SatelliteGuys Review: Logitech Revue with GoogleTV – A Diamond in the Rough

[Scott Greczkowski]

Nope.. Still the biggest waste of money I ever spent.. If you don't count the first few wives...

I found a new use for it yesterday. I have it hooked to a 17 inch monitor and now can monitor SatelliteGuys with the "Spy" feature. (http://www.satelliteguys.us/spy.php) so now I dont need to keep refreshing the homepage looking for updates.

 

[josem3]

Well, I just purchase my GOOGLE TV equipment for my showroom after I went to RDF seminar at Orlando. I was very happy until I found it some issues with GOOGLE TV. First, if you have a HDTV(ex. SONY KP-51WS520) which it has a HDMI input but the TV its too old like 5-6 yrs old, it is not gonna work, its not compatible,like my TV. But I have a second NEW SONY HDTV (KDL46EX701) and this one works perfectly! Second issue and the MOST important for me, if you are using WIFI of any MIFI internet conections like Sprint, Virgin Mobile, Clear wire, Verizon MIFI, AT&T, ect. it NOT gonna work! After called GOOGLE TV tech support, they suggest to "call" you Internet provider WIFI and try to solve the problem with them. What a DEAL! That is not good when you have to deal with the customer and we expect it will work right away. At this moment, I will stay away from this "AMAIZING" product GOOGLE TV from my showroom until GOOGLE TV be more smarter and bring a complete product to the customers.

 

[TheKrell]

Second issue and the MOST important for me, if you are using WIFI of any MIFI internet conections like Sprint, Virgin Mobile, Clear wire, Verizon MIFI, AT&T, ect. it NOT gonna work!

Well, looking at the MiFi wikipedia entry since I've never seen the term before, I fail to see why it won't work. It's supposed to. Is your MiFi operator or your hotspot/adapter hardware blocking ports?

 

[josem3]

OK, the Virgin Mobile MIFI 2200 as Verizon MIFI 2200 Mobile Hotspot use the 3G or 4G internet at home using the Nationwide Sprint® Network or Verizon Network. That is what I'm using to connect internet. I'm not having any problem with my current devices like PC, smartphone and my laptop but I'm not able to connect GOOGLE TV to my WIFI. After it searched my WIFI device (Virgin Mobile) and write the password, it can not make the connection.

 

[TheKrell]

OK, well... To your PC or other devices such as GoogleTV, your MIFI 2200 is just another wireless G router. So I still think this should work. Must be a WPA security problem of some sort. (I hope you're not using WEP security on that 2200...)

 

[josem3]

My surprise, Dish Network replied my internet issue on GOOGLE TV with this comment; "Google TV with DISH Network is not designed to run on a 3G or MIFI (or "hotspot") Internet connection". That is new for me.

 

[DustoMan]

I have an issue with my Android phone where it just refuses to list some Wifi networks in the wireless control panel even though when you use some Wifi scanning apps you can see them. I haven't had much time to troubleshoot it, but in both cases it was when I was trying to connect to WiFi networks that were unencrypted. I'm not familiar with how Mifis are configured by default, or if you changed it, but flip on WPA and see if your GoogleTV can then see it.

 

[josem3]

After scanning apps, the GoogleTV can see all the WIFI's in the area including the MIFI's(hotspot) but when you try to connect to one of them, nothing happen. The MIFI wireless internet is propably new for the GoogleTV plataform tecnology. According to Dish Network, to function properly, the Logitech Revue box must have a high-speed Internet connection with a download speed of 3-5 Mbps (minimum 1.2 Mbps). Most MIFI wireless networks cannot accommodate these download speeds unless you are using a 4G or LTE connection with full signal strength. It is a shame because today more people are using hotpot's as its internet connection.

