Tag Archives: DISH Network
Video: A Demo Of Google TV
Posted on 20. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 
0 Comments
Curious about Google TV? Aren’t we all. AndroidandMe is saying that the set top box will be available from DISH Network for $300, and at Google I/O the company showed off some of its best features. Here is another clip that shows more of this new dynamic for TV that is arriving sometime this fall.
There’s a lot of content that is going to be accessible from this box. Plus, did you see them accessing the internet? Yeah, that’s Chrome. Now, if only there was a tablet to complement this…
Google TV Has a New Logo
Posted on 11. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
ReadWriteWeb is reporting that Google TV has a revamped logo ahead of its much anticipated launch. DISH Network is the service provider, and Logitech is supplying the set-top boxes. Sony will be integrating the technology in some of its TVs. It’s supposed to have a fall release – that’s pretty soon, when are we going to get an actual date?
As RWW points out, this is following in the footsteps of similar Google projects that don’t specifically label the product as the company’s own by just using text and then the name of the service. For products like Android, Chrome and now Google TV, that’s probably a smart idea.
Google TV will run Android 2.2 and use Chrome 6 for the web. Developers will be creating applications for it, presumably being available in the Chrome Web Store, which should be launched soon, maybe around the same time as Chrome 6 in the next few weeks.
Logitech Begins Showing Off Google TV Ads
Posted on 29. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 4 Comments
Well, its clear that summer is coming to a close because Logitech is ramping up its marketing efforts for the Revue, a set top box that will offer Google TV to those who subscribe to DISH Network this fall in the United States. The Revue is decidedly netbook-like internally, loaded with a Intel Atom processor.
Although traditionally a television would most likely destroy itself in spectacular fashion by doing this; I guess the idea of television being “reinvented” here is the main point.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 5/25/10
Posted on 25. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
There is now a browser add-on for IE, Chrome and Firefox that allows people to opt-out of Google’s Analytics tracking.
The Mac and Linux versions of Chrome browser are catching up to Windows; it was announced today that they have now moved to stable release.
Google Wave has been moved into the Google Apps suite of software for organizations, moving it out of its experimental stage in Labs.
Here’s a look at the challenges that Google TV faces when it enters the market this fall in the U.S. on DISH Network.
Intel will be showing off dedicated chips specifically for tablets at Computex, which starts next week.
Why Google TV Makes My Current Television Really Boring
Posted on 21. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
While I knew for weeks that Google TV was going to be announced at the annual I/O developers conference that was held this week, I did not expect to see such a radical change in the way that people might be watching television soon. Sure, there were a lot of whiz-bang features and we don’t know how they will play out once the actual product reaches stores. But the reality is that my TV is just plain terrible right now compared to what Google TV can offer me.
The ability to use the web and TV at the same time? Check. An input device that I can use to do this? Check. Apps for television? Certainly. Integration with my Android-powered phone? Well, of course.
For the past decade, those of us who grew up with computers have had no choice but to sit on the couch with an uncomfortably hot laptop while watching TV at the same time. It’s really become an annoyance and the conglomerate cable/satellite providers never saw any reason to make a change since they were already getting fat profits from TV and internet service while keeping them separate entities. But along comes the ever-disrupting Google gathering its own band of partners to make the television experience very much different.
It was clear that Google had been working on this for some time (2.5 years), and the ability to add in services to Google TV that we already use on the web makes a ton of sense. Take television subtitles being translated into other languages, powered by Google Translate. This is just one example that shows more Google services will likely trickle down into even more features for Google TV that will make it very difficult for the competition. Not to mention the potential advertising implications that this will have for Google.
So, as it stands, my current television viewing has taken a dive. It’s not interactive; I cannot easily search for the specific shows that I want. I’m still squinting at a fourteen inch display when I watch Hulu or check out videos on YouTube. It’s been a real revelation to me now how bad my video viewing experiences currently are, but for now I’m stuck with them.
Google I/O Day 2: Android 2.2, an In-Depth Look at Google TV
Posted on 20. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 4 Comments
Some big platform changes were announced today at the second day of the Google I/O developer conference. Many exciting things were shown with the new version of Android, dubbed Froyo, as well as Google TV which is running a version of Android, along with some other technologies. Some exciting things were annpounced with Froyo along with some good humor ribbing against Apple.
Android
Some key changes for Android, shown off of the conference on a Nexus One, included the ability to send intents from the Chrome browser over the your mobile device. With this, there is an extension that runs in Chrome that allows you to send an “intent” over to your phone. This is all done with a new cloud to device API that Google will soon be offering.
