GoogleTV

[BobMurdoch]

Been asleep at the switch on this one (heard about the announcement, but didn't realize it was this close), but this looks really compelling to me. I've been jonesing for a way to browse the web on my bigscreen tv in the family room, and this looks like the way to go.

My question, it sounds like E* is gonna want a new 2 year commitment in order to get it for $179 vs. the $299 retail price. $120 doesn't sound like much of an incentive (especially with the rumored $3 a month fee). I don't need DVR integration THAT badly, but maybe someone can explain to me why being integrated would be a killer app that I couldn't do without.

Otherwise, my plan is to get the Logitech unit at Best Buy for $299 with no monthly fee, and keep my commitment flag clear to use on a new receiver in the next year or so (I have a 722, a 622, a 211 hooked up to an EHD, and an ancient 508 that my daughter uses on her SD TV). All of them are 3-6 years old. I don't need the 922 as I already have a slingbox, and the lack of an EHD option makes it a deal killer for me. I'm assuming all the E* DVR integration is only available with the units purchased direct from E*.

Opinions?

 

[Tweakophyte]

This could be a fun gadget, but I do not want to pay Dish to have this in my a/v chain. Is the gtv fee a requirement for any kind of dish integration, or is it just to subsidize the $179 price? Any thoughts on how things will work if you don't pay the fee?

 

[cditty]

This could be a fun gadget, but I do not want to pay Dish to have this in my a/v chain. Is the gtv fee a requirement for any kind of dish integration, or is it just to subsidize the $179 price? Any thoughts on how things will work if you don't pay the fee?

Without integration, the search won't see DVR programs.

I won't buy the box, but down the line, when I buy a new TV, I will probably get one that has it built in. Of course, by the time I buy a new TV, there is no telling what will be out there.

I jumped off the 'early adopter' bandwagon a couple of years ago. It is a move I have not regretted.

 

[BobMurdoch]

I too have been a recent convert to the NEVER buy version 1.0 bandwagon..... However, Kinect and Google TV are both making me eat my words......

 

[meStevo]

Yeah, it doesn't make sense to type in Battlestar Galactica and get Youtube, website, Netflix, future showtimes (and the option to have it tell the dvr to record them) and no mention of the 20 episodes sitting on my DVR.

It's still a very appealing product, but the inability to do that with any other provider except for Dish, and even then it costs an extra fee, sucks.

Perhaps in time it will come to services like DirecTV, who does expose some data in the form of DirecTVPC, perhaps future CEs will allow for API-like access over the network to an app on the GoogleTV box.

 

[tomcrown1]

This could be a fun gadget, but I do not want to pay Dish to have this in my a/v chain. Is the gtv fee a requirement for any kind of dish integration, or is it just to subsidize the $179 price? Any thoughts on how things will work if you don't pay the fee?

It is $179.00 with a two year contract. The integration with dish is your choice. So it is up to you if you want to pay for the service or not.

Anyone who is a dish subscriber can get the new google box for $179.00 plus a new two year contract. That is true for receivers without a dvr, in this case the integration will not be an option since it only affects the dvr.

 

[emgoodman]

The thing is though I know what I have on my DVR. If I want to watch an episode of BSG from my DVR then would just go into it and play. I would be more interested in looking to see what is on the guide or available to download.

Does anyone know how it will work in getting the Google TV from Dish. Will they be offering at the same time Amazon and BB are? Do you just phone and order it (or do so online). I assume you will not need to schedule an install and that they would just ship out.

 

[Modwild]

Seems like GoogleTV is the exact product Verizon FiosTV already has available for free via its service. For the people, like me, who have DishNetwork and FiosTV, would you agree or disagree with my statement?

We will never have FiosTV in Colorado, so any interaction such as Google TV will have to do. I can't compare and I won't complain about price, because we are so severely limited in our choices in this desolate wasteland.

 

[SpedInFargo]

I'm a bit confused - but I think I no the answer is probably "no".

