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Thursday, December 29, 2011

CNBC Real-Time for Google TV – Serving market data your way, all day long.

Guest post

CNBC’s sophisticated business and investor audience demands the financial news, real-time market data and analysis they care about when and where they want it, across multiple platforms. The Google TV platform allows the opportunity to provide our audience with a personalized experience directly on the TV screen.

The CNBC Real-Time App not only gives users access to real-time stock quotes – before, during and after market hours, directly from both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Marketplace, but also uniquely allows them to personalize stock watch lists and view related news clips on their stocks.

This past Friday, for example, CNBC Real-Time App users were able to decide if they wanted to double-down or take a pass on Zynga’s highly anticipated IPO. They could keep track of ZNGA’s moment by moment moves whether using the App, GTV’s built-in Chrome browser to access CNBC.com or, with one click, watch live CNBC programming.

For investors not focused on the latest IPO, CNBC Real-Time App users could watch on demand CNBC's editors picks for the most important news videos of the day. 

Your friends at CNBC

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Qello: Bringing the concert experience to your big screen

Guest post from Qello
I’m more stoked than ever for the little shindig I’m throwing at my apartment this Saturday night. I’ve got my Google TV loaded with the Qello app and I’m ready to create an intimate concert right in my pad. I think I’ll choose Widespread Panic at Red Rocks, but then again maybe we’ll kick it old school with RUN DMC Live at Montreaux. Nah, I’m going to create my own concert setlist. 

So who’s this Qello anyway? Think of him as your friend who delivers the best live music experience whenever and wherever you want it. 


From screens small to large, the Qello state-of-the-art streaming HD concerts films application is now available across the Google ecosystem, meaning, we’re on Android smartphones, Honeycomb tablets, and now for the best live music experience you can get us on your big screen with Google TV. 



Whether you’re a little bit country or a little bit rock n roll, there’s something for everyone. We’ve got the largest library of HD concert films in the world, from the hottest new shows to an extensive vault of legendary concerts and amazing music documentaries. 


And with Qello Setlists, you can build your own dream show from thousands of hours of HD concert footage. For my soiree this weekend, I’m might kick it off with a little Frank Zappa, followed by the Pixies, then maybe get our hip hop on with some tracks from the classic Up In Smoke tour.

Google TV is the ultimate platform for the Qello experience, whether you want to entertain guests with an HD concert or just chill out and watch one of our award-winning documentaries.

And we promise to keep on keeping on so we’re always adding new titles to our library. But in the words of Cheap Trick - I want you to want me – so please let us know what you think below. 

You can find Qello in Android Market for Google TV.

Matt Carona, VP of Product, Qello

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Buddy TV: Find what you want to watch in less than 20 seconds

Guest post from Buddy TV
At BuddyTV, we know how hard it is to find what to watch with your cable provider and services like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and others. You know the problem, there are a million things to watch but there’s nothing to watch right now. After a long day, you don’t want to spend twenty minutes scrolling through hundreds of channels and multiple applications to find what to watch. That’s why we built the BuddyTV Guide.

We make it easy for you to find what you want to watch in 3 ways.

1) Favorite your channels. If you’re like us, you only watch 10-15 channels, have your channel lineup only display those channels and not the hundreds of other channels that you never watch.



2) See your personalized recommendations. Based on what you’ve watched before, your personalized guide shows you the shows you can watch right now that you’ll most likely want to watch.

3) See everything. Don’t worry, you can still view everything if you enjoy channel-surfing as some of us do. You’ll never miss any programs that are available to you.

We’re very excited to be on Google TV. If you have an iPhone, be sure to download the BuddyTV Guide app. We’ve built an incredible integration with Google TV that allows you to use your iPhone (soon on Android phones) as a remote to control your Google TV. You can use the phone to:

Turn on your TV, tune your set-top box, control your AV equipment.
Use Tap-to-Tune. You can select a show to watch on the app and it will immediately tune your set-top box or your Google TV to the program you want to watch.
Participate in viewing parties and see more detailed data on the shows you are watching.
Do everything that is available on the BuddyTV Guide app on the Google TV.


Personally, Google TV and the BuddyTV Guide app have transformed how I consume content in my living room. I hope that you’ll experience the same!


Download the BuddyTV Guide App here in the Android Market.


