Google To Sunset Google TV Brand As Its Smart TV Platform Merges With Android

Google to sunset Google TV brand as its smart TV platform merges with Android ? Tech News and Analysis (click for full article)

SUMMARY:
Google is getting ready to say good-bye to Google TV: The company is getting rid of the branding, but will continue to make Android available to TV manufacturers.


-- Google TV is dead, long live Android TV: Three years after launching the first generation of Google TV devices, Google is now looking to rid itself of the brand and realign its smart TV platform efforts more closely with Android. The move is part admission that Google TV failed, part hope that Android will eventually find its place in the living room.

Google apparently isn’t quite ready to announce the switch-over yet; a spokesperson contacted for this story declined to comment. However, an executive from a consumer electronics manufacturer that has been producing Google TV devices confirmed the rebranding in a recent conversation with GigaOM, saying: “They are calling it ‘Android TV.’”


Google’s partners, developers have stopped using the name

 

Get the existing boxes to Jellybean, and then feel free to halt development.. I will then feel like I got my $$-worth.

Building in to the TV sets is simply dumb... I am NOT going to upgrade a $1k TV every year.. I _would_ buy a new $100-$200 accessory box each/every-other year. Same reason I think Apple will be foolish to do a full TV.. make it a separate box.. the market is vastly bigger.

Being an HDMI overlay, makes it all work seamlessly.

 

I don't care what they call it as long as they keep supporting and updating it.

 

One thing that could cause some confusion is if the officially sanctioned Google version of "android TV" has the same basic name as that big flood of Chinese android boxes/sticks that also call themselves "android TV". The boxes from China aren't officially sanctioned by Google.

Also I suspect that manufacturers going forward will have more flexibility with their android TV devices - for instance IMO we will some android TV devices (the official Google version) without HDMI IN.

Also some manufacturers might just pick & choose certain Google services without coming out with a full-fledged android TV device. For instance Samsung just puts YouTube on it's televisions. Some OEMs will offer only YouTube, some will offer YouTube with Google Play Store.

We might see some new "Android TV" devices at CES in January.

The name change could turn out to be a very good thing - provided that Google gets the GTV jellybean update right. That part remains to be seen......

 

Oh my god, so now our GoogleTV Forum will have to be renamed to Android TV Forum?


I Agree with MrSpock:


"Don't care what they call it as long as they keep supporting and updating it"


I really hope that we will get the Update next Tuesday (14 October)...

 

Um...
The 14th is Monday.

I hope that the update eventually changes the google tv logo to an android tv logo instead of abandoning Sony NSZ-GS7 and other 2nd/3rd gen GTV boxes altogether.

Otherwise,I think we deserve to get to trade our Google TV device for an Android TV device instead of getting screwed.

 

I guess I don't care whether it is called Android TV or Google TV personally but it might create more confusion than already exists and confusion has certainly been a big problem for getting this product off the ground. If this new branding does become a reality and the market embraces the new game, great, that will help some. Without knowing the reason for the new name, it may be part of a new marketing plan or just as a result of the partners thinking it makes more sense, it is hard to get a feel for what it means.

 

Catfish.you and I have been here before haven't we? umm lets go back a bit...webpals was bought,became webtv,webtv was bought,and became msntv..then msntv2,personally I like the name Android tv myself..I had to giggle at the idea first,and say,okay I'm going from msntv,to google tv? what's a google? but alas! here we are again!!

Android seems to be everywhere,and there already was a second platform called Android TV..so guess its a marriage of the two..
maybe now..no no not maybe!! Now we should see more progress go forward

 

Guess the Natives got restless,with Apple TV nipping at our heels..what a fun way to stick their tongue out at Apple TV with a new name and new look..and hopefully a lot more changes for the better to come with the "new name"

 

Although I don't think the little Android mini PC sticks often called "Android TV" have been big sellers in the US, I do believe sales in some other countries may have been far greater. One of the many problems I have read with those devices are claims the devices won't play 1080p video well but lack of support from the no name companies and poorly developed firmware are common complaints. How will Google and the other partners avoid being lumped in with those devices by the marketplace.

One possible result might be some independent analyst will lump sales of the no name, non approved boxes with Google TV and the other Android connected TV devices and that total estimate might be greater than Apple TV and Roku worldwide. Google won't include those estimated sales which probably can't even be estimated accurately with any totals.