The Google folks also showed off a method by which you can stream your music from your home computer to your smartphone, possibly showing off what will become an iTunes competitor.
Big changes are coming to the Android browser, with the V8 JavaScript Engine being ported over to make what is being called “the world’s fastest mobile browser”. Also, tethering from the phone was presented. I’m not sure how the wireless carriers are going to feel about all the bandwidth that could possibly be used (UPDATE: they will make the decision to enable it or not), but they showed off the Nexus One as a mobile hotspot with an Apple iPad connecting to it.
Google TV
Built with Android, Chrome and Flash this is an entirely new platform that allows all of the greatest features ported to TV. With these three technologies, you get fast browsing, Android applications and interactive content that works with Flash such as the video site Hulu.
Three reasons Google TV is being launched, in terms of current television limitations:
1. In the past, the web was “dumbed” down for TV.
2. TV is a closed system.
3. Right now, you must choose between TV and the web.
Instead of having to scan through guides on a traditional set-top box, Google TV will allow you to search for programs much like you would via the web using a keyboard:
Search results are then displayed, and you can see how this will be able to be integrated into search for the web on your television as well, breaking down the barrier between the two:
As you can see, you are able to choose the source of the video you want to see, where you can utilize a traditional video channel, or you can go to a specific web site. The great thing about using the web video (possibly with the help of Chrome) is that sites are already capable of showing video on Google TV; they do not have to do anything special:
This can then be run in full screen from Amazon’s site:
Of course, YouTube will be a big player in Google TV, offering nontraditional programming right in your TV:
You can go back and watch what you want, whenever you want, and an example of this was the State of the Union address directly from the White House website:
Plus this uses all the existing content that is already available on the web. You can even use your android phone as a remote – and talk to it to define your search terms. There is so much information on this new development, there will be more posts to come on this.
It is expected that Google TV will be coming through DISH Network, Sony, Logitech and Best Buy. The platform will also be open source in the middle of 2011.
It’s a Good Time to be a Startup That Interests Google
Posted on 10. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Google has spent over $250 million on acquisitions just in the first quarter of 2010. From its purchase of video technology companies like On2 and Episodic to secretive semiconductor firm Agnilux they have been on a spending spree. And not to mention the Google Ventures subsidiary that was recently in the news for investing in the prediction business Recorded Future. In fact, Google Ventures expects to invest a total of $100 million in 10 separate companies this year.
Suffice to say, now more than ever is a great time to get the interest of Google if you’re a startup company. As CNET’s Tom Krazit reports, Google’s trend in buying companies in the first quarter were those that were small to the point of the search engine giant not even having to report the actual purchase price because it would be immaterial to their bottom line.
So the next time you hear about a company being purchased by Google without any monetary details that means that the organization was probably pretty small. And although that price may be tiny to Google, for startups that are small and living off of peanut butter sandwiches, it’s a very good amount of money.
Just being in the good graces of the Googleplex helps. Take their investment in TV advertising platform Invidi. For Google to do a deal with DISH Network selling television ads, they needed to guarantee to DISH that they would be able to fill the entire advertising inventory the satellite company gave them. Realizing that Invidi’s technology could help them, Google contacted the small company. Invidi was much obliged to help, once Google Ventures made an investment in the company.
So be Google’s friend. You never know when they actually will ask you for your assistance, especially if you can help them battle their rivals or otherwise advance the company into new markets.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 5/8/10
Posted on 08. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
ARM has created a Motorola Droid robot using Lego’s Mindstorm that is able to solve a Rubik’s Cube in twenty-five seconds.
Web document company Scribd, which embeds PDF files on web pages to keep documents secure, is moving from Flash to HTML5.
Chromium’s O3D technology will be moving from a plug-in to a JavaScript library, mainly because of the recent speed improvements.
Google has invested in Invidi, a TV advertising platform startup company and they plan work together selling ads on DISH Network programming.
KMWorld has a good article talking about how Google’s community fiber project is a great step for them to get into the enterprise market.
Google TV Will Have to Use Ads to Subsidize Cost
Posted on 08. Apr, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
It seemed a bit surprising to hear that Google would team up with Intel to release a set-top box, in a project that is being dubbed as Google TV. The reason being is that using Intel chips in a box for television is going to be costly, despite the fact that the operating system running the box (Android or Chrome OS) would be free in terms of licensing costs.
Panasonic, which had announced in 2008 that they would partner with Google to integrate their solution into their TVs right out of the box, has decided that such a solution would indeed prove too costly. Samsung is another company declining any such partnership, instead making the choice to develop an alternative internet TV solution in-house.
