Logitech Revue: Live Video Demo of this Holiday Season’s Must-Have Gift
Wow. It’s hard to say what the general public’s reaction to the Logitech Revue and Google TV, but if I had any control over it this would be the must-have gift this holiday season. The Google TV experience is everything we hoped it would be and more. At yesterday’s launch event in NYC any questions left unanswered about the platform and its implementation have all but disappeared. How will Google TV integrate with current living room setups? How do the apps look? Can the Revue be used to access a media server or play files from an external drive? Where to begin…
As you can see from the above video Google TV on the Revue is set up to make finding and exploring content easier than ever. If you are anything like me you spend the time in the living room divided between at least three devices: the actual television, a laptop, and a smartphone. Each allows for unique access to certain types of content, content that is often inspired by something from another media source. For instance, a typical sunday of watching football might involve using my phone to follow fantasy stats, a computer to look up news and video relating to a game, and the big screen to display the Ravens whooping up on all comers. The Revue brings all of these sources onto one screen. Picture-in-picture allows for multiple types of content to be viewed simultaneously. Gone are the days of plugging a computer into your television to enjoy web content and YouTube.
And finally a cohesive media player experience exists that won’t require using an outside program or device such as XBMC or a PS3 to find media on a network drive. That media is now integrated right into Google TV thanks to Logitech, making that content just as searchable as television shows, DVR recordings, and web content.
Of course a major downfall is for now the deepest integration between Google TV and actual TV only plays nice with Dish Network, a provider that isn’t exactly on the top of the list in terms of quality and service. DVR functionality won’t work with other cable or satellite services, and it still seems unclear whether or not search will function with anything other than Dish.
Still, given all the power behind Google TV, even having minimal integration with your current television provider makes for a beyond awesome experience. I can’t wait for this thing to drop at the end of the month, at which point I plan to promptly head to my nearest Best Buy and swoop one up. How about you?