YouTube advances cash for 60 more original channels in Europe and the US

Posted on 08/10/2012 by Steve Dent

Google pulls in nearly $2 billion a year in YouTube advertising revenue, but that's still a drop in the bucket compared to the $60 billion earned by broadcast networks. To rely less on viral cat videos or "Gangnam Style" breakouts, the company has announced that it's advanced funds to content producers like Jamie Oliver and Michael Cera to create 60 new original channels in France, the UK, Germany and the US. That's in addition to the 100 channels it already created last year, and Mountain View also said it would take that original launch up a notch in 2013 by providing even more funds to the most successful efforts by artists like Jay Z and Amy Poehler. The company didn't say exactly how much cash would be raining down to all those channels stateside or abroad, but considering the amount it recently spent just marketing them, you may want to pull the trigger on that new cinema camera, after all.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

YouTube advances cash for 60 more original channels in Europe and the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box?

Posted on 19/09/2012 by Ben Drawbaugh

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And then there were two. We're talking about standalone Google TV boxes, folks, with the Vizio Co-Star recently joining Sony's NSZ-GS7. Both feature the same version of Google's software and come with a remote offering a full QWERTY keyboard and touchpad. But with Vizio's model selling for just $99, it's half the price of Sony's entry, so you might be wondering how extensive the differences are. Now that we've had a chance to test both, we're ready to weigh in. Read on to find out if that 50 percent price difference makes the Co-Star worth it.

Continue reading Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box?

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Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box?

Posted on 19/09/2012 by Ben Drawbaugh

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Continue reading Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box?

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Vizio Co-Star review: how good a deal is this $99 Google TV box? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hisense Pulse with Google TV set-top box hands-on (video)

Posted on 31/08/2012 by Sarah Silbert

Hisense announced its low-cost set-top box, the Pulse with Google TV, a few days ago, and though pricing remains vague at "less than $100," we got a chance to see the device in action at IFA today. The Android-based Pulse supports content in 1080p, and includes HDMI, USB and Ethernet connections, along with WiFi, and the double-sided remote communicates with the square-shaped box via Bluetooth 4.0. Being a Google-branded product, it also gives users access to compatible apps from Google Play.

The remote includes dedicated buttons for YouTube, Netflix, the web and Live TV, and there's a small touchpad in addition to the standard remote-control keys. It's quite difficult to navigate with this hardware: the touchpad is too small, and it doesn't support scrolling, which makes it incredibly inconvenient for viewing web pages. On the flip side of the remote, there's a full QWERTY keyboard. A booth rep told us the Pulse will drop in September, though that contradicts information from this week's press release. In any case, you can take a closer look in our video hands-on after the break.

Gallery: Hisense Pulse Google TV set-top box hands-on

Continue reading Hisense Pulse with Google TV set-top box hands-on (video)

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Hisense Pulse with Google TV set-top box hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 05:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Smart TV with Google TV on display at IFA 2012, ships ‘later this year’ (update: hands-on)

Posted on 31/08/2012 by Richard Lawler

It wasn't a part of Samsung's IFA 2012 press conference, but Samsung is showing off Google TV hardware for the first time since CES 2011 (pictured above), and will release a Smart TV with Google TV later this year. According to its press release and a blog post by the Google TV team, it will "enhance the Smart TV experience" with premium content from its Samsung Apps services. How exactly it will be merged we should see soon, but now that ARM chips are powering a cheaper, more conventionally built experience we figure whatever hung up the deal has been squashed. We should get an eye on it if it's anywhere on the show floor soon, as well as the Google TV box from Hisense, and Sony's NSZ-GS7 which already launched in the US and UK, but is coming to Germany, France and the Netherlands soon.

Update: We caught up with working hardware at Samsung's booth, but the device was disconnected from the internet, so we weren't able to take it for a proper spin. You can take a somewhat superficial look in our hands-on gallery below, along with the video after the break.

Gallery: Samsung Smart TV with Google TV hands-on

Continue reading Samsung Smart TV with Google TV on display at IFA 2012, ships 'later this year' (update: hands-on)

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Samsung Smart TV with Google TV on display at IFA 2012, ships 'later this year' (update: hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 04:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hisense Pulse Google TV set-top box coming in November for ‘under $99’

Posted on 27/08/2012 by Dana Wollman

It was just two days ago that a Google product manager let slip that Google was working with Hisense on a low-cost Google TV box. At the time, we didn't know much -- not even a product name -- but Google did intimate this mystery item would sell for under $100. Now, Hisense is stepping in to clarify a few key details. For starters, this thing is called the Pulse, and it will arrive in November priced at "under $99," more or less as expected. Other than the fact that it's built on Android (duh), it supports resolutions ranging from 480i to 1080p and has HDMI, USB and Ethernet sockets. (It also has WiFi, of course, in case you'd rather not make use of that wired internet connection.) Hisense also says it will ship with a double-sided remote, with a full QWERTY keyboard on one side, and a touchpad and dedicated Netflix button on the other. The Pulse is slated to arrive in mid-November, but there's a good chance we'll see it before then -- it's going to be on display at IFA, where we'll be reporting live this week.