Andy Liu, CEO, BuddyTV.com

Monday, December 26, 2011

Crunchyroll: Watch Anime and Asian Drama on Google TV

Guest post from Crunchyroll

(A series highlighting the most interesting new apps available for Google TV)
For all the anime and Asian drama fans out there, our Crunchyroll app has been optimized for the TV. The app allows both free and premium members to watch their favorite shows on big screens powered by Google TV. 

For those of you who are wondering what anime is, it is the Japanese abbreviation of animation. Different from Western-style cartoons mostly targeted to children, Japanese anime appeals to both younger audiences with light, G-rated content and to adults, with more complicated, mature themes. 


Crunchyroll has hundreds of Japanese anime titles and Asian dramas, across a myriad of genres – from shonen to shojo; fantasy to slice-of-life drama. The app also has simulcast titles  for the latest season (available usually an hour after first broadcast in Japan)

My personal favorite is Gosick, a series full of mystery, history, and romance. O
ne of the biggest titles we have is Naruto Shippuden, which is the No. 1 anime series worldwide. Directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo (who is also our strategic investor), you can watch new episodes every Thursday at 3:00 am PST right here on the Crunchyroll app on Google TV. 


There is no other streaming site out there that airs this fantastic series before we do, and it is amazing to see how the truly dedicated stay up to be first in line to watch it.

We also have hundreds of Asian dramas licensed from Korean, Chinese, and Japanese publishers. We have plenty great series for guys, like Behind the White Tower and High Kick.

To find out why Boys Over Flowers and Naruto Shippuden are so popular, download the Crunchyroll app to your Google TV now and start watching. 

A small prelude – we plan to provide 720p support early next year, so stay tuned…

Crunchyroll can be found in Android Market for Google TV.

Michelle Chen, Head of Product, Crunchyroll

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Tips & Tricks for the Google TV Pro


10 Tips and Tricks

If you own a Google TV, we’re a little hurt that you’re reading this instead of enjoying a movie, watching YouTube or enjoying music videos on TV (like you did in the 90s).  Unless—of course—you are reading this on your Google TV. Don’t worry, though, we’ll get over it if you make us a promise: try all the tips & tricks  and then pay it forward. (If you don’t know what we mean by pay it forward, your fabulous Search for Google TV will take you straight to the answer).






Get personalized viewing recommendations.  Is "Glee" not your favorite show?  Want to see shows you'll like, not just what everyone else watches? Use star ratings to configure the TV & Movies app to give you the shows and movies you're interested in.  
Move the cursor over the show you want to rate and use number keys 1-5 to rate it.

Pro tip: customize Home.
It’s up to you what appears on your Home -- any item in All Apps can be added. Put the apps you use every day here for easy access, or add TV channels or websites.
Press the Home key, then the Menu key, then select Customize home items. Select an item to move, remove or replace it.
Pro tip: add a TV channel or webpage to All Apps by pressing the Star key while viewing and selecting Add to home screen.
Pro shortcut: press the Home key then a number key (1-7) to open a Home item instantly.

Where are my bookmarks and favorite channels?
They’ve got a new home. Press the Menu key or press and hold the Star key from Google Chrome or live TV to bring up your bookmarks and favorites. To bookmark a webpage or favorite a channel, just press the Star key on your controller.
Web bookmarks: in Google Chrome, press the Menu key and select Bookmarks.
Favorite TV channels: while watching TV, press the Menu key and select Favorite channels.
Pro shortcut: press and hold the Star key from Google Chrome or TV to access your bookmarks and favorites.

Pro tip: search your bookmarks and web history
. Tell Google TV Search to access your browser history and bookmarks to give you another easy way to get to your favorite content. Explore other searchable items, including Google Music and Twitter.
Press the Home key, select All Apps, then select Settings. Scroll down to Search, then select Searchable items. Check the Browser box to include bookmarks and web history.

What channel number is CNN again?
With thousands of channels, it’s a pain to flip through the entire guide to find CNN. Instead, just do a search on Google TV by channel name, be it CNN, FX, or CNBC.
Press the Search key and start typing.
Press the Star key to add a channel to your favorites or to All Apps.

Multitask!