 

I don't think that those illegitimate Android TV devices pose a marketing problem for Google. I think those devices exist because they are cheaper and in some ways offer more customization than the current Google TV platform. Once Android TV is official with JB it will improve the illegitimate Android TV market and make those devices better. At that point they will no longer be illegitimate. Everyone wins.

I think it won't be any different than it is now for Android phones. Different price points for different market price levels. Cheap Android phones are just that. They lack top specs but they don't really hurt top end Android phone prestige. Everyone knows you get what you pay for.

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

 

this bent you have on generic andriod tv boxes is quite funny.. it always comes down to "poor support, lack of firmware updates, will not play thus and so.. or its just not legal.." eh what ever.. here is an example of a review of these so called inferior android boxes.. but the thing is this cat knows his stuff.. he develops custom roms for these inferior boxes...

i suggest any one who is interested in theses do not take some second hand and third hand opinions and just get to an informative forum and read about the freaking things...

example of a well thought review..

Minix Neo X7 Review - Why you should buy the X7...

not some mish mash of i read this and that from thus and so.... go to the source and develop your own opinions.. i have one of these and a 2 gtv boxes... and the open platform and access to whole market true SDK and full support of xbmc every thing else puts these inferior boxes way a head of GTV or ATV or what ever its called... and the build quality and number of ports and ..... and as for the 1080p problems its been adressed aleardy with a kernel update.. (which you can do if you are not beholden to some sloppy slow mega corp who is slow to move and slower to react) and some overclocking... sorry to tangent down the rabbit hole.. if no one challenges these claims or at least puts up an opposing view.. there is a real danger of giving some claims more validity then deserved.... but what ever... i went point for point and many times on this... now. as far as my android tv box experience goes,,, none of what you say is true... every thing you say about the generic android box... is wrong... but thats just my experience... sure there is crap out there... but its not all crap... and you speak in to general terms,,, you can get good general android boxes that have far far better support then the all mighty GTV... i can update my system once a month.. and with each release it gets better... with gtv... once a freaking month... and that was just point release to patch holes and stop root... and i have both google and andorid boxes... so i have a bit more experience...

why did google drop the name google tv? well wouldnt you? this brand has one hell of a stink associated with it... all the way back to first launch, and logitechs pooch screwed efforts which costed the company huge. and all the hulu crap and other network blocks... all tied with the name google tv.... its a failed branding... it should have happened sooner.. Google tv lacks idenity other then... that led balloon that crashed to the grown full of empty promise... it may do all you want... but mine? not near it... and now the processor is so far behind the curve... even with a spiffy new name... its still going to be laggy at best.. now when 4core 2 gb mem options come out in 3gen.... who knows... the rebranding is just a way to align the name with what the box is.... it should have been renamed nexus tv and avoid confusion.. but i dont think they wanted that stigma to sully nexus name.... google tv or android tv is still a bit unbaked even with a name change its still a 2 core processor and about 3oo megs of mem left free no matter what op system it gets too... its an uphill battle... but anything is better then google comb.... i hope it gets root and i can throw cymod on it.... and just cut ties with sony or google or who ever is in charge.... good riddance a horrible branding which is replete with big bags of fail and empty promise..... hope android tv has a better time line planned out....

 

I like your vision, but one problem with that is it could lead to Google losing support from Sony/Vizio/LG/etc. Or perhaps, they'll just build it in to their TVs and forget about separate boxes, but I can't see them wanting to compete in a race to the bottom $$$.

I think the Android Tv re-focus is about Google's realization that they have more than one platform and brand they want to market. Take the ChromeCast for instance, which reportedly is not actually based on ChromeOS, but yet another fork of the Google Tv code. They could have called that AndroidCast, or even GoogleCast (since it works with Android or Chrome) but the powers that be on the rise in Google love Chrome so that's the brand they're pushing.

 

I can certain acknowledge that the unofficial devices might do a much better than the real thing.. I mean you'd have to try hard to do worse than Google has done with GTV

The one REALLY huge advantage (IMO) is the HDMI pass thru.. no switching inputs.. no turning on the TV and wondering if you have to switch back to the other input..

I have no real idea what it takes to be allowed to do the HDMI overlay.. so few products have it, that I'm guessing the HDMI/content folks regulate it tightly, but to me, that is a huge feature.. else yes, I'd ditch the weakly supported GTV for any one of many other options... but playing with this and other options (including HTPC, both linux, and osx86), I've simply found the simple act of switching inputs to be enough to downgrade the usefulness.

