The Story of Google's Failed Smart TV Platform (Google TV)

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In 2010, Google launched their very first smart TV platform: Google TV. Sony and Logitech pitched in to create both set top boxes and TVs that ran on the platform. But just 4 years later, Google TV was discontinued. So what made this platform a failure? Find out in today's video!
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#MichaelMJD #GoogleTV #Retrospective

[@Jamiered18]

So we have new Google TV, old Google TV, Android TV, Chromecast, KZbin TV (live TV/DVR service), old KZbin TV (KZbin for TVs). What else. How many of their brands does Google need to slap with a TV moniker!

[@cs188creations]

As bad as Microsoft when it comes to keeping their product/service branding.

[@flp322]

But have you considered Chrome TV? And what about Pixel TV?

[@mattjw16]

This is so true!

[@maximusg88]

No wonder so many people believe in Apple if Google and Microsoft just keep rebranding and worsening or just straight up killing their services

[@sunightmcprivate]

We just need a new Chrome cast!

[@msinfo32]

"Running windows XP on the Sony Internet TV"

[@GigantTech]

Hey you copied my comment

[@markusTegelane]

I mean he already has one so...

[@lemurmad]

I was about to comment about running windows on it. It should work as its a desktop pc.

[@LeeZhiWei8219]

I can't imagine. Unless mjd roots his tv and sideloads qemu for android.

[@Dr.Mohandes]

it's possible tho by installing bochs and/or limbopc apk files on it

[@joes9954]

I was pretty bummed when Google stopped support for the OS. We still have the Sony TV in our bedroom and can still cast programming to it, but not much else. Thankfully what I bought it on sale so the price premium for Google TV was not an issue. I am sort of surprised that there hasn't been any enterprising group out there to have been able to update it to at least ICS or Jellybean.

[@tehee-]

When we got it ten years ago, these were the Cadillacs of smart TVs. Our living room TV is still the Sony NSX-46gt1, which was scooped up at basement price at Best Buy. It was a display model missing everything. We had a spare kettle cord to plug it in, we ordered a new remote from Sony for very low cost. One panel replacement three years later and still works to this day. If you are buying a fancy TV worth over a certain amount, get the warranty for it. My mother, who is very much into interior design LOVES this TV for it's white backing and smooth lines. It's still an elegant set to this day. A little chunky, but it still looks cool.

[@rogehmarbi]

Ah, white TVs. Why are they so hard to find these days.

[@idontplugthingsinprofessio9612]

@@rogehmarbi Because these days, furniture is always brown, white, red, and electronic stuff is usually black probably because it looks more edgy or something (but it is really stupid that you can't get white tv or computer now

[@RemoWilliams1227]

@@idontplugthingsinprofessio9612 build one, you can get whatever color case you want.

[@MichaelOKeefe2009]

CADILLAC! BIG FUCKING VERY AMERICAN VEICHLES FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!!!!!!!!

[@tehee-]

Update: April 11, 2022 Our old 46” Sony Google TV 46” finally died after ~14 years of faithful service. It was a great TV which outlived most tech in our home in that over a decade span. It randomly shut off, went “CLICK” whenever you attempted to turn it on and nothing else. I’m guessing the logic board or power supply gave up the ghost. We had some rough power surges in the past couple of weeks, didn’t do it any favors I’m sure. We replaced with a 50” LG SmartThinQ 9000 series. Excellent TV so far with so many features for such an affordable price. Great picture too. It probably won’t last like the Sony did, I don’t expect it.

[@slippie5585]

not to be confused with google tv

[@Chickenpatty878]

Yeah because this one is google tv

[@ambientraindrop726]

Google TV: not to be confused with, well- Google TV.

[@NopWorks]

@@pl1y_ and also the Google TV which were a rebrand of Play Movies & TV app and the Google TV that is an Android TV skin.

[@mjdxp5688]

There's actually another interesting failed TV platform made by Nintendo of all companies for the Wii U. It was called Nintendo TVii and as you might expect, it didn't last very long, considering how much of a failure the Wii U was. This video reminded me of that a bit.

[@mattjw16]

That is interesting! I never heard of that before. I'd love to see a video on it

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

The virtual boy that actually failed and is actually horrible: 👁️👁️

[@bonkmaykr]

Man I remember this

[@jptrx]

You probably could install either a x86 fork of android or chrome os to that box with few tricks... Maybe an idea for further research_

[@willblack7353]

Heck, even Linux

[@oofingberg]

@@willblack7353 android is gnu/linux

[@DeepfriedChips]

If the drivers exist for windows, hell you can install windows on that

[@hanro50]

@@oofingberg actually no. Android doesn't use gnu components due to licencing concerns involving GPL. Google actually wrote their own stuff under the BSD licence. Android is Linux (or Google/Linux if you want to be technical), not gnu/Linux

[@ericwilson9457]

Could lineage OS be installed on this thing? Would love to see if you could get more use out of this box today.

[@0x0wlOnYT]

Would love to see you do a video on WebTV / MSN TV. I used to use that back in the 90s.

[@bluemetal04606]

I like my 3D TV :/ My 3D TV should be in a museum, it has a blockbuster button . Remember when they was trying to compete with Netflix?

[@mattjw16]

That's awesome! What model is your 3D TV if you don't mind me asking? You got me intrigued now

[@bluemetal04606]

@@mattjw16 E3d320vx

[@mattjw16]

@Prime Conqueror I searched “E3D320VX remote” but I cannot find any with a Blockbuster button. :(

[@danieldaniels7571]

I love my 3D TV too. It’s a 65” passive 4K Sony. I built up a huge collection of 3D Blu-rays, and it’s an absolute treat to watch them.

[@AnotherFreakingDude]

I was like "oh boy it failed already"

[@AndyMelton]

I loved that remote. I wish more streaming devices had a remote with a built-in keyboard.

[@ambientraindrop726]

For whatever reason I had like four of these back in the day. Awesome work, Micheal. Also, super congrats on 100K subs!

[@usbee]

There was also Ubuntu TV back then too. I wonder if any sort of hardware was released with it for the mass market ever.

[@CANVAS-Hivemedia]

5:28 WOW, What A Good Illustration.

[@AbdullahBasit24]

There's also a Xiaomi's TV stick which can be bought by anyone for a cheap price. It's a USB type thingy with an HDMI that turns an ordinary TV into a smart TV by the means of AndroidTV.

[@BBC600]

My guess for why Hulu and the TV stations might've blocked Google TV was due to them being concerned that someone would plug it into a recorder? Google TV reminds me of WebTV.

[@Mordecrox]

I think for the tv stations the issue was advertising. Where I live the major tv station ia cartoonishly aggressive towards you watching anything but the local broadcast, to the point of planning to rig receivers with gps modules to lock only their FTA channel should you move it from its designated place. So I assume they can ask for higher rates when they can ensure local spectators only watch the local broadcast (other channels would have ads from other cities on cable and dish usually)

[@thomasvaron5823]

What about SIDE-loading apps? As you said at 4:45 "Android based" and there was an option for apps not from the market or play store.

[@danieldaniels7571]

I would imagine you could. I can on my Sony Android TV.

[@St0rmcrash]

I'm surprised the browser gets redirected to the TV interface version of KZbin since they've now made it basically killed it and won't let you get to it from a desktop browser anymore. Funny how Google went from selling a glorified HTPC to treating HTPCs as a threat :(

[@GigantTech]

The next Video is installing Windows on the Google TV

[@MightyJKF]

that would be cool but that would be impossible.

[@GigantTech]

@@MightyJKF why

[@MightyJKF]

@@GigantTech because it only supports android 3.2

[@GigantTech]

@@MightyJKF flashing?

[@MightyJKF]

@@GigantTech what?

[@BahaaBarakat]

So we went from Google TV to Android TV to Google TV again with Chromecast in between

[@Emma__Smith]

I LOVED TAHT SONY BOX! The controller was so great.

[@jaykoerner]

It only kinda died, both Android tv and chromecast uses much of the same code for kernel and os(ish) the chromecast, when it lanched was more or less google tvs os with the java runtime and app layer removed, Android tv when it was lanched was more or less entirely developed on the corpse of Google TV and updated to run on the latest Android version and include the client from chromecast, basically what im saying is at the lowest level the os is basically the same on all three

[@DavidWonn]

It’s unsurprising this failed. In 2010 when I wanted to surf the 'Net on my TV, I simply used the Wii browser. A USB keyboard was an option if I wanted, but often I just used the Wiimote. Nowadays, the Wii U serves that purpose. Both are relatively inexpensive options, especially if you’re already using these consoles for gaming purposes.

[@20035079]

I actually remember seeing these at Best Buy. I wanted one, but it was too expensive for us at the time. It seemed really neat to me and I wish I had it so I could push the limits of the system.

[@JessicaFEREM]

I remember wanting the logitefch revue so badly lmao

[@LukeOfTheSky]

My family used to have one of these! They were awesome and I loved just playing around with the controller thing

[@W1ldTangent]

One interesting use for the Revue was digital signage players. Plenty of other cheaper Android STBs you can use for that now but back in the day there were a couple gas station brands at least that had one or two of those in every store.

[@wisnia2737]

I'm curious if there are developers that made custom roms with newer Android TV for these devices.

[@ramdomstuff1923]

Try to get a x86 version of windows on the Google tv

[@flp322]

I wonder if it will run DOOM?

[@Yo666kid]

​@@flp322it definitely can

[@botchedrepair1542]

Quite an interesting video in the first 5 seconds.

[@sburton015]

For some reason I still see the Google TV app on my phone, seems like it hasn't completely failed.

[@eddiegbu2080]

That's the new Google TV

[@MrSomeGamerdude]

That would be the new revised version of Google TV (used to be called: Google play movies and tvs, with a red film icon). The old Google TV was a failure.

[@sburton015]

@@MrSomeGamerdude I guess it was like the Windows phone, for some reason, Microsoft never did do well with mobile devices even when they tried to compete with the Apple iPod with their Zune. I think with the new Google TV that I have on my Samsung Galaxy S10+ phone, it was KZbin TV before it updated to Google TV.

[@MightyJKF]

my family had an apple tv series 2? i believe and we would watch netflix and youtube sometime in 2014, my older sister said that the netflix logo looked “weird” it was actually the new logo and i was shocked!

[@petroklaxis]

I still have one of these. In fact, its the exact same model Michael has.

[@the_mariocrafter]

Can you extract all the APKs and upload?

[@inuyasha2092]

I remember having the biggest precursor to this. We had a WebTV in our house.

[@NielsonLucas]

I saw this Sony Internet TV box at a Best Buy 10 years ago. I remembered about it.

[@awesomeferret]

I miss 3D TV so much. People don't know what they missed, it will make a comeback someday when enough people realize how decent it was and how much better it can be with current tech.

[@danieldaniels7571]

I still have mine and still use the 3D quite a bit. It’s from the last generation Sony made, so 4K with passive 3D.

[@Mordecrox]

I don't think they'll make a comeback when they deliberately disabled 3D functionality, we bought a 3DTV with tons of neat things and other gimmicks such as soccer mode, and most, including 3D, were disabled in updates. To be fair they gave you ample warning, but it gives me once-bitten-twice-shy reflexes when they keep supporting the device for almost a decade but its selling points were pruned within five years.

[@awesomeferret]

@@Mordecrox That's so weird that you think that companies wouldn't go back to such an easy and smart "gimmick" once everyone has 8k TVs and realize that their TVs should be lasting at least a decade. There simply will not be a reason for the average person to buy a new TV in the near future, aside from "it broke". I fully espect 3D TVs to mako a comeback, because frankly it would be financially foolish for the industry not to try, especially considering the plateauing of TV specs (as far as the average person is concerned, yes, I know very high end TVs are getting better, but until microled comes along...).

[@Mordecrox]

@@awesomeferret let me rephrase that: they literally took away a feature/gimmick that sold me on it with an update. I don't owe them any trust or goodwill that they will hold their end of the bargain and have their next gen 3D tvs stay 3D. And yes I got it for a bargain back then so even if it lost its special features and degraded intona regular smart tv (which it did) was still worth its money, but yeah won't ever PAY EXTRA for bells and whistles.

[@awesomeferret]

@@Mordecrox Dang, how is that legal? They stole part of your TV from you.

[@ManMadeOfGold]

I got a logitech revue for like $10 at a swap meet 6 or so years ago. Awful. Very few available apps, and pretty much everything crashed all the time. Would have had so much potential if only it were easy to root and install custom firmware. The Revue had support dropped really quickly and stopped receiving updates, even when they were still horribly unstable.

[@TheRealPentiumMMX]

So, basically this was like an updated version of WebTV?

[@bazahaza]

2:16 News paper from the future or the past?

[@Mike90317]

From the future past!

[@xxHANNONxx]

I bought the Revue in 2010, just for Netflix and I thought it was great, but under powered. Chrome really struggled on it, with very slow loading, and lots of crashing. I actually liked having the keyboard on the couch. Eventually, I replaced it with a PC, and a similar Logitech keyboard. I still use similar Logitech keyboards on the couch.

[@-throat-]

I was a bit confused cuz i thought you were talking about the NEW Google TV. I was like “Didn’t it JUST come out though?!” I didn’t know there was an older one too! (Kinda wish Google came up with another name but oh well)

[@fungo6631]

There was indeed an older one for which you had to log on and off from your Gmail account.

[@RisingRevengeance]

I have a fairly good gaming rig hooked up to my tv with a very similar logitech keyboard and honestly I use that setup more than my traditional desk pc setup. It's also the pc I use to watch everything, I don't see the point in having a normal tv subscription anymore.

