Google will Launch a Streaming Player of Its Own – The Nexus Q

[TheDickWard]

Okay, am I missing something or is this a less functional Google TV at a higher price? I guess you can let your friends control the music at your party but like... when have you ever wanted to do that?

http://www.ecoustics.com/electronics...ew/709488.html

[rm082e]

That's a nice looking paper weight!

[Badger3920]

All these streaming boxes are going to start falling by the wayside anyway as smart TV's and general TV connectivity improve (and it's happening rapidly each year because it's one of the few things that the manufacturers can figure out insofar as adding features year over year)

[TheDickWard]

I'd agree with that Badger. There'll be a few cheaper ones like the Roku players for folks without connected TVs, but I can't imagine a $300 box sticking around.

That being said, I'm HTPC for life

[Badger3920]

True, stuff like a $99 roku box will continue to sell - especially to those with older generation LCD's and plasmas.

HTPC is really the sweet spot; I just hooked up my rig to my theater's receiver through HDMI and got a wireless keyboard/mouse, so I'm most the way there

[Naiera]

I don't think Smart TV's are going to eradicate the streaming boxes. Whatver brand you get, there'll be limitations of some sort, so people will still buy streaming boxes. At least the sub-$100 ones.

That said, I have no idea what Google are thinking with this one. I have no problem as such with the unorthodox design (I'm cool with my Boxee Box), but the options it gives you just seem awful limited. And wasting money putting a tiny amplifier in there?! WTF?

I wanted to just post a picture of Orlando Bloom from Elizabethtown, with his flaming catastrophe-shoe in the background. Couldn't find the pick though...

[Badger3920]

I don't think Smart TV's are going to eradicate the streaming boxes. Whatver brand you get, there'll be limitations of some sort, so people will still buy streaming boxes. At least the sub-$100 ones.

Well, as said above, I dont disagree that the budget boxes will stay around. But if your TV can access the internet and stream, can stream netflix and hulu and blockbuster and HBOgo, and can access various rental stores (and all of this is in addition to all the 'on demand' and 'pay per view' and 'rental' material that most all of the cable tv providers offer) -- what's left?

The answer is: not very much. Today's TV's are doing most all of this and some even more, some even less. Basically, these boxes are being included into the TV themselves and soon there wont be much of a market for them aside from the inexpensive ones for people with older TV's or limited cable offerings

[rm082e]

The answer is: not very much. Today's TV's are doing most all of this and some even more, some even less. Basically, these boxes are being included into the TV themselves and soon there wont be much of a market for them aside from the inexpensive ones for people with older TV's or limited cable offerings

I'm in that boat now. The new Panny Plasma I bought has apps built in and the wife loves it. But the bedroom TV is still using a Roku. But as soon as I can get a solid 42" with all the app shit for $350, Roku is going to the parents house.

[Naiera]

Well, as said above, I dont disagree that the budget boxes will stay around. But if your TV can access the internet and stream, can stream netflix and hulu and blockbuster and HBOgo, and can access various rental stores (and all of this is in addition to all the 'on demand' and 'pay per view' and 'rental' material that most all of the cable tv providers offer) -- what's left?

Can you actually get TV's that do all those things? Isn't it more likely to have limited local streaming, a crappy internet browser, Netflix and maybe Hulu, Blockbuster or Vudu? I just don't see TV manufacturers keeping their Smart TV's updated for very long. Boxes are far more versatile.

[rm082e]

Can you actually get TV's that do all those things? Isn't it more likely to have limited local streaming, a crappy internet browser, Netflix and maybe Hulu, Blockbuster or Vudu? I just don't see TV manufacturers keeping their Smart TV's updated for very long. Boxes are far more versatile.

Smart TVs now have their own App stores and new apps are being added regularly. There's a lot of shit in the Panny store - way more than I will ever use. They've got games, international apps so you can stream over seas content, game stores, etc in addition to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, and all the other common stuff. Not to mention DLNA support for network connectivity and all that stuff.

They didn't stop at Netflix and Hulu...and they're adding more all the time.

[Badger3920]

Can you actually get TV's that do all those things? Isn't it more likely to have limited local streaming, a crappy internet browser, Netflix and maybe Hulu, Blockbuster or Vudu? I just don't see TV manufacturers keeping their Smart TV's updated for very long. Boxes are far more versatile.

This:

Smart TVs now have their own App stores and new apps are being added regularly. There's a lot of shit in the Panny store - way more than I will ever use. They've got games, international apps so you can stream over seas content, game stores, etc in addition to Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, and all the other common stuff. Not to mention DLNA support for network connectivity and all that stuff.

They didn't stop at Netflix and Hulu...and they're adding more all the time.

My Samsung LED, a 2011 model, does all this stuff. Like Panny, Samsung has its own ecosphere they've developed and it's full of ALL KINDS of things. Each year, they add even more of these "smart" features. It's in their interest to keep these areas up because it allows them to appear feature rich, and revenue is involved.

The capabilities are easily surpassing some of the available boxes, but that statement doesnt mean much because an easier way to think about it is that, basically, the boxes are simply being put inside the tv's now.

I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point in the near future, some manufacturer strikes a deal with Roku and actually advertises their TV as "ships with Roku inside!!" type deal

[rm082e]

I wouldn't be surprised if, at some point in the near future, some manufacturer strikes a deal with Roku and actually advertises their TV as "ships with Roku inside!!" type deal

I think there would have to be significant market dominance by any one streaming player brand for that to be worth it. Roku is certainly the market leader right now, but it's not a house hold name yet. I'm just not sure if that type of device sticks around long enough to develop a big brand name given the TV OEMs are eating their market share...

[Badger3920]

Maybe a decent point, but on the flipside, right now it's simply an arms race with each manufacturer in a constant race to be the one with the most robust smart tv offerings. They seem to hardly care what it's called - they're offering as much content as possible

[Bill]

I was interested in the Google Nexus Q - so I looked at their website and checked out the fine print on the tech specs. Two things jumped out.

1) Personal videos stored on your phone or tablet can't be streamed.

2) (on streaming TV/movies to multiple rooms) - A list of rooms appears. Select one. It's not possible to stream movies to more than one Nexus Q at a time.

Both of those points are from:

http://support.google.com/nexus/bin/...2094&ctx=topic

And I wondered - "what's it for?" - and Google answered on

http://support.google.com/nexus/bin/...2094&ctx=topic

"Each Nexus Q is designed to function as a media source for one room: speakers, AV systems, TVs, and more. Each room shows up on your Android phone or tablet, where you can control what's playing and at what volume, or stream to multiple rooms at the same time."

So we should buy one for each room (or rather - each room with a TV and/or speakers) - but it doesn't support streaming video to multiple TVs at the same time.

For my money - just go ahead and buy a dedicated Home Theater PC - (it can be a cheap one - in the same price range as the Nexus Q - and still do a great job). Any room that already has a TV and/or speakers also already has an amplifier/receiver (if the room needs one). So it's just as easy to add an HTPC to a room that already has functioning speakers as it is to add a Nexus Q to that same room. In my opinion, an HTPC is a much more versatile/powerful media source than this glowing sphere.