Google TV Review: Sony's Blu-Ray / Google TV Set-Top Device, NSZ-GT1
Posted: Tuesday, October 19, 2010
by Bruce Horst
WryteStuff
I want my Google TV! So much so that yesterday I cancelled my Logitech Revue pre-order, which is currently the only other set-top Google TV device available. (The Revue is set to ship by the end of this month.)
Using a DVR
This review is different than anything I could find on the Internet, because I'm not trying to find an addition to my cable TV. I don't have cable TV. As I recently outlined in this article, my household has kicked the cable TV habit, sticking it to the Man, saving a bunch of money, and expanding our viewing options.
It turns out, as I suspected, that you don't need to have a DVR or cable service to use Google TV. If you already have cable and a DVR, part of the brilliance of the device is that it can control and search your DVR and even display video from your DVR at the same time as it displays web video. Picture-in-picture has been around for decades and no one uses it. I know I don't use it. Fortunately this isn't required for Google TV.
It is required that your TV have an HDMI input, however, as the Google TV doesn't output composite, component or S-video. If your TV doesn't have HDMI then you probably shouldn't be spending your money on a Google TV.
Price
The Sony Google TV costs $399 while the Logitech Revue Google TV costs $299. One main difference is that the Sony Google TV comes with a built-in Blu-Ray player. The Revue comes with a large keyboard and has an optional hand-held keyboard available for an additional $129. The Sony comes with a hand-held keyboard which works as a universal remote. Because of this, I think the Sony is definitely a better buy. I haven't had the small Revue keyboard in my hands, but I can tell you that Sony's expertise in making video game controllers (such as for the Playstation 3) really comes through. This controller feels comfortable in your hands so that even someone with big, clumsy hands like me can easily navigate the system.
Setup
The setup is pretty straight forward. It was a little bit odd that it requires you to adjust the screen size, then update the Google TV, then adjust the screen size again. No big deal. It took me about 20 minutes to set it up completely, including downloading and installing the first update which is said to take 30 minutes itself.
Searching for TV Shows
The core feature of the Google TV is supposed to be the ability to search everywhere for TV shows from one location. This would be even better if I had the device connected to a DVR, but it works OK without a DVR. It still will display TV shows that are available over the major networks, even though they aren't available online. And if they are available online but only as a podcast, it doesn't show them as available to subscribe to. This has got to be a bug. For example, I searched for "NBC Nightly News" and it displayed the information for the NBC Nightly News, but it didn't show that it was available as a podcast.
Podcasts
Actually, it took me a while to figure this out. For some reason, when you used the Google TV to search for TV shows, it doesn't display any results from podcasts. I eventually used the built-in Chrome web browser to find some podcasts which I knew were available and subscribed to them through their web pages.
I should point out that the term podcast is often misunderstood with Internet video. Most people think of a podcast as audio-only, available to listen to through your iPod. The reality is that the term is used for audio and video files. These files are usually made available through what's called an RSS file, which is an easy way for devices such as the Google TV to know when a new file is available. You can subscribe to an RSS feed and your device, whether it is a Google TV, iPod, or other RSS feed aggregator, can notify you when a new episode is available, and possibly download the newest episodes automatically.
I think they are doing a dis-service to Internet video to continue to call them 'podcasts' when these videos often rival the quality of Internet video from the major networks. Eventually, I believe we will all be watching TV from RSS feeds. Instead of staying home on a particular night of the week to watch that one favorite show, we will instead simply get a notification when a new episode of that one favorite show is available, and we can watch it whenever it is most convenient. End of rant.
Eventually I discovered that the Google TV has a list of available video podcasts if you view "Queue" and then "Explore Podcasts." This is not very intuitive and the fact that these podcasts aren't displayed in search results is a glaring flaw.
Comparing the Google TV to the Apple TV
If you've read my previous post, then you know that I have had an Apple TV for a few years. It's interesting to me that the list of podcasts that the Google TV lists is very similar to the list that the Apple TV lists. Not that I think that Google copied Apple, but instead I believe that these are the best of what's available for Internet Video.
What I think is interesting here is that while the Apple TV is a closed system, it is suspected that the Google TV is the opposite of this.
To get a podcast to appear on an Apple TV, you must create an Apple iTunes account and submit the RSS feed for consideration. This maintains a level of quality as many feeds are rejected.
