google tv dvr

5735 Views 22 Replies 18 Participants Last post by Scyber, Nov 30, 2011

tomm1079

Discussion Starter · Nov 27, 2011

How long until we see a Google TV DVR. Everyone i know who has google TV loves it and swears how nice it is. Google bought Sage so IMO it is just a matter of time. Maybe even CES this year.

With the way google works making money off ads this will really hurt tivo if they do not charge a sub and just show the same amount of ads that tivo does.

Thoughts?

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

cwerdna

· #2 · Nov 27, 2011

Are you joking about regarding "Everyone i know who has google TV loves it and swears how nice it is"? They're selling very poorly and even Logitech has called it a mistake and is dropping it.

Other than panelists on the TWiT podcast (who have panned it), I only know of one person who got one for his parents and was recently trying to unload it before Logitech decided it drop it. As he put it, the UI was too hard and confusing for his parents.

uw69

· #3 · Nov 27, 2011

Without major network support Google TV is somewhat limited. It's a niche product. Some folks love it others panned it. I've had mine for three or four months now and for $99 the Logitech Revue is ok.

DVR for Google...interesting but what would the market strategy be?

dianebrat

· #4 · Nov 27, 2011

tomm1079 said:
How long until we see a Google TV DVR. Everyone i know who has google TV loves it and swears how nice it is. Google bought Sage so IMO it is just a matter of time. Maybe even CES this year.

With the way google works making money off ads this will really hurt tivo if they do not charge a sub and just show the same amount of ads that tivo does.

Thoughts?

Not nearly as important as Google buying Motorola Mobility and having access to all their cable TV business including STB's and DVRs, methinks they will be busy with that for a while.

tomm1079

Discussion Starter · #5 · Nov 27, 2011

cwerdna said:
Are you joking about regarding "Everyone i know who has google TV loves it and swears how nice it is"? They're selling very poorly and even Logitech has called it a mistake and is dropping it.

No i am serious. I know around 7 different people who bought the logitech ones at $99 and they all love it. They are all tech people but still i have not heard one bad thing about it from people i know.

slowbiscuit

· #6 · Nov 27, 2011

Well they did buy out Sage TV, so it's possible that they'll release a DVR. But I doubt a major CE manufacturer would pick it up given how the Logitech unit bombed in the market. They lost a ton of money (and the CEO lost his job) firesale'ing it at $99.

aadam101

· #7 · Nov 28, 2011

Google wants everything in the cloud. Local storage will be a thing of the past

LoadStar

· #8 · Nov 28, 2011

The biggest flaw with Google TV was that it was a bolt-on to existing set-top equipment, such as a DVR. That makes it flexible to work with most setups, but also makes it awkward to work with that same equipment because you have to work with a "middleman" device.

If there were a GoogleTV that featured a cablecard slot, digital cable tuner, and DVR features, I would think it would have far more traction. I certainly would give it a look-see, while I wouldn't seriously consider it the way it is now.

Series3Sub

· #9 · Nov 28, 2011

There really are some for whom the Google TV was just right. But for most, it was a disappointment. It probably works out to something like for every 3 people who hate Google TV, one likes it.

aaronwt

· #10 · Nov 28, 2011

Series3Sub said:
There really are some for whom the Google TV was just right. But for most, it was a disappointment. It probably works out to something like for every 3 people who hate Google TV, one likes it.

And those people that like it aren't using multichannel audio over HDMI. Because it could not handle stereo audio properly and would always send out 5.1/7.1 to a receiver over HDMI so no post processing could be applied. So the result was listening to content like it was in the 80's, audio only coming from the front left and front right channels instead of being able to apply ProLogic or DTS Neo processing to create a 5.1/7/1 soundfield.

classicsat

· #11 · Nov 28, 2011

dianebrat said:
Not nearly as important as Google buying Motorola Mobility and having access to all their cable TV business including STB's and DVRs, methinks they will be busy with that for a while.

