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Tag: Vizio

  • Google Play Movies & TV App Ending Roku and Smart TV Support

    Google Play Movies & TV App Ending Roku and Smart TV Support

    Google has announced it is ending support for its Play Movies & TV app on Roku and smart TVs by LG, Samsung and Vizio.

    Google has been moving away from its Play Movies & TV app, with the eventual goal being to replace it with Google TV, which the company unveiled in September 2020. In the meantime, the company is steering users toward its YouTube TV streaming service.

    Starting 6/15/2021, the Google Play Movies & TV app will no longer be available on Roku, Samsung, LG, and Vizio smart TVs. The YouTube app will be your new home for movies and shows. Just log in with your Google account in the YouTube app today, you’ll have access to all of your past purchases, and will be able to browse, purchase, and rent new content.

    Google says past purchases will be available in YouTube, Google Play credits can be used in YouTube and Play Family Library purchases can be viewed on YouTube. Watchlists will not make the transition, however.

    As 9to5Google points out, one disadvantage of of this approach is that YouTube TV doesn’t offer the wide range of 4K support as a dedicated app, like Play Movies & TV app.

  • Walmart Black Friday: Check Out Their Deals

    Walmart Black Friday: Check Out Their Deals

    Walmart Black Friday is practically an entity in itself. People who wouldn’t step foot in the store the rest of the year often peruse fliers, map out shopping strategies, and grace its aisles on Black Friday. And this year’s Walmart Black Friday deals don’t disappoint either. Of course one must take into consideration that they might be taking their well-being into their own hands, as brawls have actually broken out over some of these Walmart Black Friday deals in the past.

    Walmart is rolling out its doorbusters in “Events,” or specified chunks of time once again this year. Event 1 begins at 6:00 PM local time on Thanksgiving evening. Event 2 starts at 8:00 PM, and Event 3 kicks off the ‘official’ start to Black Friday at 6:00 AM. This means if shoppers want items that go on sale at 6:00 PM Thursday, as well as items that are reduced at 6:00 AM Friday, then they’d best be prepared to hang out at Walmart for a while.

    One big plus for shoppers who head out to shop the Walmart Black Friday sales is the return of their 1-Hour Guaranteed Doorbusters. Those brave (crazy?) enough to brave the crowds from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM are guaranteed to nab the advertised coveted item. If the item sells out before they get their hands on it, Walmart guarantees they will get it to them by Christmas at the doorbuster price. Make note that this is only for Event 1. This guarantee doesn’t apply to the remainder of the Walmart Black Friday sales.

    You can check out Walmart Black Friday deals online, too. Shoppers can even stay connected to Walmart deals with a special app for their phones.

    So what’s on sale?

    1. Vizio 65″ 1080p Smart LED LCD HDTV for $648
    2. Element 60″ 1080p LED LCD HDTV for $498
    3. HP Intel Celeron 15.6″ Laptop for $159
    4. Xbox One Halo: The Master Chief Collection Bundle with a $30 Walmart Gift Card for $329
    5. Beats by Dr. Dre Wireless Bluetooth Headphones for $149
    6. RCA 7″ 8GB Android Tablet for $29
    7. Fitbit Flex Wireless Wristband for $69
    8. 4-Burner Gas Grill with Side Burner for $99
    9. Dyson DC33 Multi-Floor Bagless Upright Vacuum for $199
    10. Rachel Ray 15-Piece Porcelain Enamel Nonstick Cookware Set for $89

    If you see something here that’s on your holiday shopping list, check out your Walmart Black Friday ads and make both your list and your shopping schedule. You’re sure to score something spectacular–and save money, too–if you’re ready and willing to brave the insanity.

  • Best TV Deals for Shoppers on Black Friday

    Best TV Deals for Shoppers on Black Friday

    The best TV deals for Black Friday, according to Consumer Reports, include 40 to 55-inch models.

    Black Friday has long been a huge day for electronics sales, with TVs at the top of the list. What better way is there to get a new TV than to seek out the best TV deals on the biggest retail shopping day of the year?