→ Switching between apps is easy -- press and hold the Home key to bring up a list of open apps, then use the arrow keys to navigate.
→ If you’re using Google Chrome, press the Menu key and select Windows to switch between your open browser windows, or to open a new window.
→ Want to check some sports stats without missing a moment of the game? Press the Picture in Picture key. Click the Picture in Picture window to enlarge it or move it around the screen.

Follow your favorite actor.
Next time Kevin Bacon makes a cameo on The Closer, just search for his name to see what else he’s in, even what’s on right now. Or, switch over to the IMDB app in Android Market to learn all you’d ever want to know.
Press the Search key and type ‘Kevin Bacon’ (it doesn’t have to be him, really) and select See all TV, Movie, and Video results. Select a movie icon to find out where the movie is available on the web, or if it’s coming on TV soon.

Just heard about a cool new show? Start with season 1, episode 1
. TV & Movies identifies pretty much every episode of every TV show available and lets you know where you can watch it, whether it’s on live TV or the web.
Press the Home key and select TV & Movies.

Add a soundtrack to your slideshow.
Start up Pandora, Google Music, or your other favorite music app and then hop over to the Photos app to show your friends your most recent bear wrestling and zephyr piloting adventures.
Press the Home key, select All Apps, then select Pandora.
Press the Home key, select All Apps, then select Photos.

Choose what happens when you turn on your TV.
Go straight to Live TV, or launch TV & Movies or YouTube right at startup.
Press the Home key, select Home and All Apps settings, then select Startup application.

Visit our
Help Center to learn more about the recent update. Happy surfing!

Daniel Pickens-Jones, Google TV User Support

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The new and improved developer website

We’re excited to announce that our new Google TV developer website launched this week. Check it out at developers.google.com/tv. The new site boasts a cleaner home page and easier navigation so that people like you can develop for Google TV more effortlessly.



Access to the big screen has never been easier. The website includes a demo video that walks through the basics of Google TV. It also provides all of the resources that you need to develop Android apps, web apps, multi-screen apps and submit video sitemaps at your fingertips. If you need some inspiration, visit the case studies section or read up on some of our recent blog posts.



We hope you enjoy our new developer website.  Happy developing!

Catherine Liang, Google TV

Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Big Picture from the Boston Globe


Guest post from The Boston Globe

(A series highlighting the most interesting new apps available for Google TV)

Every day, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands ofphotographs available to newspaper companies. However, space allows only a small number to be displayed in print oronline so much of this amazing photography does not reach a largeaudience.  Years ago, we at The BostonGlobe and Boston.com saw the value in these additional photographs -- and thestories that they told -- and created The Big Picture. 



The Big Picture is our popular photo blog, which can befound online at www.boston.com/bigpicture.The Big Picture highlights news stories through photographs -- photographs thatare high in quality and large in size. The photos that appear on The BigPicture take advantage of the maximum amount of screen real estate that isavailable and allows every detail of the photograph to be seen.

We are now very excited to bring The Big Picture to Google TVand allow our content to be seen on the largest screens found in today’s households– the television.

Now available in Android Market for Google TV, The Big Picture will immerseyou in the middle of current news events from around the world. Now instead ofcrowding around a computer monitor or mobile device, the images from The BigPicture, which is updated multiple times per week, can be seen in all its gloryand shared with friends and family while sitting around the TV. 


Domenic Vecchiarelli, Boston.com

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Zynga goes ‘all in’ for Google TV

Guest post from Zynga

Attention card sharks: Zynga is raising the stakes and announcing the availability of Zynga Poker, the world’s largest free-to-play online poker game, on Google TV.

Zynga Poker gives players the option to play at any table, meet others from around the world or join friends for a game, choosing from casual Hold ‘Em tables, tournament play or VIP tables. Players interact with others by chatting, completing challenges and sending and receiving gifts, including poker chips for a truly social experience.


Zynga Poker was Zynga’s very first game and it continues to evolve by enabling players to hit the jackpot across multiple platforms including Google+ and Android devices, which now includes Google TV.


Especially optimized for playing poker from the comfort of your own couch, Zynga Poker for Google TV features custom graphics and a new way to control the game with the Google TV remote. Up the ante and play Zynga Poker from just about anywhere, whether you’re commuting to work or taking a break to connect with friends. Connect and play with your friends today!