Can I just hook this up standalone on an upstairs TV without a Dish Receiver and watch recordings from my downstairs DVR via Ethernet? Kind of like a sling receiver or Extender concept?

I would like to have a single DVR in the house and then get a Google TV device for every other TV in the house.

Is this possible?

 

[JTBenson]

I'm a bit confused - but I think I no the answer is probably "no".

Can I just hook this up standalone on an upstairs TV without a Dish Receiver and watch recordings from my downstairs DVR via Ethernet? Kind of like a sling receiver or Extender concept?

I would like to have a single DVR in the house and then get a Google TV device for every other TV in the house.

Is this possible?

No

 

[Modwild]

Anyone think that GoogleTV will ever send your DVR to the internet as the sling does? Will it ever be sling competition? If it did that, I'd preorder one right now.

As it stands, I await the sling adapter and extender. And I hate waiting.

 

[DAVEGTESTR]

Is the purpose of this device so you can watch internet on your TV? And 'integrate' your DVR recordings... Only if GoogleTV had lots of customized ways to view your DVR recordings, by show or date of show, in folders, like an improvement on the 722K DVR recording list, would I consider it. Also, I'm looking for MLB.TV integration.

 

[David]

Does anyone know if the integration with the DVR includes the EHD as well?

 

[BobMurdoch]

I'm a bit confused - but I think I no the answer is probably "no".

Can I just hook this up standalone on an upstairs TV without a Dish Receiver and watch recordings from my downstairs DVR via Ethernet? Kind of like a sling receiver or Extender concept?

I would like to have a single DVR in the house and then get a Google TV device for every other TV in the house.

Is this possible?

Think of it as a browser device with a few hooks into the E* box, as well as a passthrough of the AV output through the HDMI cable. If you can do it with a laptop, you can do it with this.... Downloading content from Hulu, YouTube, NBC.COM type sites, etc. It won't imitate a sling player as it isn't pulling content from your receiver through the ethernet line (hence, hooking it upstairs wouldn't work as a slingcatcher type device)... Unless you want to run a huge length of HDMI cable through the walls as it is between your receiver and your tv, in which case it would work IF you had a UHF remote, as it gets its TV signal from the receiver box HDMI output, not the ethernet.

Did I explain that right?

It still beats the pants out of hooking up a dedicated PC to the TV. This is what the old WebTV boxes aspired to be.... (they failed because they could only view static webpages, which were quickly falling out of vogue at the time). It will be nice to have a wireless keyboard on my lap again like 2001 when I had it with the original Dishplayer (which was a glorified WebTV box)..... Old timers, a moment of silence while Tommy Tutone's Jenny music plays..... (the code that used to clear the myriad of errors was 8675309, Jenny's phone number in the song)

 

[BobMurdoch]

Is the purpose of this device so you can watch internet on your TV? And 'integrate' your DVR recordings... Only if GoogleTV had lots of customized ways to view your DVR recordings, by show or date of show, in folders, like an improvement on the 722K DVR recording list, would I consider it. Also, I'm looking for MLB.TV integration.

Forgot about that! Extra Innings comes back to Dish TVs!

Hmm.

 

[lakebum431]

Does anyone know if the integration with the DVR includes the EHD as well?

Good question. I would hope so!

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Forgot about that! Extra Innings comes back to Dish TVs!

Hmm.

It could, after all Roku has MLB Extra Innings now too.

 

[Modwild]

Does anyone know if the integration with the DVR includes the EHD as well?

I have a definitive answer to that! No. Nor does it integrate computer hard drive content. Only DVR and online.

 

[meStevo]

It can stream media from your PC, was confirmed that even MKV was supported. I am not sure how that is displayed or if it's integrated into the search... given the device is based around it's ability to search and find meda, I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect it to index available shared drives on the network.

 

[David]

I have a definitive answer to that! No. Nor does it integrate computer hard drive content. Only DVR and online.

Too bad. Nothing ever works completely the way you would like it to...