Is it possible to set up VC on the Sony GTV at all (either the TV or BD)? If not, why not? If so, what would be required?
Sony would have to release device driver(s) and software support for it to work. The root of the deficiency is the baseline Google TV OS. It does NOT support video cameras or microphones. This is documented in the Unsupported hardware section of the Google TV Android Developers Guide. So, in order for Sony to support video conferencing they would have to provide their Google TV platforms with the same support that Logitech does with the Revue, TV Cam, and ViD HD conferencing software. You can however use third-party devices in parallel with Google TV for video teleconferencing. For example Cisco has their ūmi telepresence platform, the Sony 3D Blu-ray Disc™ Player (BDP-S780) can be used with the Sony Camera and Microphone for Skype (CMU-BR100), or any of the Panasonic DMP-BDT110, DMP-BDT210, DMP-BDT310 Blu-Ray & Webcam Combos from the Skype eStore.
Thanks. So this functionality can be added by Sony via firmware updates? Or does it require Google to upgrade its OS as well?
It can be handled either by Sony or Google. If Sony provides support then they will be like Logitech and it will be a proprietary value addition to their product line. That means they will will have a video conferencing platform outside of the Google TV ecosystem. Therefore third-party developers will need to create a formal business relationship with Sony in order to develop their software for use with their platform. If Google implements it then they will make it more friendly to random third-party developers. These developers would be able to program their software using Google Android SDK using the Dalvik virtual machine supported APIs. From a third-party developer standpoint, I would rather program for platform that supports many devices rather a proprietary platform supporting small number of devices. That's good, but this is a thread specific to video conferencing with Sony's Google TV devices and does not have anything to do with the Logitech Revue. Hence the forum category and original topic.
Agree that it would be much better for Google to add VC support into the platform for everyone's use. But I won't hold my breath waiting.
You're not the only one, as discussed during http://www.googletvforum.org/forum/google-tv-development-discussion/3658-hangout-rishi-chandra.html
I'm curious to see if ICS (4.0) is brought to GoogleTV and if so will it be the full platform (with video/mic support) or just a subset like Honeycomb.