Maybe that's just me.

As for naming/branding, I don't care.. call it "Bob TV", just update to mainline Android and get out the way...

And put out a NexusTV.. by golly I think the market has demonstrated that the OEMs aren't going to do this market the proper service... if toes get stepped on, well, they deserve it... and them maybe we get CMTV

 

I'm not sure if the meaning of "a bad job" is being well thought-out. I think Google's doing a great job with GoogleTV. One couldn't have had an MSNTV-2 box and think otherwise. Who else has done this? Who else has brought the internet to HDTV at this level, and with apps support, streaming content and cable overlay? There wouldn't even be any "AndroidTV" box knockoffs without the great job that Google's done.

Google has been constantly working on development. What more do you want? Who else is doing it faster? There is no "who else."

The only negative is in the sales of the devices, and that's market need/want dependent. Google responded: Chromecast brought Hulu plus "around;" Chromecast will be in the GoogleTV system; Jelly Bean with the DRM will open things up with the blocked content "problem" even more; NDK and apps. C'mon,, what more do you want? Tell me Google isn't trying hard to make this thing fly, and we're getting the benefit.

 

I shall assault your mind with subliminal messages.

As long as they don't ditch the set-top box owners (me with Sony NSZ-GS7),that's just it.

The way I see it if set-top boxes are wrongfully discontinued,buy a $1,000-$2,000 LG TV with Google/Android TV,buy something like a Surface RT Tablet for nearly four hundred dollars,or buy a fairly powerful laptop ranging from $200-$300 dollars.

WOW! ONLY $1,500! I THINK I HAVE JUST ENOUGH IN MY WALLET!

I would choose the fairly powerful laptop (Nvidia with AMD preferred) because it is more useful since it has Windows,and with Nvidia and AMD,emulators have less trouble on AMD when compared to intel's GFX and Processor chips.

*Hillbilly Girl Giggled*

Sorry you had to see that.

 

This is a good thing for GTV if all the current good Apps ie Primetime still work with the new version. Who cares what it's called. If the Archos Codec Pack App works these devices with play almost any file that is thrown at them.

The only downside is see is that many are going to be unhappy when they try to run Apps on the TV which clearly were not designed for TV. The other side of this is that users may be able to convince devs to optimize App versions that will be meant for the TV. Perhaps each App could have a Settings menu to select TV, Tablet or Phone built in?

Bottom line, the lack of Apps has really held back GTV. Remove this obstacle and let's see if the masses are ready to use the TV like a tablet and while your at it let's get rid of the old style remote and replace it with a pure touch screen only remote. Let's add a camera for Skype calls too.

 

This has been on the horizon for a while. Google TV got moved to Sundar Pichai in March and he had a lot to say about it during the Chromecast launch.

" Soon, “it will be a full-fledged Android for television,” Pichai said, noting that he expects to announce many more partners at CES early next year."

http://allthingsd.com/20130724/sund...e-between-chromecast-and-google-tv-interview/

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk now Free

 

I think they had a great initial product (ie. good for being 1st pass) and have paid it far too little attention since.

Then again, I think EVERY manufacturer is doing a weak job in this segment. ie. AppleTV, why can't you run apps? Play games? (I think that is coming via Airplay, but should have been done 3+ years ago). GTV, why has it taken this long (and we still don't have it) to get NDK support so I have access to more than 2% of the Play Store?

I guess Apple is at least honest enough to say "this is a hobby segment that we don't take too seriously".. IMO that seems to be the attitude of all the boxes in this space.. I find that regrettable.. b/c I think there really could be a killer box in this space.. I just don't know who is going to make it.

Assuming we do get JB, I think GTV becomes the leader in the space.. altho, IMO that has more to do with weak competition.

To put it a different way.. I would not have this criticism of GTV if there had been ANY GTV products with reasonably up to date OS version.. even if they weren't updating all the existing models, at least that would have shown a dedication to the product.

I just think this has so much more potential that we haven't been able to tap yet.. hopefully that will happen with the JB update (and the ability to "cast" to our GTV boxes...)

hmm.. and how about some DVR function (would probably have to obey the copy once, etc flags, but that's ok).. eventually move to replace the cable box... and/or let's have GoogleTV be a TV service (altho Intel seems to have hit a brick wall in their efforts for that)

 

Google reportedly will kill Google TV so that Android TV may live | TechHive

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