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

Sure wish they would support Silverlight. Seems simple, but it might be the OS is wrong and Silverlight does not support the OS. One main website I want to use and subscribe to only uses Silverlight.
 
I thought Netflix used Silverlight, and the Revue now supports Netflix streaming...
 
Hi Everyone, I have been debating picking up a revue through dish for a few months and have a question on usage/setup.
My 722 is currently kept in my basement in my home theater closet. My primary tuner on my 722 feeds that home theater. My secondary tuner on the 722 feeds a tv in the room above the theater. This is the tv I want the revue to work with (I have no need for the features in my theater room since i have an xbox and ps3 in there already).

What is my best option for hooking up the revue in this state? If i connect it directly to the 722/home theater, will i be able to use the revue on tv2 upstairs?
If i hook the revue to the tv upstairs, do i lose the integration features?
 
Netflix uses Silverlight on when you try to access it in certain ways on the PC. Like through IE or Windows Media Center. The Netflix streaming on the Revue uses HTML5 I think. At least, that's how the PS3 does it and the Revue does something similar to how the PS3 does Netflix.

So in order for the Revue to do Silverlight, Microsoft would have to make a version of the runtime available for the platform. Just like Adobe made a version of Flash for Android. MS probably would make a version of Silverlight for it, but they have kind of moved away from using Silverlight for the web in favor of HTML5. Silverlight is still used in Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360 development, but it's not something they are really pushing. I wouldn't necessary be a bad thing because getting it to work on the Revue would have the side effect of it probably working on all Android devices, but like I said. It's not something MS is focusing on at the moment.
 
Hi Everyone, I have been debating picking up a revue through dish for a few months and have a question on usage/setup.
My 722 is currently kept in my basement in my home theater closet. My primary tuner on my 722 feeds that home theater. My secondary tuner on the 722 feeds a tv in the room above the theater. This is the tv I want the revue to work with (I have no need for the features in my theater room since i have an xbox and ps3 in there already).

What is my best option for hooking up the revue in this state? If i connect it directly to the 722/home theater, will i be able to use the revue on tv2 upstairs?
If i hook the revue to the tv upstairs, do i lose the integration features?

Not sure about the integration issue, but the Revue box has only a single HDMI connection, so you will need to factor that into your planning.
 
Two major needs that need to get addressed.

They need a workaround for the network TV websites' discrimination. (If you make it free to a regular PC why are you so afraid of a set-top box?). Have the device call itself a generic browser that won't get blocked (I still think this is antitrust type behavior by the networks)

They need to put in a .pdf viewer. So many websites want to pull up a document in a .pdf format and the revue just burps when it sees one and says "unsupported format".

The last isn't as major, but should be addressed. This is a great box for Amazon Prime members who want to watch free movies and TV shows on their main TVs (Best suggestions? "Lost" seasons of Sarah Jane Adventures and MI:5 that never aired over here after that earlier seasons had done so on SciFi and A&E respectively.) BUT, you can't get it through the Amazon VOD selection off the main menu. You have to manually load the amazon.com page through Google Chrome to access it through there.

Oh, and get the deal done with HBOgo as well. That's another frustrating thing. Most other PayTv providers have you able to get OnDemand content if you are a subscriber. E* is a huge exception to that rule. If it weren't for all my DVR recordings, I might have bailed for Fios already.....
 
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1. Network's blocking GoogleTV won't get shaken out until they all come to a deal with Google. They think that making their Internet video streams on a settop box undermines the retransmission fees and ad revenue they get. We know they are wrong, but they need to figure that out. Google didn't do anything to approch the networks before launching because they figured that the networks would see GoogleTV as they do, another way for their viewers to consume content and thus be able to make money off us. That was something that Google wasn't prepared for.

2. PDF capability would probably come once apps are enabled on the platform. And Adobe can figure out an appropriate 10-foot interface for navigating them. I think Google Docs might have some way of viewing PDFs, at least that's what Gmail gives you an option of using when you get a PDF in an e-mail.

3. Those lists off of the Amazon VOD entry in the main menu are just RSS feeds of those respective sections. Logitech or Google just needs to add them. They might not though since you would need Amazon Prime to access that content and not everyone has that. I for one, would rather they spend their time making a native app for Amazon VOD and not just putting a shortcut to their website.

4. Who knows what's going on with DISH and HBOGo... It's been radio silence according to Scott since the day they said it was a "GO" and then canceled it.
 
1. Network's blocking GoogleTV won't get shaken out until they all come to a deal with Google. They think that making their Internet video streams on a settop box undermines the retransmission fees and ad revenue they get. We know they are wrong, but they need to figure that out. Google didn't do anything to approch the networks before launching because they figured that the networks would see GoogleTV as they do, another way for their viewers to consume content and thus be able to make money off us. That was something that Google wasn't prepared for.........

There is also the interests of the local broadcasters. Internet alternative paths such as Google TV are a direct revenue threat to them, and when and if they become common, could destroy them, and damage the network infrastructure.

Long term, I think that is what will actually happen, and locals will decline similar to the way that newspapers have, but in the meantime, the locals will fight to the death to protect their turf, and the their networks will continue to protect their mutual interests.

3. Those lists off of the Amazon VOD entry in the main menu are just RSS feeds of those respective sections. Logitech or Google just needs to add them. They might not though since you would need Amazon Prime to access that content and not everyone has that. I for one, would rather they spend their time making a native app for Amazon VOD and not just putting a shortcut to their website.

This is a great opportunity for Amazon to demonstrate the value of Prime inside the APP and to provide a convenient pathway between Prime and VOD, by making it easy to enroll in Prime via the app on Revue, and easy to select eligible streams from the App, without having to muddle through the browser to get at them.
 
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So they can keep trying to act like monopolies and continue their long slow death spiral (Basic cable channels and the internet continue to reduce subscribers for most programs), OR they can stop throwing monkey wrenches at new technologies and learn to embrace them more. I can record a show off of CBS and skip all the commercials. If I miss a recording, I can download it off of CBS.com and be forced to watch the commercials. Oh wait, due to your shutting down of my GoogleTV access, I can't. Netflix already allows some people to ditch cabletv/satellite and still get their shows anyway. Find a way to become more compelling, and stop trying to "control" all those eyeballs. Otherwise, you'll fail and eventually only have as many viewers as the Food Network..
 
Just wanted to share what was found out in another thread...
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/249726-i-cant-watch-maxgo-why.html

Using www.maxgo.com/beta/dish and www.HBOgo.com/beta/dish and you can sign up for Max Go and HBO Go. I was able to sign up for both using my Logitech Revue and am now able to watch video from both of them on the Revue. The HBOGO app that is loaded on the Revue does not work but if you use Chrome on the Revue with the links, both services load a GoogleTV enabled site and you can sign up and start watching. Video and audio were great on both services.
 
BIG thanks to bkos. I signed up, quite easily BTW, and was good to go in minutes. I decided to try some streaming on Google Revue TV, via the Chrome browser. Unlike a poor performance last Monday, trying to access the Boston CBS affiliate to stream some live video of the Marathon, the HBO GO site buffered nicely, and gave me a superb viewing of the first episode of The Wire. Having seen it new "back in the day" on my first HDTV, a rear-projection Sony, this viewing on my Vizio LCD/LED knocked my socks off. Was like video heroin, just couldn't stop watching it. They were all so young! (aye, weren't we all)
 
Sorry if this has been discussed, while listening to Pandora, the "time elapsed" bar keeps pulsating/flickering and is very annoying. Anybody else have this problem? If so, how do I resolve?
 
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