Digital TV News

Google TV will launch next year

Friday 10 September, 2010

By Dominic Welling - dominic@consumerchoices.co.uk

The internet and all its content will be available straight to your TV, thanks to Google TV.

Google’s online TV service will hit the UK next year although its set to go live in the US over the next few weeks.

The new service combines the enjoyment of watching TV with the flexibility and freedom of the internet.

The free service is essentially an entertainment hub that allows users to access the web through their TV set and view content from TV providers, the internet, mobile apps and their own personal content library.

With Google TV, households will be able to watch internet-fed videos on-demand, such as BBC iPlayer and other streaming websites, such as YouTube, as well as watching programmes through their traditional TV service.

Initially Google TV will be integrated into new Sony TV sets and Blu-ray players, but electronics giant Samsung is also exploring a similar deal.

In addition, Google has teamed with Logitech to develop a set-top box that will plug into existing TVs, enabling Google TV to be watched in any household.

Other features include:

• Programme search using a “special universal remote”. The search results will then tell you the next time the show is on TV as well as various web results for the programme.
• Android-based mobile phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S and HTC Desire can be used as a remote control with the additional feature of voice control.