Your friends at Zynga

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Google TV Update Comes to Logitech Revue™ Devices


Google TV Update Comes to Logitech Revue™ Devices

As Logitech announced, starting today all units of the Logitech Revue™ will begin to receive an over-the-air (OTA) update of the new Google TV software. The update will include a simplified design and interface, an improved search functionality, a TV & Movies app for easily finding great shows and movies to watch, access to the Android Market with many apps optimized for Google TV, as well as an improved YouTube application. You can read more of the details of the update here.
We’re excited that starting today even more people will have access to an updated Google TV experience.

The Google TV Team

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

bConnected with Ball State University on Google TV

Guest post from Ball State University

(A series highlighting the most interesting new apps available for Google TV)

College students love free stuff, whether it is pizza, t-shirts or gadgets.  They also want things to be quick, easy, and available 24/7.  When it comes to meaningful student services and the technology that power them, those desires seldom waiver.  To meet those expectations, Ball State University’s office of information technology is working hard to develop cutting-edge apps to provide easy access to information, eliminate the hassle factor in finding that information, and offer a rich and immersive experience.  



Enter bConnected, a free Android app for students to use on their mobile phones, tablets and most recently, Google TV.  We’ve got all screens covered!  

bConnected provides students real-time access to course schedules, student organizations, campus housing and upcoming events, with more features planned for release soon.  
More than a simple self-service app, bConnected helps students connect with everyone around them, including classmates, instructors, organization members, neighbors and advisors.  Using our core data and integrated systems, we are able to create, and push to the forefront, relationships between the people they interact with every day - relationships they may not have known existed.  

For instance, students sitting next to each other in BIO 100 might also be members of the same sport club. Or they both might live on the same floor in the residence hall.  And that great professor for English Lit also teaches creative writing next semester and serves as a faculty advisor.  





Google TV provides the perfect platform to showcase the social networking aspects of bConnected. To deliver this experience to students, Ball State just installed a stunning 46-inch Google TV in our brand new Tech Center, part of unified technology support.  The display allows students to gather around and interact with the app as it was intended – with their peers making connections. 
With help from our students, faculty and staff, we hope to find more inventive, inspiring and imaginative ways to incorporate Google TV in the classroom and other public spaces, enriching the campus experience and community.  

In the spirit of the Android platform and because universities like free stuff too, bConnected is available through the Google Code project hosting site as an open source project. Everything to build the project is included - the code base, sample database schemas, XML layouts, and an overview of the various bits and pieces.  We encourage other universities to explore the app and use it to jump start their own development efforts for Google TV.  To discuss how to get the ball rolling, contact us at bconnected@bsu.edu.

bConnected for Google TV is available in the Android Market, and for those not enrolled at Ball State, we’ve set up a demo account to check it out.  To access bConnected, just log in with bconnected as your username and demo for the password.

Kyle Parker, Senior Software Engineer, Ball State University




Monday, December 5, 2011

Droplets for Google TV – Time to Relax

Guest post from Ximad

(A series highlighting the most interesting new apps available for Google TV)

We at XIMAD are incredibly excited about the potential of Google TV. We have extensive experience developing beautiful and useful applications for iOS, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Phone and other platforms, but we think that Android and Google TV have the greatest potential.  With the recent addition of Android Market to Google TV, we can now develop one game that will work across all three screens.

Our Droplets app is already used by tens of thousands of Android phone users and we are really excited to get it onto TVs.  The game will allow you to challenge your mind and wake your spirit even if you are in the heart of the city.  Gather all the dew in one drop and relax to the sounds of a torrential forest.

You will be amazed by the graphics and the high definition; the objects on the screen come alive as you gathers droplets, while a ladybird seems to escape the screen when the level is accomplished.


With over 100 levels at increasing complexity, you will find hours of entertainment here. For those who tried their best but failed we implemented a series of hints.

Our company is dedicated to developing the very best Android apps. You can find Droplets, as long with all our other apps, in Android Market.  Droplets is XIMAD’s first project on Google TV, so we are very interested in your opinion, feel free to comment below.

