JackClark

One for the Fandroids only.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/googl...ving-room/5167

dpb

Seems an indecent amount money for what you get.

Now where have we seen this before.

JackClark

Apple TV. Apple innovate others imitate. The major differences are the Apple TV is under £100 and useful if you have an iPhone or not. And the Apple TV has been around for `years'.

Beef

This obsession with making the units only work with specific ecosystems is limiting the market for both camps - much as Google/Apple may not like to admit it, many homes have a variety of devices, and not being cross-compatible makes them rather less useful.

Something like XBMC is more useful for most and has been around a loooong time (even before Apple TV?) but the setup requirements are more onerous. Windows Media Center was a good stab at it, and being built into the Xbox was a nice touch, but never really took off.

Basically, there isn't actually a really good TV offering yet from anyone that allows a decent level of interoperability that's also easy to buy, setup and use.

JackClark

Apple TV works great with Windows and OSX, iPhone and Android.

Beef

I don't just mean that - I mean things like lack of BR player, or MKV, or things like that. The manufacturers seem to want customers to change their lives to fit the device, not sell something that does what customers want.

JackClark

Isn't that a bit like slagging off CD players because they don't play cassettes.

hodgy0_2

no its like slagging off cd player that will only ply one manufactorer of CD

it's all digital now. no analogue needed

Beef

For a long time many CD players *did* also play cassettes, and you can still buy cassette players now.

But if we accept what you say and that optical is dying, what about the codec choices - why are we forced to use the codec the manufacturers dictate, why can't we use our own?

Take hifi for example - you could buy a Goodman cassette player, an Arcam amp and a Phillips CD player, and they'll all work together. The consumer has the choice about what they play and how.

I realise I'm a minority, and Apple and Google will likely both sell many units, and for those that buy them I hope they gain great satisfaction from their use.

I personally will buy neither.

JackClark

I just buy or rent movies on my Apple TV, but if I had a load of films that I'd obtained from elsewhere I'd just convert them. Simple.

Dedrater

But it is still less simple than them just being able to play, is the point.

Nimbus

I think the question, why should you need to?

Dedrater

It appears the Nexus Q is more of a concept device, not intended for mass market and most likely will not be sold outside of the US.

OMAP 4460 chipset, dual core CPU, SGX540 GPU, 16GB flash, HDMI, optical, RCA, ethernet and wireless connections. Google says the device will allow some user access to open it for other functionality, so could lead to some techy new things.

Sony have demoed the second generation GoogleTV devices, the Sony NSZ-GS7 looks like a good bit of kit, Engadget review of it here.

JackClark

You can't please everyone and I've never seen MKV files used for anything other than piracy so support is pretty unlikely.

Dedrater

It has nothing to do with piracy, Matroska is one of the most superior file formats that has ever been made, it just so happens to be an open standard and thus companies don't make money off it.

JackClark

Pirates love it.

JohnSmith

MKV is a container not a format like divx

Nexus Q is a hackers device, as in dev guys can play around as much as they want legally

I prefer Plex (thanks to SwissTony)

Dedrater

Considering the pirates, by the very nature of what they do, can use any file format they want, using MKV, above everything else out there, speaks volumes.
It is a container format, otherwise known as a open file format.

tony de wonderful

Android rocks, the way to go.

I won't be buying a MacBook again.

JackClark

Yes it does, I have a few and they work great, convert nicely too. Vimeo often has them for download. Have you seen vjay on the iPad?