Slash Gear - Riding high on Android and with its expertise in search,
Google
should’ve swept the board when it first turned its hand to smart TV.
Instead, Google TV was lambasted for its confusing interface, patchy
functionality and ever-changing line up of content (made unpredictable
by Google’s apparent refusal to pay for licensing deals but instead
attempting to harness free online streams). With the second-gen system
now ready for prime time, the search giant has managed to coax some big
names back onboard, as well as tease gamers with the promise of
OnLive for
console-quality play without any extra hardware beyond a wireless controller.
Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio were all expected to bring Google TV powered sets to the show, and all but Samsung delivered.
LG spared us the heavy-duty specs, only saying that
its two Google TV sets would drop later this year and use a homegrown quadcore ARM chipset. Like
Vizio, which announced
the R-Series of Google TVs,
LG has reskinned the core Google UI to suit its own interface styling.
Vizio also had two set-top boxes, one adding a Blu-ray drive,
the VAP430 and VBR430, which promise to make Google TV more affordable.
Sony, meanwhile, took another approach, not
bothering with fully-integrated Google TV HDTVs but instead looking to
two new set-top boxes instead. It’s possible the company learned the
hard way from its first-gen Google TV sets, though the new
Network Media Player NSZ-GS7 and Blu-ray Disc Player NSZ-GP9 are arguably more useful given there are plenty of people content with their existing TV but still wanting a smart upgrade.
Finally,
Marvell brought along its ARMADA 1500 chipset and a
reference design Google TV STB
to demonstrate it. The company is pushing the design to its hardware
partners, along with a useful upscaling addition that promises to make
lower-res content and UI look better on a 1080p Full HD display.
As for
Samsung, it stuck with its homegrown smart TV
platform for CES, though reiterated its support for Google TV and
promised that “a forthcoming offering will deliver an entirely distinct
experience in the category” later in 2012. That’s not to say its
hardware this week has been underwhelming, however. Our playtime with
Samsung’s 60-inch smart TV
– which packs Kinect-style motion and voice control – suggested the
non-traditional navigation may be gimmicky but the core software is very
strong, while
integrated DIRECTV support and the potential for hardware upgrades along the line shows services aren’t being left behind either.
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