 

[DustoMan]

As other posters have said before, there's nothing in your MiFi router that is specific to just that device. It's all based on industry standards and really those MiFi devices have been around much much longer than GoogleTV so the idea of it being "new" for it is highly unlikely. If your GoogleTV can see the MiFi's wireless network, it should be able to connect to it. Not having one of these devices personally, I can't troubleshoot it that well, but I can think of a couple things you might want to take a look at.

Use another computer connected to the MiFi to look at the device's configuration pages. Try to look and see if the Mifi has any diagnostic logging functions and look for when the GoogleTV tries to connect and see if there's some error shown in the logs. Try to look and see if there's a way to "pre-authorize" the GoogleTV by telling the MiFi the GoogleTV's wireless MAC address and to allow the device to connect when it see it.

You might have to look into getting a wireless bridge device to make a connection to the MiFi and then us the GoogleTV's Ethernet port for the Internet connection.

And finally, if other people are experiencing the problem, you just may have to wait for a software update to use the built-in wireless. Though I do agree with the DISH and Logitech specs that a MiFi isn't going to give you that great of a GoogleTV experience. Unless you are able to get one of the faster 4G services in your area.

Good Luck.

 

[JosephB]

If you're using a Mifi for your primary internet connection, you're going to have a painful existence; Google TV or not. Cellular data connections just aren't meant to be used in that manner.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Especially since you can only download 2 gig on your Mifi without paying overage fees. I download 2 gig in a day, couldn't imagine trying to stretch that out a month.

 

[DustoMan]

Speaking at the OTTCon here on Tuesday, Ashish Arora, the vice president and general manager for Logitech's Digital Home Group, was asked on a panel discussion whether Google TV owners would be able to take advantage of other Android apps soon.
Arora answered in the affirmative, although his answers didn't quite nail down the timeframe. "It will happen shortly," he said. "It's a given that it will happen this year, 100 percent," he said.
"We're talking about a very short term," he said.

So how soon? You think they will launch it around Google I/O (May)?

App Store coming to Google TV | Gear Live

 

[sfollenius]

Isn't the Revue supposed to get Android 3.0 too? I wonder how that will change things.

 

[tomcrown1]

No Google revue will not get Android 3.0. At the gaming developing conference Google basically stated that the new Android Market store on Google Tv will basically features games for the coach potato. Here is the link to Google at the developers gaming conference:

GDC: Reframing Google TV -- InformationWeek

 

[TheKrell]

No Google revue will not get Android 3.0. At the gaming developing conference Google basically stated that the new Android Market store on Google Tv will basically features games for the coach potato.

I fail to see the connection between the type of apps that will sell well on the Revue and Android 3.0. Your ref doesn't make this connection either.

 

[jssp8s]

What is the minimum internet speed needed so the Revue will function properly? I am thinking about ordering the Revue or going to Best Buy. If I go to BB and don't like the
Revue, I will be able to return the Revue to BB. Should I wait to see what the upgrades to the Revue will be? Does anybody have any thoughts on any of these issues?

 

[vicw]

I'm considering the Revue, after gettng the $179 offer from Dish, but I was quite surprised to see that Dish is charging a "$4.00 Monthly DVR Integration Service added at time of purchase."

I'm surprised even more that no one has been disturbed by that policy on this thread.

 

[JosephB]

Well, you are getting the Revue at a significant discount, and you do get some additional functionality for the $4. If you don't want to pay it, you don't have to. It's not like they're hiding it from you and springing it after you're hooked in.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I turned off the $4 a month since I use it on my 922.

It wasn't worth the $4 fee charged.

 

[vicw]

I turned off the $4 a month since I use it on my 922.

It wasn't worth the $4 fee charged.

I'm still thinking about whether it's worth the $4 a month or not, to me, to have the transparency of a coordinated interface along with its features. At least they provide a 30 day return, so I won't be locked into it unless I decide to keep it.

The surprise I expressed in my last post was just that the subscription fee doesn't seem to have generated any comments in this whole thread (although I admittedly didn't read every entry). Usually, whenever there is any kind of a fee like this by Dish for anything, that triggers some response and discussion.