Android TV

Update: HBO confirmed to GigaOM that its in talks regrading offering support for Chromecast in the near future.

When Google announced the Chromecast last week, it revealed handful of content providers that are available to ‘cast’ to your TV. GigaOm is now reporting, however, that both Vimeo and Redbox Instant will soon be making their way to the new $35 streaming stick.

In a statement to the blog, Vimeo’s VP of mobile, Nick Alt had the following to say about Chromecast:

“We’re excited about the emerging opportunities bridging mobile to Connected TV and we look forward to offering Chromecast support in our products.”

The report also states that Redbox will also be bringing its Instant streaming service to Chromecast. Plex, a service that focuses mainly on brining local files to your big screen, also says that it is “actively investigating and optimistic” for Chromecast support.

Wow, lots of interest in Chromecast and Plex. Yes, we've ordered a few of them :-)

— Plex (@plex) July 24, 2013

Finally, GTV Hacker has also uncovered some configuration files that hint at tests for HBO Go as well as the services that Chromecast already supports.

While none of these services have specific time frames for release, it looks like Google will be moving a pretty quickly to beef up the streaming services it supports. 
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Just a few days after its announcement, Google’s new Chromecast stick has already been rooted. The rooting process, as detailed by GTV Hacker, is similar to almost every Android phone. During the announcement last week, Google said that the Chromecast was powered by Chrome OS, but GTV Hacker has found something different.

The blog says that after rooting and doing a little digging around within the software, it looks like the Chromecast is running software closer to Android or Google TV, not Chrome OS as Google implied. While this doesn’t mean all that much for the end user, it does leave the door open for an eventual port of the full Google TV operating to the tiny HDMI stick or the ability to install standalone apps at some point.

We had a lot of internal discussion on this, and have concluded that it’s more Android than ChromeOS. To be specific, it’s actually a modified Google TV release, but with all of the Bionic / Dalvik stripped out and replaced with a single binary for Chromecast. Since the Marvell DE3005 SOC running this is a single core variant of the 88DE3100, most of the Google TV code was reused. So, although it’s not going to let you install an APK or anything, its origins: the bootloader, kernel, init scripts, binaries, are all from the Google TV.

We are not ruling out the ability for this to become a Google TV “stick”.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google has been working on an Android-powered set-top box, so it’s possible that it the device may be some sort of advanced variation of the Chromecast. 
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We already got a brief look inside Google’s new Chromecast device that revealed 4GB of flash memory and a Marvell DE3005 system-on-a-chip, but today iFixit performed its ritual tear down of the device giving us specifics on everything packed into the HDMI streaming solution.

The tear down confirmed the Marvell system-on-a-chip and 4GB of flash memory, but also found 512 MB DDR3L SDRAM, and an AzureWave AW-NH387 802.11 b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth and FM Combo chip. It’s isn’t, however, assigning a repairability score to the Chromecast, as there isn’t much inside to repair. Here’s the break down of internal components: 
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Google is clearly serious about its intentions to make a sizeable push into the living-room market, as Android Police spotted a small clue revealing that Android 4.3 has added support for 4k displays.

Google has added a new DPI category to Android: XXXHDPI. This is for screens with an approximate DPI of six hundred and forty. Did you think we were stopping at 1080p?

Android engineer Dianne Hackborn is quoted as confirming the intent behind this:

A typical use of this density would be 4K television screens — 3840×2160 … 
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At its breakfast event this morning, Google officially confirmed the Chromecast, which is a device that lets you “cast” content from your computer, smartphone, and tablet to your big screen TV. While most people don’t have their hands on the device yet, Google has just released the official Cast extension for Chrome.

The Google Cast extension enables you to find and play content on your Chromecast device from your Chrome browser. When on Cast optimized sites like YouTube and Netflix, you’ll see new options that let you play video on your TV via Chromecast – using your computer as a remote to browse for videos and to control playback. You can also cast any of your tabs in Chrome to your TV, letting you enjoy sites, photos, or even video from the best screen in your home.

The Chromecast itself is available from a variety of retailers, including Best Buy and Amazon.

Google just seemingly ‘cast’ its Google TV project to the curb.  As a much simpler version of GoogleTV, the leaked Chromecast allows you to do what you can now do on Google TV: pushing content from both Netflix and Youtube to your TV.  Unlike Airplay, the Chromecast stick allows the original device to turn off or go to sleep. It functions as a standalone streaming device, awaiting orders from an iOS device, Android device, or Chrome browser on a PC, Mac or Chromebook Pixel (strangely, other Chromebooks need not apply). 

Google has also baked in iOS support, which will allow users of both platforms to control Netflix or Youtube. You can also broadcast a tab in the Chrome Browser.

Google Play music and movies can also ‘cast’ to the best speakers in your house as long as those are connected to your TV. Pandora is coming soon.