It makes one start to wonder how much this set-top box is going to cost. Sure, Sony is game, but they are known to have the highest-end televisions on the market – and they plan on putting the Google platform inside of their TVs. For them, there is little for them to lose if they get involved in the partnership. Plus, they would benefit by having some of their products with Google TV built in as opposed to the set top box model.
The only service provider that has come forward with support for Google TV is DISH Network. There’s relatively little surprise to that move, since DISH plays the role of the underdog, a la T-Mobile for wireless, in the TV market. Problem is, with competition high in this space, it’s going to be a tough sell to get Google set-top boxes in people’s homes without taking a loss on doing so because of the expected price.
So look for Google to make a deal with DISH akin to what it has done for wireless carriers: give up a cut of advertising revenue. Google heading down the path of allowing anyone who wants the capability to put TV ads on a variety of channels, and this combined with search advertising could bring a windfall of profits to both Google and cable/satellite companies. If the only challenge is to get expensive devices into homes that allow this, I don’t see Google or the service providers balking at the cost as long as there are solid revenue expectations down the line.
Just as long as it improves the user experience, overall it will be good to have Google in the television market.
Intel and Sony Work With Google on TV Box, Will Run Chrome
Posted on 18. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
The New York Times is reporting that Google has been working with some technology heavyweights to produce a set-top box that will compete in the digital TV market. Intel is said to be offering their Atom processor architecture which is used primarily for mobile computers like netbooks. While its not quite clear what Sony is contributing, the fact that they sell televisions and are a content provider with their Sony Pictures unit make sense for them. In fact, Sony has been trying to integrate digital TV functionality since 2008.
Interestingly, the Time reports that the operating system that will run on the set-top box will be Android. Yet unlike phones, this version of Android will be capable of running the Chrome browser. This is probably in an effort to allow the box to show content from several different mediums – from YouTube to Hulu and other sites that offer digital content, which incidentally is growing by the day as people watch what they want when they want it.
I wrote an item not long ago about Google’s partnership in testing their services with DISH Network – where I compared DISH in the television market as what T-Mobile has been in phones for Google. T-Mobile was the first carrier to adopt Google’s strategy by selling phones that ran on Android. I would expect that this announcement is related to their testing of what will probably give people a better user experience while watching TV.
So, is the box going to be a Sony-labeled product? Maybe, but it’s an interesting choice since Sony traditionally does not sell set-top boxes. With the partnership including Intel, expect to see a box that is basically a computer that uses your television as a display – not only showing you television programs but also allowing you to go to web. In fact, the Times article states that that Google and their partners are also working with Logitech to come up with a remote that has a keyboard somehow included on it.
A keyboard? Are we looking at a set-top device that you actually “point and click”? It’s unknown right now. I think the biggest element of this is that the box will run Android with Chrome, which is an open source platform that offers a lot of flexibility. This could be a boon for app developers, as it would give them a larger audience than even the mobile phone market if cable companies are willing to adopt the technology. My guess is that with DISH Network on board, they may not have a choice if the box becomes a hit.
Google Testing Search for Television
Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google is working with DISH Network in testing a variation of their search algorithm that is customized specifically for TV. Since the WSJ site is for subscribers only, we have analyzed AppScout’s article for this post.
I’m currently a DISH customer, and I must say that the ability to find programs that you want to watch is ridiculously hard. Sure, it’s easy if you know the name of the show you are looking for, but finding one in terms of content or detailed subject matter is just not very easy. This seems to be a common theme for cable/satellite operators, as I’ve been told by someone who is a customer of AT&T’s more advanced UVerse system there is no drilled-down search capabilities in their system either.
The problem with traditional satellite and cable TV search functionality is that there really is no way to do any type of contextual search. Sure, one can look for a show title or a genre, but there isn’t really a way to drill down to actors, studios and specific content of a program. For those of us who are used to using internet search engines to find things easily, this presents a problem to the more traditional environment of television.
That’s why I think Google testing this could potentially be a win for TV. Many people are switching their video tastes to YouTube or Hulu, so these operators need to do something drastic to continue to attract younger customers. Plus, DISH Network is not one of the top tier providers. So, much like T-Mobile starting out early providing Android devices which resulted in them getting the first crack at the Nexus One smartphone, this could benefit DISH as a content provider.
What DISH Network should really do is drop their proprietary set-top box operating system and use a customized version of Chrome OS. Why not? It would probably be a faster experience, and the architecture would provide better user interaction and interoperability with the web. The problem has been that cable and satellite companies have wanted to keep these two realms apart, but expect to see them converge more often then not in the future.