The Droplets app costs 99¢ and can be found here in Android Market

Alex Pridorozhny, XIMAD Marketing Manager

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

YouTube and Photos Updates for Your Google TV

Google TV updates:

YouTube and Photos apps


A few weeks ago we announced a software update for Google TV, along with a commitment to deliver the best way for you to engage with more high-quality entertainment on your television. We said that we’d improve your Google TV on an ongoing basis, and today we’re introducing new experiences for your YouTube and Photos apps.  These are just two of many updates to come from Google and from lots of app developers.


YouTube

The new Google TV YouTube experience introduces playlists to your living room. You can now easily watch your YouTube subscriptions on your HDTV and quickly access your other playlists like Watch Later and Favorites. If you have your own channel, you can now add videos to it from your Google TV. So whether you’re a newshound wanting a constant stream of world events or you’re a curator in search of an even more endless summer of content, you can sit back on your comfy couch and enjoy YouTube’s thousands of options in the High Definition brilliance of your Google TV.
Photos

Your Google TV Photos app already syncs with your online photo albums uploaded to Picasa & Flickr, and now we’ve added a great new feature called Discover to your Google TV Photos app.  Discover creates an animated and constantly changing collage using photos from the albums you have uploaded online and synced with your Google TV. When you click on one of the photos in Discover, you go straight to the album where you can start a slideshow or simply view other photos in the album. With Discover you now have an even more fun way to rediscover your favorite memories caught on camera. 


These are just a few of the many updates coming in the future, so stay tuned and enjoy your Google TV.  

Posted by:

Wiktor Gworek, Software Engineer & Bartosz Leper, Software Engineer

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Google Music is Here


Google Music just arrived to Google TV

Yesterday, Google Music announced that their service is opening up to a broader audience and that it will integrate with the music store on Android Market to make music discovery, purchase, and sharing easy and fast.

Today, we’re excited to launch the Google Music App for Google TV. 
The app syncs with your Google Music account in the cloud, so there is no need to stream from a computer or download songs to the TV. Simply download the Google Music app for Google TV from Android Market, login with your account, and enjoy your entire music library through your HDTV and home theater system.  

Google Music for Google TV plays in the background while you enjoy other apps on your Google TV.  You can add a custom soundtrack to slideshows from the Photos app, you can enjoy your favorite tunes while surfing the web, or you can just add some mood music while you peruse the latest news headlines, all from the comfort of your couch.

To get you started on Music, visit music.google.com on your computer, sign-up for the free service, upload your music to the cloud or buy music on the Android Market. Once finished, you can play all of your tracks on Google TV the same way as you can do on your computer, phone or tablet.

We’ll continue to improve your Google TV by bringing more entertainment all the time, so be on the lookout for future updates to the Google Music app along with other great apps coming to Google TV.

Posted by Jurek Foryciarz, Product Manager, Google TV

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Watch only the best sports with Thuuz for Google TV

Guest post from Thuuz
(A series highlighting the most interesting new apps available for Google TV)
The thrill of watching sports comes from experiencing the suspense and drama as it unfolds.  At Thuuz, our mission has been to let sports fans know about great games they may be missing – and to get them into the game as often as possible. With its combination of live TV and online access, Google TV is kind of our Holy Grail. It gives us a platform to alert sports fans to great games, and provides more options than any other platform for actually watching those games.
Here’s how it works:

Step 1. Thuuz (as in “enthusiast”) monitors all the matches involving your favorite sports, leagues and teams. We process play-by-play feeds and other automated sources to generate an excitement rating between 0-100 for each game.  Factors include parity, pace, novelty, momentum and context.
Step 2. We alert you to the truly exciting performances with on-screen notifications.
Step 3. You can click to jump to the appropriate TV channel or streaming source for both live games and replays.
That’s it. It’s designed to be simple.

We’ve got a Google TV box hooked up to a wall-mounted TV at the office, so we can QA our excitement ratings from the couch.  It’s great for streaming ESPN3 games on the big screen instead of a laptop.  We also catch the best European soccer and rugby matches from the night before using FoxSoccer.tv.   

We currently cover MLB, NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA football and basketball, MLS and 5 European soccer leagues, cricket and rugby.  There’s still plenty of work ahead to add more sports, features and content, plus individual athlete excitement alerts for your favorite players.  We’ll also be building out the personal preferences, as we’ve learned that each fan has his/her own take on what makes a game exciting.

The Thuuz app can be found here in Android Market.

Bill Bradford, COO & Co-founder, Thuuz

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