It will be available from Google Play, Amazon and Best Buy as well as other retailers. We’ll have a review up as soon as possible. 
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Google already has its feet into the TV space with its somewhat neglected Google TV platform, as well as its recently launched cable TV service as part of Google Fiber in select states. Today, The Wall Street Journal reports that the company has entered negotiations with media companies for a new internet TV streaming service that provides cable TV-style programming:

Google Inc. has approached media companies about licensing their content for an Internet TV service that would stream traditional TV programming, people familiar with the matter say.

If the Web giant goes ahead with the idea, it would join several other companies planning to offer such “over-the-top” services, delivering cable TV-style packages of channels over broadband connections. Chip company Intel Corp. and Sony Corp.are both working on similar offerings, while Apple Inc has pitched various TV licensing ideas to media companies in the past couple of years.

Google has even apparently demoed the product in meetings with programmers in recent months. According to the report, it would differ from Netflix and Hulu by offering a television experience similar to traditional cable companies but through the internet. In other words, “offering conventional channels, allowing consumers to flip through channels just as they would on cable.”
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Google has been accused of using “coercive sales tactics” in an attempt to pressure Smart TV manufacturers to adopt its own Google TV platform for YouTube rather than HTML5 based approaches, reports Korean news site ETNews.

Smart TV operators who opted for open-source HTML5 in order to avoid dependance on Google, have bumped into an obstacle – YouTube […] According to industry insiders, Google has demanded HTML5-based Smart TV operators should place the YouTube app on the main homepage and pass browser conformity tests [which] take up to several months.

An industry insider said “Telling us where the YouTube app should be placed is an act of coercive sales tactics.”

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We haven’t been getting a lot of updates on the Google TV front lately, but today Google made an announcement on its blog that the Redbox Instant by Verizon movie streaming subscription service is coming to Google TV.

The app delivers the full Redbox Instant by Verizon experience right to your living room. This includes access to your subscription disc and streaming package, and ability to purchase and rent the latest new releases from the Redbox Instant store.

On top of streaming, purchases and rentals, the Redbox app for Google TV will also allow users to reserve a disc for local pickup.

The service will initially be rolling out to select devices including: the 47G2 and 55G2 Google TV-enabled Smart TVs from LG, NETGEAR’s NeoTV Prime with Google TV, the Sony Internet Player NSZ-GS7, and the Vizio Co-Star.

The Redbox Instant by Verizon app for Google TV is available on Google Play now. Google TV users can sign up for the service now through the app on their device or on the web here. 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNOsB8tRmWU

Lost in the shuffle of today’s events is that Google TV is getting significant updates today.

Today, Google TV is moving to the latest version of Android (Jelly Bean, 4.2.2), and we’ve refactored Google TV so that our TV OEM partners can update to future versions of Android in a matter of weeks rather than months. For developers, this means you can build TV experiences using the latest Android APIs, including the NDK.

Today Google TV is also moving to the latest version of Chrome, and from now on Google TV benefits from Chrome updates on the same six week cycle that you’ve come to expect from Chrome. In Chrome on Google TV, we’ve added support for hardware-based content protection, enabling developers to provide premium TV content in HD within their web apps.

Google TV has always been a(t least a) generation behind Android phones and you have to wonder if Andy Rubin’s move away from Android is allowing the YouTube group that runs GoogleTV more access to core Android features. Word on the Street is that Rubin and YouTube boss “couldn’t be in the same room together”.

Speaking of YouTube, the GoogleTV Youtube App got a facelift today with the following additions:

– New home screen interface.
– Enhanced video playback controls.
– Support for paid subscriptions.

Update: LG is on board. Press release and 4.2.2 demo below
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Following in the footsteps of Apple and Google attempts at the set-top-box market, Amazon is planning to release a set-top-box, according to Bloomberg. 

They say the box will plug into TVs and give users access to Amazon’s expanding video offerings. Those include its a la carte Video on Demand store, which features newer films and TV shows, and its Instant Video service, which is free for subscribers to the Amazon Prime two-day shipping package. The Amazon set-top box will compete with similar products like the Roku, Apple TV and the Boxee Cloud DVR, along with more versatile devices like the Playstation 3 and the Xbox. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.

The device is reportedly being developed in Amazon’s Cupertino based labs and could launch this fall. The project is reportedly being spearheaded by a former Apple and Cisco employee:

The project is being run by Malachy Moynihan, a former vice president of emerging video products at Cisco (CSCO) who worked on the networking company’s various consumer video initiatives. Moynihan also spent nine years at Apple (AAPL) during the 1980s and 1990s.