    Consumer Reports lists the following five options as this year’s Black Friday best TV deals:

    “Yes, we’re starting off with a tie for what we think might be the best TV deals this season, mainly because the two sets seem comparable and are only $1 apart in price. We already reported that Best Buy will have a 50-inch Panasonic 1080p LED/LCD TV (TC-50A400U) for only $200. But Amazon has countered with a 50-inch Toshiba 1080p LED/LCD set for $199. There’s little info about this set right now, but we expect to hear more soon. Panasonic and Toshiba LCD TVs have done well in our Ratings, but neither brand has scored especially well in terms of sound.

    A 60-inch 120Hz 1080p Element LED/LCD TV for $498, at Walmart. This is a great price for a TV this size. We haven’t tested this set so we can’t comment on its picture quality, but other Element sets we’ve tested haven’t done all that well in our Ratings. Still, it might be fine for less-discriminating viewers, or as a secondary big-screen TV in a den, bedroom, or kid’s play room.”

    “A 40-inch Element 1080p TV for $119 at Target, Amazon, and probably Walmart. No specific model has been named, but we think it might be the Element LF401EM5. If so, we expect that Walmart will try to match this price, or beat it by a dollar or two. Amazon also has an unnamed 40-inch set for this price. We don’t expect it to be a top performer, but it’s hard to believe you can buy a 40-inch TV for less than you’d pay for an 8-inch tablet.

    A 50-inch Samsung 60Hz 1080p TV (model UN50EH5000FXZA) selling for $478 at Target. Samsung worked with several retailers to offer “Black Friday special” models that we haven’t seen at other times of the year. But Samsung has been among the top brands in our TV Ratings, so we expect these sets to perform well. For just $20 more, Walmart has a step-up 120Hz model with smart TV features—the UN50H5203 for $498. This may actually be a better deal, and it still falls within our budget cutoff.

    A 55-inch Vizio smart LED/LCD TV for $478 at Amazon. No model name was given, but it could be the Vizio E550i-B2, which was selling for about $650. We tested this TV, which is in Vizio’s entry-level E series, and it has excellent high-def picture quality and a good number of features, including a full-array LED backlight and Vizio’s smart TV platform.”

    Is a new TV on your Black Friday shopping list? Consumer Reports is often the way to go when looking for a good bargain for the least money. They have long been the go-to publication for shoppers seeking everything from televisions to cars. Might you consider one of these best TV deals they have shared with consumers?

  • Samsung Leads U.S. Smart TV Market, LG on the Rise

    Samsung Leads U.S. Smart TV Market, LG on the Rise

    The data from 2013 is in and it is now clear that smart TVs are the future of living room displays. Whether this is due to consumer demand or simply manufacturers including smart TV technology in new TV sets is unclear, but what is clear is that TVs will soon come with apps and ethernet ports as standard.

    Last month market research showed that Samsung is leading the global smart TV market by a wide margin. This week market research firm Strategy Analytics has released new data showing that Samsung is also leading the smart TV market in the U.S. – but not by a landslide.

    According to Strategy Analytics Samsung held 29.6% of the smart TV market during the fourth quarter of 2013, nearly the same market share it had one year before during the fourth quarter of 2012 (29.5%). Following close behind Samsung is not LG, the second-place brand in the global smart TV rankings, but Vizio. Vizio captured 24.4% of the U.S. smart TV market during the fourth quarter of 2013, up 1.7% year-over-year.

    Instead of second place LG sits at fourth place in the U.S. smart TV market with a 13% market share as of the last holiday quarter. This is, however, a large 5.1% increase in market share over the fourth quarter of 2012, demonstrating that LG

    The company that should most look out for LG’s rise is Sony, which held 17.6% of the U.S. smart TV market during the fourth quarter of 2013. This represents a significant 3.3% drop in market share from the 20.9% that Sony controlled during the fourth quarter of 2012. It’s a drop that the company’s new TV subsidiary will have to inherit and work hard to overcome while LG pushes for more smart TV relevance in the U.S.

    “We expect that smart TVs will comprise more than half of all FPTV [flat-panel TV] shipments in the U.S. in 2014, but the smart TV market will continue to be dominated by a handful of vendors at the top,” said Eric Smith, analyst for connected home devices at Strategy Analytics. “Vendors competing solely on price will be slow to embrace smart TV.”

  • Netflix: All Originals (And ‘Breaking Bad’) To Be 4K, 3D Support May End

    Netflix: All Originals (And ‘Breaking Bad’) To Be 4K, 3D Support May End

    All of Netflix’s original shows will be produced in 4K, according to the company. CEO Reed Hastings said as much at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, where he promoted the company’s use of the ultra HD video format along with partnerships with TV makers.