[@md.m.8372]

The remotes are still worth $110, no joke I sell em' pretty frequently and pick them up for only 10 or so bucks

[@windowsfan95]

This is just like my family’s Sony TV from 2011. It runs some old version of WebOS if remember right. Through the years more and more of the built in apps and smart functions have been removed(including KZbin) and the modified version of Opera 11 that’s installed barely works!

[@TescoMealDeal571]

I think the search key on the Google TV was the inspiration for the Chromebooks search button

[@caviar_dreamz]

I remember I wanted one back when I was in high schooI after it released. I was already transcoding my torrented movies to the PS3 and did some streaming from websites so it seemed like the perfect device to do that on my tv. Transcoding movies to my PS3 over the network was good but this was even better solution my eyes. It was just a little ahead of its time, but it set the foundation for Android tv later on and filled a certain niche at the time.

[@michaellacock]

I'd love to see a video like this about the Nexus Q, another overpriced Google TV thing.

[@aciddrive]

4:29 watching this vid while using my sennheisers cannot be a coincidence

[@itsyellow]

5:25 next video: where caps lock buttons used to be

[@andresbravo2003]

I knew that one. Probably 10 years before Chromecast with Google TV.

[@crimson750]

keep up the good work man!

[@MichaelMJD]

Thank you!

[@jaiden1279]

A TV that failed impossible!

[@friendlytexangamer9582]

@@NintendoDude888 Google had one that did.

[@doyoting536]

This was interesting to watch good job on the video.

[@MichaelMJD]

Thank you so much!

[@RavenDaSergalOwO]

I remember seeing a Sony google tv in Best Buy when we brought our first flastscreen. I got one I thought wow I don’t have to use my wii to browse the Internet on the family tv. After a week i hated it. Also I ended up going back to the wii and we put the google tv back in the box 10 years later I’m moving and what do you know I find the damn thing last week clearing my basement

[@JessicaFEREM]

I still have a Logitech remote that was originally made for the logitech revue. the remote is excellent and luckily it just uses unifying since it was also made for computers. I have the TV730. I got it brand new for $30 only a year ago.

[@fhwolthuis]

Nice! But you didn't mention the Chromecast at all, it also is a kind of successor to this, right?

[@mattjw16]

I would say so, yes. According to Wikipedia, the Google TV Smart TV was discontinued in 2014, while the first Chromecast was released in 2013.

[@AirknightTails]

How’s the Blu-ray Player portion of it? If I found that in the wild at a decent price. I’d SO Pick it up because of how cool it looks and the Remote :)

[@real_terminalgt]

i actually had one of these which was a nsx-46gt1 model and i remember watching youtube alot on it

[@RemoWilliams1227]

I have a pc connected to my main TV and use it almost every day. The convenience of having multiple tabs open with my different streams is awesome compared to having to switch applications entirely on the TV itself, Ps4, etc.

[@2cloth491]

The fact that Michael uses sarcasm makes a smile on my face :)

[@retrogamer33]

The keyboard that is supplied with the device looks like my mini 2.4GHz keyboard/trackpad

[@rogehmarbi]

Speaking of 3D TVs, I still have one of those. It's an LG panel, and yes we bought one because 3D was all the rage back then. We watched few 3D movies and that's it, after the honeymoon time is over we never touch it again. Heck, I don't even know where the 3D glasses are now

[@nathanhelfert908]

Up until a couple months ago I had an LG TV from 2012 and the user interface looked exactly like that my dad bought it brand new it was like $3000 Hulu was the first app to stop being supported and then everything else stopped being supported to

[@TylerandMoRoll]

Gaming on the google TV was an absolute nightmare. Never have I experienced input delay that bad before. It had to have been a full second delay (which for games like call of duty or anything requiring millisecond reaction timing, just wasn’t happening). Other than that it was nifty at the time.

[@goodboy02network90]

My family cut cable in 2010, opting for Netflix only. And back then you’d have to budget 10 extra minutes into TV time for buffering.

[@5074pokemon]

I remember using one of these when I was 4 to play flash games at a friend's house.

[@franklywell1539]

hi :) nice find MJD

[@sirawesomenessi1796]

You just brought 3D TVs back into my brain. I totally forgot those ever existed

[@DelimiterFrameworks]

If I was technology sufficient in 2010, you’d see me with all these devices.

[@azaharia10]

Great video on Google TV. My favorite product of all time is the Revue

[@blainepalmerza]

Awesome video, Michael!

[@MichaelMJD]

Thank you!