Perhaps this future product is the reason that Apple and Amazon have no deal for Amazon content streaming on the Apple TV.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvKd7N8ifhI

9to5Google gave you a demo yesterday of the Archos Android-powered GamePad coming to the United States market in the next couple of months. While at the Archos booth on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center for CES this week, we also got the rundown on its new “TV Connect” Android 4.1.1-powered TV product. The set-top box packs a 1.5GHz “Smart Multi Core” CPU, 8GB of storage (microSD card slot up to 32GB), and 1GB of RAM, and it comes with a hybrid game controller/QWERTY keyboard that also includes Wiimote-like gesture support. The TV Connect will retail for $130 this February.

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As the holidays quickly approach, Mountain View-based Google has rolled out Amazon’s Instant Video service to the Google TV. Google is beginning with LG’s line as the first batch of supported devices and promises more will be able to download Instant Video soon. It’s worth noting Amazon has always had an app placed on the Google TV, but it just loads Amazon’s web page which users have found works half the time thanks to Flash.

For those unfamiliar, Amazon Instant Video offers United States customers 140,000 movie and television titles, all of which are available to rent or purchase. The users that will really benefit from this addition is people who buy and store their media with Amazon, rather other services like Google Play, and Kindle Fire owners who don’t have access to anything but Amazon.

There’s already a long list of devices that support Amazon Instant video, including Xbox 360, PS3, and many TVs, so LG Google TV owners will definitely be pleased. To add the app to their Google TV, the media-obsessed can download it from Google Play.

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Currently available in Kansas City, Kan., Google Fiber has proved to be a disruptive new service from the folks out of Mountain View. The service not only offers groundbreaking Internet speeds “100 times faster than broadband,” but also a radical new television service that offers content from a slew of sources: broadcast TV, cable, Netflix, and other Internet services. Google offers three plans: free Internet with a $300 construction fee, $70 per month for Gigabit Internet, and Gigabit + TV for $120 per month that includes a Nexus 7 to use as a remote control.

While we’ve seen brief encounters with the service, BTIG Research (via AllThingsD) has now given us a solid hands-on of the Google’s Fiber TV offering. The research group uses still shots to explain the features; but nonetheless, by the end of it, you’ll probably wish Google Fiber was available in your area. You can check out the video below to see the 905.28mbps down and 794.59mbps up speeds and how the Nexus 7 and TV interfaces work off each other.

Full video below:

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As the television race heats up, Google said it is working on an open alternative to Apple’s AirPlay—a technology first introduced in iOS 4.2 that allowed users to share photo, audio, and video to the Apple TV.

Google had a similar streaming product to the Apple TV this summer—the Nexus Q— that allowed for sharing of content via an Android device to the TV. However, the product flopped and didn’t see the light of day for many customers. Additionally, in Google’s move to try to compliment streaming to the TV, the folks at YouTube launched an AirPlay-like feature last week that allows users to beam YouTube videos from their Android device straight to the television.

Speaking to GigaOm, Google Product Manager Timbo Drayson made it clear that Google has big plans in the space and wants to move forward. “We really want to move the whole industry forward,” Drayson told the publication.

How will Google move the industry forward? It may just partner with as many partners as possible. It worked with Android, so why wouldn’t it work here? Drayson said Google is “actively working with other companies” to implement a new AirPlay-like standard. Remember, Google also has its Google TV platform that this could play nicely off.

Furthermore, GigaOm examined how Google plans to move past just beaming video:

And it’s not just about remote control functionality and beaming a video from your mobile phone to the TV we are talking about. The new protocol makes it possible for data to flow in both directions, Drayson explained, which would enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what’s happening on live TV as well. Also on the roadmap: beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen.

Related articles

• YouTube’s Android app now steams video to Google TV from Android device (9to5google.com)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TNOsB8tRmWU]

Yesterday, we told you about the updated YouTube apps for Google TV and Android that bring a new synced experience, but today Google announced two other big new features for Google TV: Voice Search and PrimeTime.

On the Official Google TV blog, Google walked us through the new features that will roll out to LG devices first starting this week. The most notable new feature is the addition of voice search, allowing users to not only perform Google searches with their voice, but also open apps, press play on a YouTube video, or speak a command, such as “CNN”, to navigate directly to a channel.

Google also explained that questions, such as “how to tie a bow tie,” would bring up instructional videos on YouTube. Part of the new voice search experience is a new visual search results page:

Try “search movies with Jeff Bridges” and see results in our new, more visual search results page.

Google is also introducing a new app called “PrimeTime” in the update that is essentially a rebranding of the old TV & Movies app it added last year:
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Google is not slowing down in bringing more content to new countries through Google Play. This time, Google TV users will get access to more content starting with a handful of new countries next week. Earlier this month, Google introduced an update to Google TV users that allows purchases and rentals of Google Play content including movies, music, and TV shows. Today, Google announced that it would roll out the Google Play music and movies to new countries starting Nov. 13. Google made the announcement on the Google TV Google+ page:

Starting November 13th, +Google Play music and movies will now be available on your #GoogleTV in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia.