I Want My GTV

theodp writes "The NY Times reports that Google and Intel have teamed with Sony to develop a platform called Google TV to bring the Web into the living room through a new generation of TVs and set-top boxes. The three companies have tapped Logitech for peripheral devices, including a remote with a tiny keyboard. Based on Google's Android operating system, the TV technology runs on Intel's Atom chips. Google is expected to deliver a toolkit to outside programmers within the next couple of months, and products based on the software could appear as soon as this summer."

Comments

GTV on PS3?

[blankoboy]

So does this mean we'll be seeing GTV coming to PS3? No, of course not, SONY will want to sell us another set top box for extra $$$ and we'll want to work extra hard to pay for it too!

Oh great, Sony

[elrous0]

If Sony's consistent behavior in the past is any indication, it will be encrypted, region-locked, proprietary, and it will only work with some weird storage or media type that only Sony makes. It will also require you to install a rootkit on your TV and let them search all your media files for pirated songs and movies before you can use it. And you'll have to submit a DNA sample and retina scan to buy one, of course.

Re:Oh great, Sony

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

But it has Google as partner. I can make fun of Google Not Evil(tm) all I want. But if that company is willing to walk away from China, instead of compromising, I figure it is going to be Sony's arm that is going to be twisted, and not the other way around. Further, I think at some point, even the dumbest of the dumbos finally get the message and it is well past time Sony got the message. Betamax, memory stick, rootkits etc are futile battles to fight, leading to at best, Pyrrhic victories.

Re:Oh great, Sony

[ircmaxell]

Well, perhaps that Google is big enough to change Sony's ways (at least in this particular product)..? With Google's resources, Sony needs Google a lot more than Google needs Sony (Imagine how many hardware manufacturers would jump at an exclusive right to make hardware for a GTV style product)... I like the fact that Google's "spreading the wealth" by not sticking exclusively to one hardware company (HTC) for all their physical products. Sure, Sony has made some dumb decisions in the past (and for some dumb is putting it nice), but what remains to be seen is if Google and Sony can play nice together. I wonder if there is a side to this deal that we're not seeing? Like Google exchanging this contract for rights to Sony's media collection at a bottom basement price for a music store? Or perhaps for patent rights? Or perhaps for something I can't even think of...

Re:Oh great, Sony

[Andy Dodd]

It depends on exactly which business unit within Sony they are teaming up with.

I recently broke down and bought a PS3 for two reasons: Blu-Ray, and Final Fantasy XIII. I made some interesting discoveries:
1) Compatible with any USB storage device. Compare to "no third party" locking of Xbox360 proprietary memory. (Wii uses SDHC I think?)
2) You don't have to buy an Eye Toy for the camera. Supposedly any UVC compliant USB camera will work.
3) Same for USB headsets
4) Same for Bluetooth headsets
5) Same for keyboards/mice for browsing and chat
6) Want a bigger hard drive? Put in any 2.5" SATA drive
7) Media playback is UPnP based and supports quite a few formats (MKV being the most notable exception). I can use the PS3 as a MythTV frontend!

That said, TFA talks about Hulu. Knowing Hulu, they will actively take measures to block out this new effort. See their intentional blocking of the PS3 as an example. (Now to view Hulu video on PS3, you need PlayOn or rtmpdump 2.x + ffmpeg + MediaTomb).

Re:Oh great, Sony

[DerekLyons]

But if that company is willing to walk away from China, instead of compromising

Let's wait until they actually do walk away from China before making grandiose claims about them walking away from China, k?

Re:Oh great, Sony

[Andy Dodd]

Net Neutrality applies to service providers delivering content, not the content providers themselves.

Internet on TV? Really?

[Pojut]

We're seriously doing this again? Aside from video services like YouTube, Hulu, Netflix, etc, haven't we learned that Internet on our TV is kind of...lame? Most of us have at least one computer nowadays, and many people have at least a netbook or laptop if they don't have a desktop computer. Internet + TV just seems like a waste of time and money...would anyone be interested in what they are offering here?

Re:Internet on TV? Really?

[elhondo]

Think of it as having an Apple TV or Popcorn Hour device embedded in your TV and I think you'll see there's something of a market there. In addition to TV, you get Hulu, YouTube, Pandora (maybe), and the ability to play recorded media from either a local hard drive or an hdna server. I have a Popcorn hour that I use to stream Hulu and Netflix to (via PlayOn), when watching on my living room TV. It's pretty handy.

Re:everywhere

[nycguy]

And who still thinks Google's fingers aren't everywhere? This will be just another datamining source.

I've been a beta-tester for the "Google toilet", and let me tell you, friend: You don't know the half of it!

I don't get it

[doti]

Why not a computer with tv reception already?

Yes, really

[RingDev]

I have a 48" big screen TV.

I do not have Cable
I do not have Satellite/Dish/DirectTV
I do not have a DVD player
I do not have decent OTA reception

I do have DSL
I do have Netflix
I do have Boxee

Pretty much the only thing that happens on my TV is the Internet. Now if the folks behind Boxee could improve the playback performance I would use nothing else. But as is I still jump out to a web browser for most Hulu content.

-Rick

Re:everywhere

[HamburglerJones]

At first I had privacy concerns with my Google Toilet, but it has so many great features that I came up with a plan: for every one time I actually use the toilet, nine other times I'll flush down a goldfish or some coffee grinds. Knock it if you must, but security through obscurity works!