Posted in Technology

Vimeo releases ‘couch mode’ to rival YouTube’s ‘leanback mode’

So it seems rival HD video website Vimeo has launched a very similar service to that of YouTube to accommodate the GoogleTV. The name is “Couch Mode“, which again rivals “Leanback Mode“. The idea behind it is, that on the GoogleTV, there isn’t yet an app directly for Vimeo, but allows for browsing of the site and its contents very easily from the couch. This mode is currently only usable in Chrome and Safari, so for most of the world out there, Firefox and Internet Explorer, you won’t be able to view this mode, unless you go and download and install the appropriate browser. Obviously on the GoogleTV, that browser already exists, so it seems kind of pointless to get it into that mode, but if your into trying new things, I say give it a shot; as my laptop is hooked up to my HDTV a lot as it is, and having YouTube and Vimeo in a better viewing experience is great! Take a look see at the promo video below:

See for yourself! vimeo.com/couchmode

Music: “I Saw The Way You Looked At Me” by Windom Earle

Pretty Cool huh?? So I played around with it, and if you want some screenshots, take a look at what I was playing with to give you an idea on what it looks like inside of Safari:

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Posted in Technology

Google TV to bring the web to your TV (and video too!)


Anyone remember MSN TV??? Anyone remember Apple TV? Or even as late, have you heard about Boxee or Popbox? Well apparently Google seems to think they have it, and want to get it out in time for the 2010 holiday season.

Announced just a few days ago, along with Froyo (Android 2.2 update), Google TV will soon be in the living rooms of everyone! Well at least that’s what they want. Google knows that You Tube is the world’s largest video website, but wants everyone to be able to see it on a big screen, instead of your small screen PC, especially with all of the HD content that is accessible through their servers. They realized that every HTPC out there kinda needs some work. So they have thrown their hat into the ring to see if they can get it right. To kind of give you an idea what they are working on, here is an official video from Google:

Now do you get the idea?

There is fierce competition out there though. Many people already use some sort of combination of web connected devices to stream their content to the HDTV, but can Google trounce them all and be your all in one device?

For instance, me personally, I use an XBOX 360 to watch Netflix HD streaming, and my Philips BD5012 to watch blu-ray movies and my HP dv4-1275mx I connect to my HDTV to watch my podcasts(Mostly Rev3 stuff) via iTunes. So in this situation, I have several devices to watch web video on my tv, but if I can get everything in one device, why not?

Google also says that everyone still wants to have access to the ‘full web’ and not a cramped down version for your tv, so they also throw in a browser as well. So in their browser, not only will you be able to browse the web, but you will also be able to watch video inside the browser as well, not just inside their tv app. The basic idea that they have, is that it is too hard right now to find what you want to watch, with all these menus and tables and craziness. They want to simplify the search and make it easier to find what you want to watch.

The idea is to be in a set top box (STB) or built in to the TV. They don’t want you to have to be in your extra inputs, they want to be the only thing you need. With the new GoogleTV, you will be able to watch live television or web tv right next to each other as a seamless experience. It seem there will be a simply overlay on your content to find what it is you are looking for.. so far, I like the idea.

Some of the first companies to bring it to us will be Sony, Logitech and Intel. It looks like Samsung is still thinking about it.

You can check it all out at Google.com/tvĀ and also check out a full guide over at https://joyofandroid.com/android-tv/

via [Engadget] [Google]

Posted in Technology

Google looks to bring a TV set top box to your home

It’s some crazy news coming from the Google camp, but apparently they are working on a set top box powered by Android and partnered with Sony, Intel and Logitech. Now with Google being the everything box, it seems to be the next step to be the company to take over your life. Google hopes to hit a home run where others have struck out. Google will be working with the Atom based Intel processors to power these boxes. They also want to put their software on blu-ray players and Sony TVs. Google is working on a keyboard-equipped remote with Logitech to control the units.

I say they have a hard time ahead of them with the Boxee Box and Popcorn Hour (renamed PopBox) coming out soon. I don’t say that they are too late in the game, but their will be stiff competition. Even with all the HTPCs out there running Windows Media Center, which has been around since 2005 and Windows XP. The other thing will have to be how much storage is on this thing. It will need to be at least a 500GB hard drive. We shall see..

via [Gizmodo] via [NYT]