    We knew that House of Cards: Season 2 was produced in 4K, and a new trailer (also in 4K) was made available this week. Now we can expect upcoming seasons of shows like Hemlock Grove and Orange is the New Black to follow suit, not to mention initial seasons of shows that have yet to debut (like Sense8 and the untitled project from the Damages creators).

    Netflix reportedly has partnerships in place with Sony, LG, Vizio and Samsung for 4K video. The Hollywood Reporter shares some comments from Hastings:

    “Netflix is working with Sony to create a fabulous entertainment experience. When 4K started to be talked about, we saw the Internet as the natural medium to deliver it because most 4K content was going to be available online. We know that content creators are very excited about 4K because of the additional picture range they get to play with. All new original content from Netflix, including season two of House of Cards, will be shot, edited and produced in 4K…and we’ve been working with Sony to show Breaking Bad in 4K.”

    He added that Netflix’ 4K service will require 15Mb/s of in-home bandwidth compressed using HEVC. “This is very practical,” said Hastings. “You can stream 4K over WiFi if you want to. It’s testament to the work we’ve been doing on encoding and what Sony has been doing on decoding.”

    Hastings also appeared at LG’s press conference at CES, which saw the launch of LG’s Web OS-powered Ultra HD smart TVs.

    As Netflix focuses on 4K content, 3D appears to be taking a backseat. A year ago, Netflix launched Super HD and 3D streaming, but now the company is indicating that 3D will likely go away due to lack of interest.

    Giga Om’s Janko Roettgers spoke with Netflix’s Joris Evers at CES, and was told that the company may end support for 3D in the future. Evers also reportedly said that Netflix will not charge consumers any extra money to watch content in Ultra HD.

    Image: Breaking Bad (YouTube)

  • CES 2014: Vizio Unveils 120-Inch Ultra HD TV

    Vizio this week has one-upped Samsung in what is sure to become an ongoing ultra HD TV size pissing contest.

    Just before the end of 2013 Samsung unveiled its 110S9, a 110-Inch ultra high definition (UHD) TV. Today at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Vizio revealed that it will soon sell a 120-inch UHD TV.

    Vizio’s new Reference Series (R-Series) televisions come in two sizes, a 65-inch and a 120-inch, and feature full 4K resolutions, 10-bit color, and 384 active LED zones for fine-tuned contrast. They also feature video modes allowing the TVs to display content in a variety of frame rates, allowing movies to be viewed in 24fps or PC games to be displayed in up to 120fps.

    Of course, Vizio’s R-Series TVs are more than just screens. The devices will come with a fully array of smart TV features and streaming video/music apps. All of this is powered by a dual-core V6 processor and a quad-core GPU.

    Vizio has not yet announced pricing or release date information. If Samsun’g $150,000 110S9 is any indication, though, Vizio’s new R-Series will be very expensive and sold primarily to businesses and a handful of very rich individuals.

  • Latest 2013-14 College Football Bowl Schedule

    The 2013-2014 BCS lineup serves mainly as a formality now, as college football polls have confirmed that Florida State is number one and Auburn is number two. Both schools will face off at the Rose Bowl on January 6th, the last game of the Bowl Championship Series.

    The USA Today coaches’ poll gave Florida State 62 first-place votes, and the Associated Press media poll gave Florida 56 out of 60, with the remaining four going to Auburn.

    Florida State, Auburn, Alabama and Michigan State were the top four picks in both polls, with Stanford at No. 5 and Baylor at No. 6 in the AP poll, while the coaches’ poll reversed that order

    The BCS selection show airs Sunday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

    2013-14 College Football Bowl Schedule:

    All times EST:

    Dec. 21 (New Mexico) Albuquerque, N.M., 2 p.m. Colorado St. vs. Washington St.
    Dec. 21 (Las Vegas) Las Vegas 3:30 p.m. Fresno St. vs. Pac-12
    Dec. 21 (Idaho Potato) Boise, Idaho, 5:30 p.m. San Diego St. vs. Buffalo
    Dec. 21 (New Orleans) New Orleans, 9 p.m. Tulane vs. UL Lafayette
    Dec. 23 (Beef ‘O’ Brady’s) St. Petersburg, Fl., 2 p.m. Ohio vs. East Carolina
    Dec. 24 (Hawaii) Honolulu, 8 p.m. Conference USA vs. Boise St.
    Dec. 26 (Little Caesars Pizza) Detroit, 6 p.m. Pitt vs. Bowling Green
    Dec. 26 (Poinsettia) San Diego, 9:30 p.m. N. Illinois vs. Utah St.
    Dec. 27 (Military) Annapolis, Md., 2:30 p.m. ACC8 vs. Marshall
    Dec. 27 (Texas) Houston, 6 p.m. Big 12 vs. Big Ten
    Dec. 27 (Fight Hunger) San Francisco, 9:30 p.m. Brigham Young vs. Pac-12
    Dec. 28 (Pinstripe) Bronx, N.Y., 12:00 p.m. Rutgers vs. Notre Dame
    Dec. 28 (Belk) Charlotte, N.C., 3:20 p.m. North Carolina vs. Cincinnati
    Dec. 28 (Russell Athletic) Orlando, Fl., 6:45 p.m. ACC vs. Louisville
    Dec. 28 (Buffalo Wild Wings) Tempe, Az., 10:15 p.m. Big 12 vs. Big Ten
    Dec. 30 (Armed Forces) Fort Worth, Texas, 11:45 a.m. Navy vs. Middle Tenn.
    Dec. 30 (Music City) Nashville, Tenn. 3:15 p.m. Ole Miss vs. Georgia Tech
    Dec. 30 (Alamo) San Antonio, 6:45 p.m. Big 12 vs. Pac-12
    Dec. 30 (Holiday) San Diego, 10:15 p.m. Big 12 vs. Pac-12
    Dec. 31 (AdvoCare V100) Shreveport, La., 12:30 p.m. ACC vs. SEC
    Dec. 31 (Sun) El Paso, Texas, 2 p.m. ACC vs. Pac-12
    Dec. 31 (Liberty) Memphis, Tenn. 4 p.m. Rice vs. SEC
    Dec. 31 (Chick-fil-A) Atlanta, 8 p.m Duke vs. Texas A&M
    Jan. 1 (Heart of Dallas) Dallas, 12 p.m. UNLV vs. North Texas
    Jan. 1 (Gator) Jacksoville, Fla., 12 p.m. , Big Ten vs. SEC
    Jan. 1 (Capital One) Orlando, Fla., 1 p.m. Big Ten vs. SEC
    Jan. 1 (Outback)Tampa, Fla., 1 p.m. Iowa vs. LSU
    Jan. 1 (Rose) Pasadena, Calif. , 5 p.m. Michigan St. vs. Stanford
    Jan. 1 (Fiesta) Glendale, Ariz., 8:30 p.m. Baylor vs. UCF
    Jan. 2 (Sugar) New Orleans, 8:30 p.m. Alabama vs. Oklahoma
    Jan. 3 (Orange) Miami 8:30 p.m. Clemson vs. Ohio State
    Jan. 3 (Cotton) Arlington, Tx., 8 p.m. Big 12 vs. SEC
    Jan. 4 (BBVA Compass) Birmingham, Ala., 1 p.m. Houston vs. SEC
    Jan. 5 (GoDaddy) Mobile, Ala., 9 p.m. Ball St. vs. Arkansas State
    Jan. 6 (BCS National Championship) Pasadena, Calif., 8:30 p.m. Florida St. vs. Auburn

    Check out a new reel from ESPN:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbO6–8GJhA

    Image via YouTube.

  • CES 2013: Vizio’s First Windows 8 Tablet Is Powered By AMD

    Let’s be honest with ourselves: Windows 8 tablets, including Microsoft’s own Surface, aren’t doing that well. The biggest offender is the overall price of these tablets with the anticipated Surface Pro, priced at $899, not helping. So, what happens when the king of cheap televisions takes a crack at it?

    Vizio, known more for its cheap televisions than computers, announced at CES 2013 that it’s bringing a 11.6-inch Windows 8 tablet to market later this year. Much like the Surface, Vizio is selling this a tablet that doubles a premium PC. What sets it apart is that it uses AMD’s latest APU for a presumably cheaper price point.

