Google TV Porn Powered by HTML5, Not Native Apps

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Google TV Templates to Tempt Developers

Google has released two sets of open source templates to help developers create web sites that will work well with Google TV products. They use standard web technologies based on HTML5, JavaScript and CSS, or optionally Flash. A user interface library has also been released to assist with the development of web sites that can be navigated with a remote control.

The templates are designed to deliver video but are equally suitable for photos or other multimedia. Two sets of templates are provided. One is based on open web technologies. Designed specifically for Google TV, it does not seem to be compatible across all browsers but interestingly it does appear to work reasonably well on an Apple iPad. The other uses Flash and requires Flash Player 10.2, which is currently a release candidate version.

Both sets of templates represent useful starting points for developers. They have been released as open source under the Apache 2 licence, so developers can modify and customise them to meet their needs.

When Google TV first launched with partners Sony and Logitech, it seemed that Google had done little to prepare the market, beyond releasing some guides on how to optimise web sites for display on television.

These new templates will allow developers to deliver video, with full keyboard navigation and playback controls. They may also be useful for developers wishing to target other browser-based connected television platforms. However, many may be waiting to deploy full Google TV applications through the Android Market.

As usual with Google, the company is taking a code-driven approach in an attempt to attract developers. The templates do not reflect any attention to visual design. It is telling that the placeholder media are drawn from application developer events. The video images are not in 16:9 format, although the video is and Google TV assumes a high-definition display. Still, that can be easily fixed. What is worrying is that Google appears to be approaching the television screen through the lens of engineers rather than as an engaging entertainment experience.

Google wandered into the living room with little apparent appreciation for television and still seems precociously preoccupied with coding rather than building relationships. It is not clear that these templates will be enough to persuade networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox to allow Google TV products to access their online video services.

With the number of projects that Google is pursuing, it is not evident that television has its full corporate attention. That said, informitv expects to see continuous enhancement and extension of the Google TV proposition and its open nature will encourage third parties to use it as a platform on which to build products and services.

Source: Informitv

5 Reasons Google Bought Widevine

Google announced today that it will acquire Widevine Technologies, giving it access to technology necessary to securely deliver video to a wide range of connected devices. The acquisition is more than just a technology play on Google’s part; the Widevine purchase will also bring deep Hollywood relationships and improve its chances of getting Google TV deployed on consumer electronics devices.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but you can bet Widevine pulled in a pretty penny; the startup has raised $51.8 million in funding since recapitalizing in 2003, including a $15 million strategic investment last December led by cable operator Liberty Global and Samsung Ventures. Widevine could be invaluable to Google, as it provides technology and expertise in a number of fields that could help grow Google’s overall video business. Here are the top five reasons Google had its eyes on the company:

1. Everyone Needs DRM
Widevine is a digital rights management firm, first and foremost, and DRM isn’t going away. Providing a secure way for content owners to distribute video online and to a number of connected devices will be table stakes in Google’s broader video ambitions. Whether it’s getting premium content on YouTube or securing video distributed to Google TV-powered devices, Widevine will give Google the technology and peace of mind to strike those deals.

2. Cozying Up with Hollywood
Google has a problem — a content problem, that is. The company’s efforts to get long-form premium content on YouTube have generally fallen flat, and its Google TV products were met with universal disdain from media companies that acted quickly to block their online video streams from being accessible on those devices. Widevine has one thing that Google doesn’t: the trust of Hollywood. After providing the DRM technology used by a number of movie studios as well as online distributors like Netflix, Sonic Solutions and Lovefilm to deliver videos online and on connected devices, Widevine is in a unique position to make introductions to some key players in Hollywood.

3. Connecting Google TV to More Devices
Google launched its Google TV operating system on a series of TVs and Blu-ray players from Sony as well as broadband set-top boxes from Logitech, but it clearly desires to embed the technology on other devices, and is rumored to be courting Samsung, Toshiba and other manufacturers to do so. Well, Widevine’s technology is available on products from Apple, Haier, LG Electronics, Nintendo, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and Toshiba, as well as more than 50 different set-top boxes. Google could leverage Widevine’s relationships with those manufacturers, and maybe even connect its technology into the broader Google TV code base.

4. YouTube Everywhere
In addition to getting Google TV on more connected devices, Widevine’s embedded technology could also help Google speed up distribution of YouTube video streams on more TVs, Blu-ray players and mobile handsets. Not just that, but by providing advanced DRM for those streams, Widevine could help make potential content partners more comfortable with those streams being delivered by YouTube.

5. Android Needs Adaptive Streaming
Android mobile devices are swarming the market, and with Flash installed, they promise users the ability to watch any video stream available on the web. There’s just one problem: Those videos, for the most part, aren’t optimized for mobile delivery. While Apple has built proprietary adaptive streaming technology for its mobile devices, Android phones don’t have a graceful way to deal with fluctuations in network bandwidth. Widevine, which makes video optimization technology in addition to DRM, could help solve that problem by helping Google to add adaptive streaming to future android devices.

