Currently viewing the tag: "Fox"
Last week we told you that Hulu Plus had landed on Apple TV; news that left many Google TV users wondering when it would finally be their turn. My contacts at Google have told me that there is still no news to report on that front, and it seems that is the same answer coming from the Hulu camp. Hulu Plus is available for other Android devices in the Google Play Store, so there is no logical technical limitation. So question still remains: why is Hulu Plus not available on Google TV?
It seems GTVHacker has done it again, this time bringing Sony Google TVs a software root that will allow access to restricted content from Hulu, NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and others. While the root can be filed among the gentler GTVHacker solutions, it still required some extra effort: try four USB drives with at least 5121MB of storage space, and a month of the GTVHacker team’s time.
The rooted version of the software, achieved for Sony’s NSX-GT1 HDTVs and the NSZ-GT1 Blu-ray player, will make the warranty void, but can be reversed. It’s modified Flash plugin by-passes the locks that sites restricting content have placed on Google TV and opens the door for future alterations including a possible adblocker for the browser.
Be advised that messing with your Sony Google TV could certainly have disastrous consequences, but with the tantalizing toys that Sony is releasing in 2012, it might be worth the risk!
[via The Verge]
Last month, we told you about a startup called Snapstick which was looking to take on Google TV and other ITV devices with their new technology that pushes content from your mobile device to your TV. Well, they’ve found a hardware partner in D-Link, and they are working closely to develop a hardware solution to bring this new technology to the masses. In a nutshell, the device works by first finding content on your mobile device, and then “snapping it” to your TV to watch on the big screen. The software will also let you discover additional content based on what you push manually. William Brown, Associate Vice President, Product Development of D-Link, had the following to say on the subject:
“D-Link is committed to bringing to consumers innovative TV products that make discovering and enjoying entertainment on the Internet easier. We believe that Snapstick has the right approach to bringing the Web to the big screen and D-Link is working closely with Snapstick to evaluate launching a commercial retail product.”
The product aims to have an edge over Google TV in the amount of content which can be accessed on a Snapstick device, including currently blocked content like Hulu, Fox, and Comedy Central. Continue after the break for the full press release, and for a link to the demo video in case you missed it the first time.
Just when we thought the war between Google and the networks was hitting a catastrophic level, there is now some light at the end of the tunnel. Reports are coming in that Disney and Google are back in talks over getting ABC.com content unblocked on Google TV, which would be a step in the right direction for ending the streaming content embargo.
Disney is still concerned primarily about piracy, stating that Google TV doesn’t fully block pirated content. There’s no word yet as to how close the two sides are to an agreement, and there is no indication as to when they might be complete.
ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, SyFy, Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon are among the many networks which are currently blocking Google TV devices from streaming their online content.
[via Reuters]
Are we beginning to see a pattern yet? Just when we thought (or at least we were hoping) that Fox was going to be the last major network to block Google TV, Viacom has arrived just in time to rain on our parade. That’s right folks, Viacom is now blocking Google TV devices from streaming full episodes across their entire line of properties.
Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon are just a few of the Viacom owned networks that bring up the dreaded “sorry, this content is unavailable for your device” when attempting to stream a full episode from their websites. The only upside to all of this is the fact that the user agent fix (that still works on Fox.com mind you) allows you to get around this little hiccup.
When Google TV was first announced at Google’s I/O developer conference, I immediately saw the potential. Google TV’s Product Manager Rishi Chandra gave the first Google TV keynote address, where he outlined the potential for developers to reach a market of over four billion users, and the chance to revolutionize the way people use television around the world.
Almost six months later, and Google TV is finally here.
Has Google TV been able to live up to the hype? Has Google built a platform which will continue to expand well into the future? Is the average consumer ready to cut the cord? Or, will Google TV succumb to the fact that traditional cable and satellite is not going away?
Continue reading after the break to find out as we review the Google TV platform.
All this hoopla over the what is now the four major networks (NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox) blocking Google TV has got a lot of people talking about the future of the platform. CNET’s Greg Sandoval is certainly thinking about it, and has published a piece today asking what the future holds for Google TV. When Google TV was first announced back in May, many people saw it as Google’s attempt to do away with traditional cable and dish television. Well, now the tables have turned and many people see the networks trying to do away with Google TV.
Since word got out that the networks were first blocking Google TV, Google’s talking points have shifted somewhat. When asked whether or not Google sees the platform as an alternative to cable, the standard answer seems to be that Google TV is not trying to do away to cable, but simply add to it.
We told you yesterday that Fox.com was now blocking Google TV devices from accessing full streaming episodes. Well, I decided to see if the ol’ user agent trick that once worked on Hulu.com would work here, and it appears that it does.
So, for the time being to resume watching Fox.com content on your Google TV you must bring up the browser menu, then go to “more”, and then “settings”. From there go to “advanced” (as seen above) and then “mode”, and finally change the user agent mode from “default” to “generic”.
There you have it, you may now go back to watching all of your favorite Fox shows on Google TV… that is until Fox plugs this workaround like Hulu did. Stay tuned.
While Fox was busy blocking Google TV today, Google TV Product Manager Rishi Chandra was live at NewTeeVee Live 2010 discussing the nature of Google TV. The interview was reminiscent of Chandra’s keynote which we attended last week at Streaming Media West. During his keynote Chandra stated, “We are not looking to replace cable, our goal is not to replace it but to add to it.”
Chandra reiterated the same talking points today, saying that “cord-cutting is not happening anytime soon, we’re not trying to replace cable.” These statements may come as a surprise to many as it was originally assumed Google TV was a possible alternative to cable. However, Google has changed their tone in recent weeks to that of Google TV having more of a symbiotic relationship with traditional cable or satellite.
Continue reading after the break to watch a video clip of Chandra speaking at NewTeeVee Live.
11.11 – Update: User agent fix unblocks Fox.com…for now.
Another one bites the dust. A couple of weeks ago, Fox.com was atop our list of Websites that could still be accessed on Google TV to stream full episodes of content. Well, you can go ahead and cross Fox off that list, as they are now blocking Google TV devices (see the photo above).
The list of networks allowing Google TV devices to access their online content appears to be dwindling. Stay tuned.
[Cheers, Brian]
Social
Loading ...