Google TV STB Integration

[generous]

So, I've found it tough to find this information. I understand how GoogleTV works, and its a fantastic concept. I also understand that for a 'full DVR experience' with GoogleTV, you need to have dish network. (not a chance in hell)

My question is, how will the box/service/etc integrate with non-dish STBs? I see the logitech box has HDMI-IN and HDMI-OUT, which is great. This offers the potential of the GoogleTV box passing video through. What about my program guide? Will I be able to search my channels? HDMI only passes AV signals (not data), so it would need to get my program guide info elsewhere. Will it leverage the web to get this data? This, so far, is my only question/concern about GoogleTV.

 

[simplygoogletv]

I'm guessing that there will be a way to tell the Revue where you live and what type of feed you're getting (antenna/cable/satellite) and it would then use it's own guide, in combination with the built in IR Blaster to change channels on your STB.

 

[theoverdrive]

I've seen demos for what this looks like when it works, but I'm still totally mystified by how they've managed to do it. From what I understand, the Google TV device is inserted between your cable/satellite set-top box and your output devices (TV, stereo, etc.). There are an infinite number of different types of cable/satellite set-top boxes out there. How does the Google TV device know how to communicate with each one? And specifically, how does it know what's available on that set-top box, if it's simply receiving the output of the set-top box? I only have 2 guesses:

1) The Google TV device can interpret the set-top box's "menu" command, giving it a full list of what's available. This seems highly unlikely since every cable/setellite set-top box must do it differently.

2) As someone else mentioned, the Google TV device simply loads what's available based on some outside source (maybe the Internet). In this case, it seems like it would be missing information like if you actually have a subscription to the channel. For example, if you search for "HBO" on the Google TV device, will it give you the HBO station via cable/satellite as a search result, even if you do not have a subscription package for it?

 

[calypsocowboy]

I don't think it can tell what's available as far as recorded shows unless it's a Dish box. If it's anything else, all it can do is overlay the screen and maybe switch channels.

 

[MSgtSimon]

List of STBs that are compatible with the Logitech Revue

I found this on the Revue support page. I'm not sure if this means it definitely can control it through IR blasting, or if it can actually integrate with the STB and manage DVR and whatnot.

Revue Customer Care-Answers

 

[simplygoogletv]

You're looking at this too hard. Google only knows about Dish Networks internal system (and even there I think they only care about the DVR recordings), all the others it has almost no idea about. In the setup, I'm sure you tell it if you have OTA/Cable/Satellite, and which service, and it then knows what your channel numbers are, so it knows how to change to a specific channel with it's IR blaster. I don't think it knows or cares about the UI of any cable or DirectTV interfaces at all.