It sounds like you are not using the cable functionality all that much. I don't have cable and I thought Google TV wouldn't have much value without it. Do you think this is correct or is it functional enough with just over-the-air and the Internet?
On Wednesday 29 December 2010 15:19:02 Mike Wolfson wrote: > There has been a lot of press lately, about Google asking > manufacturers to delay showing their TV products at CES, and asking > Logitech to stop production (which turned out to be false). The > general feeling (in the press at least) is that Google TV is not ready > for prime time, and basically, just a bad product. > > My experience with this product has been very positive so far. I > didn't have internet access on my TV (a Tivo, Blueray, Roku, etc) > before, so maybe I don't have much to go on. I also received the > Google TV for free from Google through a seeding program, which may > make me more forgiving (as opposed to if I had spent $300 of my hard > earned bucks on it). > > Setup was a breeze. I just plugged it in, put the HDMI out from my > Satellite box into it, then connected it to my TV, and turned it on. > Of course, it immediately downloaded new software (which I knew was > going to happen). I have heard different experiences from Roku users > (for instance, you need to physically plug the box into Ethernet to > get the initial software update). > > The software is pretty good. I was able to connect it to my network > quickly, and can stream media directly from my Windows 7 computer. I > also tried plugging a USB drive into the back, and was able to play a > movie from that. I wouldn't say it is completely intuitive (I did > have to do some searching to figure out how to do some things), but > once I found them, everything just works. I guess, this is consistent > with the Android experience in general - not completely brain dead to > use, but powerful, once you figure it out. I was able to teach my > wife, and father-in-law (neither of them are super technical) how to > use the device pretty easily, so I guess the learning curve isn't too > steep. I find the UI to be responsive, which is very important in a > TV (any sort of lag would be problematic on this sort of device). I > am happy with the amount of content available (basically, all I need > is Netflix and the Internet, I don't care about Hulu or the other > services that are blocked). > > I have a pretty fast Internet connection, and have had flawless > streaming from Netflix, and when watching online video (mostly CNET > and YouTube). I am surprised that I don't have more problems, because > my Wifi is a little spotty (due to the construction of my house, and > the location of the router, etc). The box must do a good job of > caching, because I haven't seen many video glitches. > > Of course, all is not well in Google TV-land. The hardware is pretty > awful. The Logitech keyboard is very awkward to use (and way too > big), and it is necessary to switch between buttons and mouse > navigation fairly often to get things done. The UI certainly is in > need of some refinement. There are a variety of main categories on > the left (ie. Applications, Spotlight, Most Used, etc) that are pretty > much all the same thing. The picture in a picture functionality isn't > implemented real well (although, the recent update was supposed to > address some of this stuff). As with a lot of early Google products, > the UI is fairly un-refined. Some of the apps aren't implemented real > well (for instance, Pandora continues to play, even after you have > navigate away from it, and launched another video stream), and the > early Netflix didn't allow you to add videos to your instant Que (but > the newest release fixed that). > > It probably isn't clear to the average user, but I can very clearly > tell that Android is running behind the scenes. I end up using the > Home, Back, Menu, and Search buttons a lot (although it took me a > while to even find the menu button, on the keyboard). I look forward > to getting an SDK for this, so I start developing apps (as far as I > know, it hasn't been announced yet) - although, I haven't really come > up with a killer app idea yet. > > Bottom line, I am confused about all the negative press about the > Google TV. I really love it. I found it easy to setup, fairly easy > to use (after a small learning curve), and pretty robust (it hasn't > crashed on me). I am super excited to have Internet on my TV for the > first time, and can't imagine ever living without this product again. > The current Google TV is clearly an early product, but is far more > polished than the media and general reviews are making it out to be. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en.