    The new tablet features a full HD 1080p display, 64GB SSD, and an AMD Z-60 APU with on-board Radeon HD graphics. The processor was built with Windows 8 tablets in mind, and as such, features a low-power dual-core 1.0 GHz CPU. The on-board GPU is clocked at 275 MHz, but supports DirectX 11. It’s not going to be a gaming machine, but no Windows 8 tablet has yet proven to be one either.

    “We built a tablet PC with Windows 8 that truly allows consumers to accomplish any task while being mobile,” said Matt McRae, Chief Technology Officer, VIZIO. “We are excited to work together with AMD to bring consumers a Tablet PC with the Windows experience that also delivers exceptional visuals using AMD’s expertise in superior graphics processing.”

    There’s no mention of pricing or availability yet, but it should be cheap. Vizio has a good track record of keeping prices down, and the use of an AMD processor should help keep the price down even more. With that being said, the use of an AMD processor may turn some people away who prefer more powerful Intel processors in their tablets, but that’s what the $899 Surface Pro is for.

  • Google TV Will Have A Major Presence At CES 2013

    For the longest time, it seemed like Google TV wasn’t really going anywhere despite all the money Google and its hardware partners were pouring into the platform. You could still argue that it’s not going anywhere, but Google apparently has some big plans for the platform this year.

    Google announced today that Google TV will have a big presence at this year’s CES coming up next week. The company says that we’ll see “more Google TV partners, updates from existing partners, and more content coming to the platform.”

    Speaking of new partners, Google says that Asus, Hisense, TCL and other OEMs will be showing off Google TV products that will be launching in the coming weeks. There will also be new products from existing partners like LG, Vizio, Sony and others on the show floor. In all, Google says that Google TV will be available in set-top boxes, integrated TVs and IPTV boxes from 9 manufacturers in 10 countries around the world.

    Of course, all that means nothing if Google can’t get people to buy Google TVs in the first place. The set-top box seems to be the company’s best bet at taking over the living room as buying a Smart TV has yet to prove financially reasonable. Set-top boxes, like Vizio’s CO-Star, are incredibly cheap and compete with Apple TV on equal footing in just about every category.

    Either way, it will be interesting to see what Google TV brings to the table at CES this year. The potential threat of an actual Apple television still hangs above all the other TV manufacturers as they bring their best to the show. Bigger TVs aren’t going to cut it anymore so Google TV better have some new tricks up its sleeve.

  • Vizio’s Addition To The Google TV Family Is Now Available For Pre-Order

    I was a little scared for the future of Google TV during I/O. The company didn’t talk about it during any of their keynotes and there wasn’t a lot of developer workshops dedicated to the smart TV software. Worry not, however, as the latest shining beacon of hope for Google TV is set to arrive soon with pre-orders starting today.

    Vizio announced today that pre-orders are being accepted for its Co-Star stream player. If you are unfamiliar with the device, it’s kind of like the Google TV equivalent of Apple TV. It’s a small box that connects to your television to bring all the goodness of Google TV to any TV with HDMI input.

    As for the Co-Star itself: It supports video up to 1080p and can even display in 3D for TVs that support it. It also, as Vizio puts it, “offers the distinct advantage of connecting to a cable or satellite box.” It’s a good thing as the remote that comes with the Co-Star will be able to work in conjunction with both the Co-Star and your set-top box for a seamless watching experience.

    The Co-Star features all the usual Google TV apps like Netflix, Chrome, Pandora and Google Play. It’s also the first stream player to be integrated with OnLive. If you have a fast enough internet connection, you’ll be able to stream PC games through the Co-Star with little to no lag.

    Pre-orders for the Co-Star open today with the device being available for the low price of $99. Vizio hasn’t announced a proper release date for the Co-Star yet, but you get free shipping if you pre-order now. The Co-Star will be available exclusively through Vizio’s online store. If the quality is anything like their excellent televisions, then I can see the Co-Star being a hit among the Google TV fan base.

  • Google TV Gets Some Much Needed Improvements

    I’m more than a little scared for Google TV. The company didn’t mention their attempt at invading the living room once during either Google I/O keynotes. While we could devote an entire article to what Google’s indifference towards Google TV means for them and consumers, we’re here to talk about the good news. It seems that Google isn’t totally blowing off Google TV because they announced some improvements that might help the platform become a more viable option.

    Over on the Google TV blog, the team announced that Google TV is getting some great new features. First and foremost, users will soon be able to take advantage of Google Play in its entirety for entertainment choices. Users will finally be able to stream movies and TV shows from Google Play to their Google TV while sharing their purchased content across devices like tablets and phones.

