Neat video, but when I lean back and view it with a practical mindset, all I'm seeing is bells and whistles.
It is a HTPC (ala WD HD TV, O!Play, Apple TV) with the built in ability to make any iPhone or Android device into a high end Harmony remote for your entire home theater.
I guess you could call it bells and whistles but for me there are 3 devices that have revolutionized the way I consume media on my TV.
1) My PVR
2) My Harmony Remote
3) My Media PC (O!Play media player in my case, which has some drawbacks)
I imagine that anyone who has these items would agree with my assessment. Any device which combines these elements certainly will be a favorite for many consumers, regardless of which end of the fanboy spectrum they currently lie.
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Whatever the product Google comes out with I'm sure it will be neutered all to hell in Canada.
You mean before it gets to Canada.
Its developers and clients will see how liberal we Canadians presently are with our media, and the fact that we aren't willing to practically give up our firstborn just to have their products. They'll see less potential for growth because we Canadians don't appreciate being charged more than once for our products, and will pre-emptively neuter it so we can't do what we want with it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rathji
It is a HTPC (ala WD HD TV, O!Play, Apple TV) with the built in ability to make any iPhone or Android device into a high end Harmony remote for your entire home theater.
I too have an AppleTV. My remark was from the perspective of someone who also runs their home entertainment system in a manner such as this. The difference between my set-up and the guy in the video however: He runs all his stuff off his iPhone. I still have to use my remote controls. Bells and whistles. I wouldn't MIND using an iPhone/iPad/iTouch as a remote control, if I had one. :P
Last edited by HeartsOfFire; 07-05-2010 at 12:40 PM.
Its developers and clients will see how liberal we Canadians presently are with our media, and the fact that we aren't willing to practically give up our firstborn just to have their products. They'll see less potential for growth because we Canadians don't appreciate being charged more than once for our products, and will pre-emptively neuter it so we can't do what we want with it.
The Conservatives are hell bent to drag us to the mercy of the media companies. So perhaps my complaint won't mean much by the time this device is released.
Wonder if we'll ever decide that getting double charged for content is morally repugnant and will just give up on it en'masse.
Somewhat related to thread:
I gave the PS3 video store a whirl this weekend. Streamed an HD movie (over 2 hours long) for $6. Really nice experience - far better selection then the Xbox, though the interface is quite atrocious. And cheaper then renting it at Blockbuster (considering I always pay late fees... )
Looks a lot like what many were hoping the Apple TV would be. I understand Apple wants to do this very slowly and methodically so everybody can understand, but Google may press them to move quicker than they originally planned. Or they'll just do what they always do and approach the gate very very slowly and we'll get this next year.
With the release of the CityTV app and the (albeit gibbled) Netflix app, we're starting to see Canada get some apps that could be useful on something like that.
Cherry picking aside. It does look like an interesting device.
Connecting to the PVR looks like a good idea. No need to switch between different devices. Having a full web browser is a nice feature to have. Probably won't be something I would use all the time, but it should work for websites that stream content. Plus TV and web at the same time looks pretty nifty. No word yet about steaming local content though.
And then they'll claim they were the first to do it.
They don't claim to be the first with many things, they do (and will) however claim to be the best. That's their answer to everybody that gets on them for being slow, which when it comes to apple, is pretty much every product they release.
$299 for the Logitech Google TV box. Yikes, that is a lot. I won't be picking up one of those at that price. It seems to have good specs though. Hopefully this will kick Apple in the butt to put out apps on the new Apple TV. I may pick up one when I am down in the states (shouldn't be a problem right?) so I can watch Netflix. Still haven't gotten my Wii Disc...
Every time I see it, I keep waiting for the accompanying Onion article.
This is sony's Google TV remote. If I was Google I'd be freaking out about this thing. It requires two hands! If you're ever looking for an example of why sometimes being free and open like Google can be a negative business model, this would be it.
Every time I see it, I keep waiting for the accompanying Onion article.
This is sony's Google TV remote. If I was Google I'd be freaking out about this thing. It requires two hands! If you're ever looking for an example of why sometimes being free and open like Google can be a negative business model, this would be it.
That is one ugly beast. If they wanted to include a keyboard it should be a slide out keyboard.
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