4 ms·

Ok, maybe I'm the only one, but I'm actually excited about this. It appears to be an aggregation service. Instead of individually searching across N platforms

by umvi 6y ago

Ok, maybe I'm the only one, but I'm actually excited about this. It appears to be an aggregation service. Instead of individually searching across N platforms for content (hulu, disney+, youtube, crunchyroll, netflix, etc), you can now just use a single app (Google TV) which will allows you to search and stream across all platforms you are subscribed to. Furthermore you can cast stuff directly to chromecast from Google TV as well as watch locally on your device.

r-w 6y ago
This has already been possible for years upon years on Roku.
- umvi 6y ago
  I don't own a Roku, just a Chromecast
  - freeone3000 6y ago
    You might be interested in JustWatch, which does this as a phone app.
  - basch 6y ago
    this is Google catching up to Roku, Amazon, and Amazon (and maybe Xbox and Playstation as well.)
- andybak 6y ago
  Hasn't this been possible for years on whateverthatgooglethingiscalled? (I genuinely thought it was still called Google TV so I was rather confused by this post - I couldn't work out what was new.)
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > Hasn't this been possible for years on whateverthatgooglethingiscalled? The only aggregation on existing Android TV seems to be “Continue Watching” across apps.
- nhumrich 6y ago
  kind of. You can search across all apps on roku, but there is no "dashboard" for all your current shows despite app.
- DavidAdams 6y ago
  Except that Roku is playing games and you can't get an HBO Max app now.
- chaostheory 6y ago
  It's also been on Apple TV and Amazon's Fire TV for a long while now. Agreed, it's not novel. However, maybe Google's recommendations are better? Google tends to have the best AIs.
88840-8855 6y ago
Look. I am not willing to pay for movies and mainstream shows. Why should like me get such aggregation services that require 4 different subscriptions that add up to 600 Euro per year? I never got these aggregation services - and there are already MANY of them. Here in Germany the Telcos are having setup boxes that are more powerful than this Google TV thing as they aggregate subscriptions AND are able to stream live TV via Cable. Just google Magenta TV and GIGA TV.
- ClikeX 6y ago
  Are you willing to watch movies and shows? But not pay for them?
  - 542354234235 6y ago
    The success of Netflix proves people are willing to pay. What people are not as willing to do, is constantly pay more and more as studios try to wring more and more profit out of people. When you attempt to overcharge or to make the experience too burdensome, people don’t want to keep paying for it. “I want a reasonably priced service that is convenient” is not the same as “I want everything for free”.
- qwertox 6y ago
  My issue with these services is that they enable user profiling. I have no issues with Amazon (or Netflix, which I don't use) knowing what I stream, but I do have an issue with Vodafone or Telekom knowing which TV channels I'm watching at what time. That's why I prefer DVB-C.
ninkendo 6y ago
If it's anything like Apple's TV app, it'll probably be awful. The idea is sound: Let's use a common interface to all the content offered by the apps you already have installed. But in practice (on Apple at least), it's awful. There's no telling whether you'll actually be able to view the content you see, or if it's just going to lead to some screen where you need to buy the content individually. Want to watch Family Guy? Oh it turns out YouTubeTV (your TV provider) has it but it's not donated to the AppleTV app, so you get a purchase link to buy an episode for $5, even though YouTubeTV actually has the same episode in your DVR library. Want to watch the $sportsteam game that's on? Oh there's a link right there to watch it in the $sports_app app! Except that link takes you to a page that explains that you don't have the subscription necessary to actually watch the game. Or oops, it's blacked out in your area. Or maybe you finally select something that's actually available to watch, so it links you out to the app that contains that content, only to have the app fail to support the appropriate intent/deep link, so you just end up on that app's home screen. It ends up being this very hit-or-miss experience where anything you want to watch has like a 70% chance of actually succeeding, so you don't trust it, and it ends up being worthless. Yes I'm bitter.

by umvi 6y ago

r-w 6y ago

This has already been possible for years upon years on Roku.

umvi 6y ago
I don't own a Roku, just a Chromecast
- freeone3000 6y ago
  You might be interested in JustWatch, which does this as a phone app.
- basch 6y ago
  this is Google catching up to Roku, Amazon, and Amazon (and maybe Xbox and Playstation as well.)
andybak 6y ago
Hasn't this been possible for years on whateverthatgooglethingiscalled? (I genuinely thought it was still called Google TV so I was rather confused by this post - I couldn't work out what was new.)
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > Hasn't this been possible for years on whateverthatgooglethingiscalled? The only aggregation on existing Android TV seems to be “Continue Watching” across apps.
nhumrich 6y ago
kind of. You can search across all apps on roku, but there is no "dashboard" for all your current shows despite app.
DavidAdams 6y ago
Except that Roku is playing games and you can't get an HBO Max app now.
chaostheory 6y ago
It's also been on Apple TV and Amazon's Fire TV for a long while now. Agreed, it's not novel. However, maybe Google's recommendations are better? Google tends to have the best AIs.

88840-8855 6y ago

Look. I am not willing to pay for movies and mainstream shows. Why should like me get such aggregation services that require 4 different subscriptions that add up to 600 Euro per year? I never got these aggregation services - and there are already MANY of them. Here in Germany the Telcos are having setup boxes that are more powerful than this Google TV thing as they aggregate subscriptions AND are able to stream live TV via Cable. Just google Magenta TV and GIGA TV.

ClikeX 6y ago
Are you willing to watch movies and shows? But not pay for them?
- 542354234235 6y ago
  The success of Netflix proves people are willing to pay. What people are not as willing to do, is constantly pay more and more as studios try to wring more and more profit out of people. When you attempt to overcharge or to make the experience too burdensome, people don’t want to keep paying for it. “I want a reasonably priced service that is convenient” is not the same as “I want everything for free”.
qwertox 6y ago
My issue with these services is that they enable user profiling. I have no issues with Amazon (or Netflix, which I don't use) knowing what I stream, but I do have an issue with Vodafone or Telekom knowing which TV channels I'm watching at what time. That's why I prefer DVB-C.

ninkendo 6y ago

If it's anything like Apple's TV app, it'll probably be awful. The idea is sound: Let's use a common interface to all the content offered by the apps you already have installed. But in practice (on Apple at least), it's awful. There's no telling whether you'll actually be able to view the content you see, or if it's just going to lead to some screen where you need to buy the content individually. Want to watch Family Guy? Oh it turns out YouTubeTV (your TV provider) has it but it's not donated to the AppleTV app, so you get a purchase link to buy an episode for $5, even though YouTubeTV actually has the same episode in your DVR library. Want to watch the $sportsteam game that's on? Oh there's a link right there to watch it in the $sports_app app! Except that link takes you to a page that explains that you don't have the subscription necessary to actually watch the game. Or oops, it's blacked out in your area. Or maybe you finally select something that's actually available to watch, so it links you out to the app that contains that content, only to have the app fail to support the appropriate intent/deep link, so you just end up on that app's home screen. It ends up being this very hit-or-miss experience where anything you want to watch has like a 70% chance of actually succeeding, so you don't trust it, and it ends up being worthless. Yes I'm bitter.