    While more options for entertainment is great, one of Google TV’s weaknesses was its lack of hardware support. Sony made a valiant first effort, but a lot of people don’t want to buy a brand new TV just for a software upgrade. That’s why Sony, Vizio and LG are all launching Google TV set-top boxes so that consumers won’t have to buy an expensive TV anymore to get access to the features in Google TV. Vizio’s recently announced CO-Star is definitely the best deal at $99 and is aiming directly for the Apple TV.

    Of course, Google TV requires support from developers to be great. Software sells hardware and if Google can prove that they have the apps, people will buy Google TV hardware. To help speed things along, Google has released a whole new set of tools like APIs, libraries and custom code to help developers get the most out of the Google TV architecture. Building an app specifically for a TV is challenging, but it could just be the next big market. Developers might want to jump on before it takes off especially if Apple comes out with their oft-rumored iTV.

    It was unfortunate that Google didn’t give their TV platform any chance to shine. The news here kind of makes up for it, but I hope that Google actually addresses the problems with Google TV in the future and announces some new product to make it worth it. If they can work with various OEMs like Asus and Samsung to make the Nexus 7 and Nexus phone, they could surely create a Nexus TV.

  • Vizio And Google Are Making Your TV Smart With The CO-Star

    Smart TVs will be all the rage sooner or later or so says the company execs who have been pushing them for the past year. Most people seem to think that it won’t really take off until Apple makes a true Apple TV, but it’s still a pretty niche market for now. Vizio is taking a shot at that niche market with their newest device.

    Vizio announced today the impending launch of the CO-Star. It’s a small device similar to the current Apple TV that turns any HDTV into a smart TV. It effectively beats what hurts smart TVs at the moment – their price and need to buy a new TV – by offering a small discreet box that offers all the best Google TV has to offer.

    Alongside all the features that Google TV has, the CO-Star actually has a second function that makes it stand out from the bunch. It can connect directly to a satellite or cable set top box to deliver all the television you want from your cable provider, but also allowing you to switch over to the apps whenever you want.

    Speaking of apps, the CO-Star has plenty of them. It features the usual suspects like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube and iHeartRadio. Surprisingly enough, the device is the first Google TV to offer the OnLive app. For those unfamiliar, OnLive is a service that allows gamers to stream PC games in all their glory directly to your TV without any additional hardware. Be sure to have a fast Internet connection and no data cap before using it though.

    Of course, some people may be scoffing at the CO-Star calling it a mindless Apple TV ripoff. I would agree on the actual device, but it trumps Apple’s attempt in one key way – it has an actual remote. Apple fans hate to witness truth, but more buttons is sometimes a good thing. The CO-Star’s remote is a fully featured remote with all the buttons you could ever desire alongside a touchscreen for easy navigation for those who just hate buttons.

    As for the innards of the device, it can stream full 1080p HD and 3D content. It only has Wi-Fi so you better bust out that router. It also features a USB port for hard drives, keyboards and other peripherals. It also features DLNA-integration for cameras, tablets and computers that support the protocol.

    Best of all, the CO-Star will be directly competing with the Apple TV at a price of $99.99. Pre-orderes will go live in July and will offer free shipping for a limited time. No actual release date was announced, but I can’t imagine being long after they open pre-orders.

  • CES 2012: Vizio Gets Into The Computer Business

    Vizio, maker of LCD TVs, has announced that they are breaking into the computer business. In a press release issued at CES today, the company debuted a line of desktop and notebook computers aimed to bring the quality and affordability that characterize Vizio’s HDTVs to the computing world.

    Vizio’s new PC line is comprised of two desktop all-in-one PCs, one notebook, and two thin and light notebooks. Vizio’s decision to enter the computer market stems from an awareness of the increasing role of our computers in entertainment – particularly in video streaming. With these computers, Vizio set out to create devices “that can stream content for a family movie night and put together an important business presentation the following day.” That is, Vizio wants to make computers that meet users’ entertainment needs and their business needs equally well.

    Vizio's New PC Lineup

    The PCs will incorporate Vizio’s VIA (Vizio Internet Apps) system, which will allow for tight integration between users’ Vizio HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and PCs. There is no word on pricing yet, but the line is scheduled for a Spring 2012 release, so look for more information in the near future.