Most providers who buy boxes from Motorola use their own choice of middleware. Google could put themselves as a Middleware option, if they want to think like the providers.

Now, they could use their Motorola resouces to make a retail Motorola Google TV/Sage DVR.

mattack

· #12 · Nov 29, 2011

aaronwt said:
And those people that like it aren't using multichannel audio over HDMI. Because it could not handle stereo audio properly and would always send out 5.1/7.1 to a receiver over HDMI so no post processing could be applied. So the result was listening to content like it was in the 80's, audio only coming from the front left and front right channels instead of being able to apply ProLogic or DTS Neo processing to create a 5.1/7/1 soundfield.

Wait, isn't this the same problem as Tivos not giving sound effects(*) over some connections?

(*) i.e. the annoying bloop bloop sound effects that I turn off instantly.

Series3Sub

· #13 · Nov 29, 2011

mattack said:
Wait, isn't this the same problem as Tivos not giving sound effects(*) over some connections?

(*) i.e. the annoying bloop bloop sound effects that I turn off instantly.

I've come across that with my new Premiere, as others have. No such problem with the S3 and HDXL connected to the SAME HDMI input and receiver and TV. Premiere is still our odd bird.

shwru980r

· #14 · Nov 29, 2011

It wasn't worth $300, but for $99 adding a browser with a keyboard and touch pad to a TV is worth it to me. Even though the Revue is a middle-ware device, it's always on, and if you leave it set to your set top box, you don't even know it's there. It also up-scales the Tivo HD to 1080P.

Chris Gerhard

· #15 · Nov 29, 2011

LoadStar said:
The biggest flaw with Google TV was that it was a bolt-on to existing set-top equipment, such as a DVR. That makes it flexible to work with most setups, but also makes it awkward to work with that same equipment because you have to work with a "middleman" device.

Google TV is marketed to work with your existing cable or satellite STB but in reality it works fine as a stand alone device or built in to an HDTV. I think the suggestion to use it in conjunction with cable or satellite was to try and get the studios and cable and satellite companies to play nice with Google, meaning don't look at Google TV as a cord cutting device.

I own two Logitech Revues, all I use both for is internet streaming and web browsing, there is no reason it needs to have the HDMI output from an STB run through it. OTA along with Google TV means I have cut the cord and have no problem finding something I want to watch when I sit down to watch TV. My Google TV queues have over 100 programs and my TiVo now playing lists have over 100 programs to watch. I don't care whether or not I have the two lists combined and can seamlessly switch between them by selecting a program from either but it is designed to be able to do that. I also don't care about PIP using video from Google TV and TiVo. The best use having a TiVo and Google TV connected by HDMI for me was Google TV provides some guide data for my unsubscribed TiVo it can't get on its own. Unfortunately the single HDMI input on my old HDTV quit working which had a Google TV and unsubscribed TiVo. I don't run subscribed TiVos though Google TV, each device has its own HDMI input.

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ginginlala

· #16 · Nov 30, 2011

See, the reason it'd be great if GoogleTV had DVR -- or, at least, broader DVR integration than just with Dish DVRs -- is that it kinda duplicates everything TiVo does (except, you know, DVR), it just does it in a much faster, sexier, simpler fashion. I want to find something? I click the search button, type in what I'm looking for, and it's revealed. And it's fast.

On the TiVo? I hit TiVo guide, then I navigate to the section with "Find," then I click on Find, then I input what I'm looking for and enjoy 1 second delays every time I type something, occasionally also enjoying inexplicable errors claiming I am not connected to the Internet, or sometimes just resetting the Find menu once I've clicked on the show I'm looking for, and finally the TiVo will return...the exact result I got from the GoogleTV, it just took 5 times as long and was, frankly, a bit irritating.