Continue reading Hisense Pulse Google TV set-top box coming in November for 'under $99'

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Hisense Pulse Google TV set-top box coming in November for 'under $99' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hisense building budget-friendly Google TV set-top box, will put Android in your living room for under $100

Posted on 25/08/2012 by Sean Buckley

Looks like consumers are about to get another option in their search for an affordable connected TV solution: Hisense is building its own Google TV set-top box. The product doesn't have a price -- let alone a name -- but will sell for under $100 when it hits shelves later this year. "Hisense adds even more innovation to the growing list of Google TV-powered devices available around the world." Says Google TV partner manager Mickey Kim. "We're working closely with partners like Hisense to bring services from Google and multiple other providers to your TV with an experience tailored for the living room." Details are scarce, but the outfit promises to reveal more at IFA next week. Can't wait? Check out Vizio's Co-Star.

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Hisense building budget-friendly Google TV set-top box, will put Android in your living room for under $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 03:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Play Music app updated for Google TV, Play video content now streaming to Chromebooks

Posted on 23/08/2012 by Darren Murph

Good news for people who love good news -- Google has just thrown some bug fixes at its Play Music app with Google TV support that launched late last year. Point being, Google TV users can now fire up the app and stream their stored tunes to the speakers connected to their entertainment system. In related news, GigaOM has spotted that the latest Chrome OS update actually enables users to watch television shows and movies from the Google Play store, but unfortunately, it's not wise enough to spot where you've paused it and let you pick things up on a different Android device. For those who've updated, let us know how either process is going for you in comments below. Or don't -- no pressure.

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Google Play Music app updated for Google TV, Play video content now streaming to Chromebooks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vizio Co-Star teardown supplies the tech specs we never had

Posted on 22/08/2012 by Jon Fingas

Vizio's Co-Star Google TV hub has been public knowledge for more than half of 2012, but it might as well have been a black box as far as its internals were concerned. It's mostly been a mystery beyond the acknowledgment of a Marvell ARM chip inside. The teardown gurus at iFixit certainly weren't content to let that riddle go unanswered. Their exploration of the box shows that Vizio is very much clinging to the initial Marvell vision of using a dual-core, 1.2GHz Armada 1500 to handle 1080p video at that $100 price -- albeit with just 4GB of flash to store everything the Android OS demands. What may interest hobbyists is simply the accessibility of the set-top box: just about every board and component comes out easily, which could lead to some cheaper DIY surgery. The full parts list is waiting at the source if knowing how your Google TV box operates is as important as catching up on Netflix.

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Vizio Co-Star teardown supplies the tech specs we never had originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 13:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Diamond Multimedia outs AMP1000 Android set-top box: Gingerbread-based, 1080p, sells for $120 (update: ICS coming this week)

Posted on 21/08/2012 by Edgar Alvarez

Diamond Multimedia's more commonly known around the web for selling Mac and PC capture cards (among other things), but as of today, the company's officially entering the set-top box game with its AMP1000. The media player itself is running a not-so-new flavor of Android -- Gingerbread, to be exact -- which will be used to bring a slew of familiar entertainment tidbits to the bigger screen, such as a media player capable of 1080p playback, an evolved internet browser and an oversized photo viewer, as well as other content like games, ebooks and magazines -- all of which can be downloaded from Google's Play repertoire. Although Diamond Multimedia's formally pricing the AMP1000 at $120, there's a Facebook-only offer that knocks the price down to a mere $100. Now, will it be enough to compete with, say, Vizio's $99 Google TV box? We'll let you be the judge of that.

Update: Well, in case you weren't fond of the AMP1000's Gingerbread innards, Diamond Multimedia's got something in the works to solve that problem. A company rep has contacted us to let us know Ice Cream Sandwich will be coming to early adopters "later this week," as well as noting that all future units will come with the creamy OS already onboard.

Gallery: Diamond Multimedia AMP1000 Android media player press shots