    [Source: Vizio Press Release]

  • Google TV To Storm CES

    Google TV To Storm CES

    The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) begins next week, and you can expect a bunch of new Google TV-related offerings to be showcased.

    Google just announced new offerings to be unveiled by a handful of partners.

    For one, LG has become Google’s fourth major TV manufacturing partner. The company will showcase a new line of TVs powered by Google TV running on their L9 chipset.

    Chipset makers Marvell and MediaTek will begin supplying chipsets for the next generation of Google TVs, which Google says will help “usher in new products at new price points”.

    Sony will demo new Google TV-powered devices for the U.S. as well as plans for products in other countries this year.

    Samsung will have Google TV devices in 2012, and Vizio will hold private demos at the event, showing off their new line of Google TV devices.

    It seems like a long time ago that Google unveiled Google TV with big dreams and aspirations. In fact, it was May of 2010 at Google I/O. It has indeed been a while. Google TV didn’t quite take off with the bang the company had hoped for. TV networks certainly didn’t reduce the friction.

    Google launched an update for Google TV this past fall, and apparently that has been pretty big, as activation rates have more than doubled since then, Google says. The update came with a new interface, a more TV-friendly YouTube interface, and access to the Android Market.

    The increasing popularity of Android devices can’t hurt Google TV either.

  • Did Vizio Flash New Product?

    Did Vizio Flash New Product?

    Has Vizio snuck one in again?

    Last year, during the Rose Bowl half-time break, Vizio ran what appeared to be a run-of-the-mill commercial for their products. Then, at the 16-second mark in a 30-second spot, Vizio Chief Sales Officer Randy Waynick was shown nonchalantly holding what would turn out to be Vizio’s then-unannounced 8-inch tablet. He never mentioned it or alluded to it other than to glance down at it.

    This year, during a similar 30-second Rose Bowl spot, Vizio Chief of Technology Matt McCrae delivered a similar generic product message. But, barely three seconds of another unmentioned product stood out. Could this sleek thing of beauty be Vizio’s newest pride and joy?

    2012 Rose Bowl Ad

    2011 Rose Bowl Ad

    If Vizio is ready to launch that set, we’ll likely hear about it at the Consumer Electronics Show this month.

    Vizio has a history of competitively pricing their HDTVs in comparison with other manufacturers. Their Rose Bowl ads tout affordability for everyone.

    Vizio has a four-year contract for sponsorship of the annual Rose Bowl. Time will tell if they continue to use their spots in half-time to “sneak peek” new products.

  • Hulu Plus To Become Available On Some Android Phones

    Individuals who both own an Android phone and subscribe to Hulu Plus are perhaps not the poorest folks around (food and shelter tend to come before data plans and entertainment services), but soon enough, they may get more for their money.  Hulu Plus is supposed to become available on certain Android phones sometime this year.

    Hulu CEO Jason Kilar announced this goal at CES.  In a post on the Hulu Blog, Product Director Rob Wong then explained that "select Android phones (running Android OS 2.2)" will represent the starting point, and he also set the timeframe as "in coming months."

    This development should significantly improve the value of Hulu Plus to a particular set of users (and potential users).  Soon, they’ll be able to get something in exchange for their $7.99 per month any time their phone’s handy, not just when they happen to be near a computer or specially equipped TV.

    HuluOn that note, there were two more Hulu Plus-related developments Wong shared.  He wrote, "Hulu Plus is now available on Vizio Internet-connected HDTVs, and is coming soon to Vizio Blu-ray players. . . .  Finally, we also announced an agreement to bring Hulu Plus to Haier internet-connected HDTVs and Blu-ray players later this year."

    Execs at Google and Netflix are likely to be less than pleased about all this, especially since a Google TV-Vizio deal was sealed just this week.

  • Google Adds New TV Partner

    Google has added Vizio as its first TV partner in the new year, joining Sony and Logitech.

    The official Google TV Blog offers more details. “We’re kicking off the year with a new partner, Vizio, a leading TV maker in the U.S.”

    Google-Vizio

    “Vizio is making a new line of TVs and a Blu-ray player incorporating Google TV that will hit shelves later this year.”

    Google also said in 2011 it will release developer tools for building apps specifically for the TV, and it will bring Android Market to Google TV, so users can download apps to their TVs.