesterday, Vizio announced that it would ship TVs equipped with the Google TV platform and today it followed up with more specifics on the models, which will form the XVT3D6SP series.

That series, designated by the VIA (Vizio Internet Apps) Plus moniker, will come in two screen sizes: 47-inch and 55-inch. Both are larger than any of Sony's NSX-GT1 models, which are the only other Google TVs officially announced so far.

VIA Plus adds … Read more

With CES fast-approaching, the rumor mill is at full bore, and one of the latest items to come out of it is that Microsoft will be rolling out a "stripped-down version of Windows" that will run on set-top boxes and upcoming TV sets.

The report comes courtesy of The Seattle Times, which says the boxes will cost somewhere in the ballpark of $200, will run the Windows Media Center interface, and will be on the market sometime this year.

As The Times points out, the version of Windows that will be running this TV-friendly interface is not a … Read more

Vizio is the second TV maker, after Sony, to officially announce a television or Blu-ray player with Google TV.

The company is marketing the Google TV feature as part of its VIA (Vizio Internet Apps) Plus platform, an improved version of the Vizio Interactive Apps suite found on current models like our 2010 Editors' Choice XVT3SV series and the new XVT3D650SV.

Vizio's announcement today touted the availability of VIA Plus on TVs and Blu-ray players, in addition to its newly announced smartphones and tablets. According to the company, the platform "combines the convenience of entertainment on demand with … Read more

As another year dawns, life is still pretty good for Google but ever more complicated.

With that, let's reexamine the five New Year's resolutions we outlined for Google at the start of 2010 to see how the company lived up to that unsolicited advice, and offer more of the same for 2011.

First, last year's report card:

1. Don't forget where you came from: This resolution involved priority No. 1 at Google: remain the world's leading provider of Internet searches by a comfortable margin. It passed this test with ease: despite significant investment on Microsoft'… Read more

Rumors are surfacing that Logitech has ordered a production freeze on its Revue set-top box until Google finishes upgrades to Google TV.

Blog Digitimes.com says Logitech ordered Gigabyte Technology, which makes components for the device, to suspend production of the Revue until sometime in January.

Nancy Morrison, a Logitech spokeswoman, told CNET she couldn't comment on the report about the production suspension but said Logitech continues to ship the device to consumers.

Earlier this week, The New York Times reported that Google had asked several TV manufacturers, including Toshiba and LG Electronics, to postpone plans to unveil their … Read more

If Google managers hope to license premium TV shows and films for Google TV and YouTube, they should do what Netflix did and "build relationships through traditional means."

That's the recommendation of one studio executive who was referring to a tradition that has helped forge partnerships in the movie industry for decades: doing lunch. Sounds simple, but in an industry that relies so heavily on personal relationships forged over arugula salads and sparkling water, Google's usual data-heavy, interchangeable-executive approach doesn't cut it. In Hollywood, it seems, Google has had a people problem.

Google managers now … Read more