Hell, it's actually easier and quicker to download a movie from Amazon VOD to my TiVo via Google TV than it is to do that via the TiVo interface. Seriously, think about that: Google TV does a better job of downloading Amazon VOD content to TiVo than TiVo does.

GoogleTV is extremely far from perfect, but the new UI suddenly makes TiVo's UI seem very old, and certainly very slow, by comparison. All it's missing is the ability to record shows in the future.

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dlfl

· #17 · Nov 30, 2011

ginginlala said:
.......GoogleTV is extremely far from perfect, but the new UI .....

New UI? You must be referring to the Sony GTV. The Logitech Revue is still waiting for the Honeycomb update.

That said, I'm satisfied with my Revue (for $99, not for $300) as is. I hear the keyboard can be used as a wireless keyboard with other devices and the Logitech wireless keyboard sells for $99 alone. Netflix quality and performance is better with the Revue than on TiVo. Everything it does is quicker than doing the same thing on a TiVo.

Chris Gerhard

· #18 · Nov 30, 2011

ginginlala said:
See, the reason it'd be great if GoogleTV had DVR -- or, at least, broader DVR integration than just with Dish DVRs -- is that it kinda duplicates everything TiVo does (except, you know, DVR), it just does it in a much faster, sexier, simpler fashion. I want to find something? I click the search button, type in what I'm looking for, and it's revealed. And it's fast.

On the TiVo? I hit TiVo guide, then I navigate to the section with "Find," then I click on Find, then I input what I'm looking for and enjoy 1 second delays every time I type something, occasionally also enjoying inexplicable errors claiming I am not connected to the Internet, or sometimes just resetting the Find menu once I've clicked on the show I'm looking for, and finally the TiVo will return...the exact result I got from the GoogleTV, it just took 5 times as long and was, frankly, a bit irritating.

Hell, it's actually easier and quicker to download a movie from Amazon VOD to my TiVo via Google TV than it is to do that via the TiVo interface. Seriously, think about that: Google TV does a better job of downloading Amazon VOD content to TiVo than TiVo does.

GoogleTV is extremely far from perfect, but the new UI suddenly makes TiVo's UI seem very old, and certainly very slow, by comparison. All it's missing is the ability to record shows in the future.

I think TiVo with Google TV built in would be a great product but I don't believe it will ever happen so two separate boxes are what I plan to live with. TiVo can't make any money now and the requirement of a more powerful and faster processor and far more complicated software sure isn't the solution when it is clear there is no market of significance willing to pay the price necessary to make it happen.

aaronwt

· #19 · Nov 30, 2011

Chris Gerhard said:
I think TiVo with Google TV built in would be a great product but I don't believe it will ever happen so two separate boxes are what I plan to live with. TiVo can't make any money now and the requirement of a more powerful and faster processor and far more complicated software sure isn't the solution when it is clear there is no market of significance willing to pay the price necessary to make it happen.

The last thing I would want if GoogleTV mucking up the audio outputs from my TiVos. From what I've read they still have not fixed the audio output problems over HDMI. I tried GTV and in my use my experience ten years ago using my HTPC on my HDTV was better than what GTV gave me. But just the audio issues alone with google TV were bad enough. I've been using surround receivers for twenty years and GTV made the audio like I was listening to TV in the 80's.

The stereo audio sources are designed to have post processing applied to it but with GTV over HDMI you could not. And I stopped using legacy optical and analog connections many years ago so that has not been an option for me. Optical was great when I started using it in 1995 but I have no desire to use it in 2011. I only want to use one cable for the audio and video connections.

Scyber

· #20 · Nov 30, 2011

It would be interesting to see if Google simply adds dvr functionality via an app. Then you could simply attach a usb HD & tuner. And then install the "Google DVR" app. Or if you don't like the Google DVR app features/interface, you could simply install another DVR app from the Android Market. Need guide listings? Simply browse the market for the Zap2it, TitanTV or schedules direct apps and agree to the subscription fee.

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