[@Mico605]

Funny timing as Google is reviving Google TV from Android TV

[@Jurtaani]

to be honest a device with similar internals as Nvidia Shield, but with Blu-Ray disk support. that thing would be basically everything that your typical home theater today would need. by that i mean you could run your physical library through that, but also your digital library thru kodi media center. on top of that you could also run your streaming services through it as well.

[@0xEARTH]

so i don't know if i'm just oblivious but i'm noticing a lot more quick quips, like "for $100, for some reason, i know where my next paycheck is going!" at 1:56. took me for a ride at first but i'm kinda digging it, i loved the informational retrospectives but these types of videos are cool

[@aguiristante]

bought my sony tv 15 years agobecause it had youtube. three years later youtube didn t work anymore. At least , the tv is still working as a display device

[@mushroomsamba82]

I have a 60" TV set as a second monitor and it works great for browsing when you have the zoom in windows cranked up.

[@espenfredrick7996]

Man, I didn't know these were a failure! We had one of the all-in-one Sony TVs and I thought the remote was the coolest thing ever. Up until now I just assumed that the smart TV operating systems of today were just a direct descendant of this.

[@umthaerqulu7492]

Hi Michael MJD am asking about wii if it now worth buying and homebrew it? Regards

[@jaikishorsharan5971]

Android TV looks very similar as Google TV, you can still sideload apps or transfer them from the Android Cell phone to it. I think you can use even these remotes on the Andoid TV devices.

[@CalebHawn]

Wow, what a story. It's too bad those older devices didn't just get upgraded to Android TV. Android TV is really successful today. I recommend Amazon's Fire TV to everyone looking for a media streaming device, which runs Fire OS, Amazon's modified version of Android. Another popular device is the Nvidia Shield, which runs Android TV as well. Too bad the old Google TV is yet another thing listed on KilledByGoogle.com.

[@junior-gamer-410]

I think running Windows XP on one of these would be interesting

[@sypheur27]

I still have both the sony internet one and the logitech revue and we used to have the smart tv(they can't even watch hulu or youtube, netflix is the only thing that works anymore)

[@MrPufins]

i saw one of these yesterday at a shop for $50 i kinda wanted it as i really wanted one of these when they came out.

[@oliverstemp9132]

I really loved the Holo design

[@monopalisa619]

The first gen Apple TV runs on a stripped down Mac OS on X86 as well, and they later released the second gen which was based on iOS on Apple Silicon.

[@JesusIsMuslimJustFollowHim]

Grand-grandfather of Android TV👍 Next time root the Sony Internet TV please, so you can explore more!

[@Zinkolo]

Dude you failed to mention that Android TV is now Google TV. How do you not know this?

[@catmaster1042]

I have old Google TV, Android TV, New Google TV and Apple TV. But I use Apple TV a lot.

[@sburton015]

So using this Google TV set today would be pretty useless I think for internet tasks. It's like trying to browse the internet on my 2nd gen iPod touch from 2008. I remember playing all kinds of KZbin videos in the app when I had it new in early 2009. Now it since has stopped working.

[@Bcarr122391]

I bought an LG Google TV as my first-ever tv purchase a long time ago. It still works pretty well, albeit a little slow compared to newer smart TVs.

[@Bcarr122391]

Edit: 6:57 was the TV I bought. 😅

[@toastersunited]

Newspaper: Youth Jailed Mike: the sony device was pretty big

[@themixgenius1993]

"Sony Internet TV 3D Blu-ray Disc Player" sounds like a clone (knockoff) smartphone listings on Wish

[@BoomboxStudiosAndDexter]

Jey Miachel MJD!!! Again, I Love your videos!!!

[@Da_Benski]

My 2nd Gen Google TV was the best cross-platform set top box available when it came out. The youtube app is still my favorite youtube browser EVER. But the lack of development allowed Comcast's X1 platform to surpass it. Today I just run an old laptop with an Adesso wireless keyboard as a media PC. With Comcast X1, I dont have to rent a cable box (which made my laptop pay fo r itself).

[@prestonak]

2:00 nice ad placement

[@nathanlamaire]

I felt like I like Google TV more. Android TV, without some sort of voice control, is hard to use.

[@alphastudios0906]

Video idea: install Windows or Linux on that Sony settop

[@JessicaFEREM]

I lie the remote on the sony. would love to have one for the PC now.

[@cakedon]

Google TV aka. Google Technological Vertigo

[@maniatore2006]

Yes indeed, almost every Smart TV can install third party Streaming Software, From Smart IPTV, over Duplex IPTV, up to SET IPTV, and also all Official Services. Like, the Dreamcast, google, was to early.