Google on the other hand starts you with a nice list of podcasts, and then lets you manually subscribe to your own favorite RSS feeds for podcasts. It is suspected that when people subscribe to RSS feeds using their Google TV, Google monitors this and can then add the RSS feed to their preset list of podcasts. This is, at the core, the difference between how Apple and Google operates. There are benefits to both open and closed systems. I'm fortunate that I have both.
The Apple TV uses iTunes for premium content (content that you pay for.) The Google TV in its first iteration has several places where you can buy premium content, and competition is good! Again, I could make the open system and closed system comparisons. This can only be good for Google TV owners.
Apps
A great benefit to the Google TV is the ability for the system to run third-party apps. Currently, Google's Marketplace doesn't offer Google TV apps, but there is a notification that says they will be available in 2011. It's very cool to have a device which updates itself regularly with new features. It's like having Christmas, several times a year!
There are a few apps that come pre-installed on the Google TV. Apps like Google Chrome, Napster, NBA Game Time, Netflix, Pandora, Twitter and a few others. I fired up the Netflix and twitter apps. Kinda cool to be able to tweet from your TV, but I can hardly imagine doing this ever again. The Netflix app is very basic, not allowing you to select movies or shows unless they are already in your Netflix queue. They will eventually have to change this.
YouTube
YouTube has an interesting feature called "lean back." It's supposed to allow you to watch YouTube videos more like you were leaning back to watch regular television. You can choose from a few pre-selected categories of videos like the latest, entertainment, featured and news & politics. I think this will grow on me over time.
Conclusion
I love my Google TV. It still might not be ready for prime-time, but it shows promise. In it's current state, it would comfortably allow me to disconnect my computer from my TV as it is a capable replacement. Eventually it will allow me to disconnect my Apple TV as well.
I guess I think of this like I think of the original iPhone 1.0. It didn't have the app store and it wasn't nearly as intuitive as it is now. But it didn't take long to become a device which many consider irreplaceable!
(Disclaimer: I am a Google fanboy, and I earn my living through Google AdSense.)
Update: October 28th, 2010
NBC, ABC and CBS all appear to be blocking Google TV now. There is an option to cloak the Google TV user agent string, which worked for a day or two, but now is still blocked. From what I'm reading, the networks say they don't make money on their programming unless it is viewed through cable. My WindowsXP computer connected to my TV still works, so I'm using this for shows only available through the web browser. This is an awkward solution for a problem that the networks won't be able to hold off forever. Do they want us to watch their shows or not?
I hope there is a compromise reached soon between Google and the networks, but I'm not betting on it. I also hope that more, good Internet-only shows become available, making the network shows obsolete.
I've tasted the good life of Internet TV. There's no going back!
Update: November 10, 2010
It seems that Google is at an impasse with the major networks. I haven't been able to watch videos from the major network web sites since the first week I had my Google TV. Alas I've returned my Google TV to Best Buy, stating that it didn't work with the major networks and they were happy to give me my money back.
I can still watch video from the network websites on the computer connected to my TV. After a week of not even turning on the Google TV I decided enough was enough. I discovered a DVR with dual digital tuners from Channel Master, of all companies, and I ordered it with my returned money. I'll post an updated when I have the new device hooked up and operating.
This Article has been viewed 2,582 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Greg's right re geekdom, Bruce - actually I think there has to be a new category for you altogether. I love what has motivated you to explore all these possibilities and how you've put it all together to claim a new freedom, it's delightful. Stick it to the man!!
Great story. I wish I had one. I will wait for the next generation to come out and go for it.
This is like going to school. I am catching up thanks to articles like yours. My grandchild said the other day. "Grandpa, I am waiting for one TV like thing that does everything. Absolutely everything." I guess he is a key demographic. I am still catching up. Thanks for your article.
To be honest, you lost me. Blu-Ray, RSS feed, HDMI input? I watch two shows and confess I don't know how to work our what-ever-you-call-it, to play movies. I should learn. But for the moment I'm going to print off your article and leave it for my husband to read. This is his department. I can tell you put a lot of research into it and will save a lot of work and time for a lot of people. Thanks Bruce, hope you enjoy your new google tv or what-ever-you-call-it.
Great stuff, Sir Isaac Fanboy. I got to get that thing! I'd wait around for the new generation, but at my age I never know if I'll be around when it comes along, so I do everything I can, as quickly as I can. hehe Then I can lay around and take a nap while watching my computer, instead of my TV. Good day.
Thanks for sharing this article. Good information.
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