By Ryan Lawler, GigaOM

Comcast: Google TV Isn't Compatible With Our 'TV Everywhere' Service

Comcast customers can't currently use a Google TV-based device to access authenticated programming on the MSO's TV Everywhere site -- but only because the Internet company's software is not compatible with the operator's video players, according to Comcast.

Separately, the Hulu-supplied video available on Comcast's Fancast.com -- which is available free to any user -- is blocked to Google TV. That's because Hulu, which is owned by NBC Universal, News Corp. and Walt Disney Co., wants to negotiate a deal to offer Hulu Plus subscription service through broadband-connected TV devices.

The current iteration of Comcast's Xfinity TV service uses a proprietary media player from Move Networks, the struggling startup in which Comcast is an investor. Over the next few months, Comcast will be migrating the authenticated Xfinity TV content to Microsoft's Silverlight media-delivery platform, according to the cable operator.

Comcast in late October officially launched the Xfinity TV online-video service, available to its 22.9 million cable TV subscribers, with a lineup that includes 25,000 TV show episodes for no additional charge. The MSO recently added shows from Showtime Networks and many from Viacom's networks to the TV Everywhere service, and also offers some 30,000 movies to stream, rent or buy to video subscribers.

But Google TV, which is built on the Android operating system designed for mobile phones, does not support either Silverlight or the Move Networks player. According to Google, it currently has no specific plan to add support for those.

Hulu delivers video through Adobe Systems' Flash, which is supported by Google TV. The two companies have been in discussions about a deal to provide Hulu Plus, the $10-per-month service that provides an expanded lineup of current TV shows and older ones, through Google TV devices. Meanwhile, broadcast networks including ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are each preventing Google TV software from accessing video content on their own TV sites.

Best Buy has a limited-time program to offer free installation of Sony's Google TV-based televisions and Blu-ray Disc player through the holiday-shopping season. Dish Network, meanwhile, is offering Logitech's Revue set-top with the Google TV software to customers for $179 plus a $4 per month fee.

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News

Opposition to Google TV Swells with FOX, Syfy, Hulu Closing Down Access

Rupert Murdoch has apparently decided that he doesn’t like Google TV any more than his broadcast brethren. News Corp.'s FOX has joined the ranks of ABC, CBS and NBC in blocking access to full episodes of its shows via Google TV's Web browser. The networks are asking for remuneration to stream programming from their content Websites.

Meanwhile, NBC-owned cable channel Syfy has started to block Google TV access to its online presence, and Hulu.com has now closed down the Fancast.com “back door” that Google was using to deliver Hulu content to Comcast subscribers.

The broadcaster opposition is somewhat ironic considering that consumers can access the blocked content for free from most browser-enabled mobile devices and any computer. Google TV however is an Android-based platform that is embedded within a Sony television set, and therein lies the rub: offering programming from these Websites as a large-screen living room experience is uncomfortably cannibalising to traditional broadcast media, as far as the networks are concerned.

They would rather that viewers tap into traditional linear programming or pay-TV-sponsored VOD in the living room, for obvious reasons: traditional broadcast is commands better advertising CPM than its Web counterparts, and is a higher-margin service. Broadcasters are also concerned about Google TV returning results for pirated content.

Google insists that its platform is simply misunderstood and has tried to assure broadcasters that Google TV presents an opportunity, not a competitive issue. Its goal is to enhance the cable experience rather than take away from it, Google execs say.

That may be, but the heavy hitters in the content community aren’t buying it. Because of their lack of support, Google TV primarily offers the same Web TV experience that its STB rivals do: Netflix, Amazon’s on-demand service, HBO GO for authenticated subscribers and access to a variety of Web-only properties, like Pandora, VEVO and the like.

To be fair, some broadcasters are still open to Google TV, like the Lifetime Channel, TBS, TNT, the CW, CNN, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Also, Hulu and Google are also in talks to bring the Hulu Plus subscription service to Google TV.

By Michelle Clancy, Rapid TV News

Google TV Insists it is No Threat to Broadcasters

Google TV's lead product manager looked to soothe broadcaster fears that Google TV will supplant traditional TV subscriptions this week, saying that this is a "misunderstanding" of what Google TV is.

"We are not looking to replace cable," said Rishi Chandra, lead product manager for Google TV, speaking at the Streaming Media West conference. "Our goal is not to replace it but to add to it."

He added, "Google TV itself is literally just a platform," explaining that the content owners can use it as they wish to distribute and monetise their offerings. He mentioned the deals that Google TV has with Netflix and Amazon.com as examples of business models that work.

Chandra was addressing the fact that ABC, NBC and CBS have blocked access to their online shows through the Google TV platform. They are asking for licensing fees to allow Google TV to stream their content, a request that Chandra equated to Microsoft being asked for a royalty whenever Internet Explorer is used to access a Website.

Chandra also announced that Google TV is working with Hulu to hammer out a deal--Google TV users will be able to access the $10-per-month Hulu Plus online video subscription plan. Ironically, Hulu offers full episodes from ABC, CBS and NBC.

By Michelle Clancy, Rapid TV News