Android TV

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Not to be confused with Google TV.
Android TV
Android tv logo.svg
Android TV.jpg
The ADT-1 digital media player, part of the official development kit for Android TV
Developer Google
Manufacturer Google
Type Smart TV platform
Release date June 25, 2014
Operating system Android
Graphics 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, 2560 × 1440, 3840 × 2160
Online services Google Play
Predecessor Google TV
Website www.android.com/tv

Android TV is a smart TV platform developed by Google. Based on the Android operating system, it creates an interactive television experience through a 10-foot user interface. It was initially announced on June 25, 2014, at Google I/O 2014 as a successor to Google's earlier attempt at a smart TV platform, which was Google TV.

Android TV can be built both into TVs and into stand-alone digital media players. Users have access to the Google Play Store to download Android apps, including media streaming services Netflix and Hulu, as well as games.[1] The platform emphasizes voice search to quickly find content or to answer queries (such as which movies were nominated for an Academy Award in a specific year).[2] The TV interface is divided vertically into three sections: recommendations on top (which update based on viewing habits), media apps in the middle, and games on the bottom.[3] The interface can be navigated using a game controller, remote control, or the Android TV mobile app.[4] Android TV also supports Google Cast, the technology behind Google's media player Chromecast that allows a mobile device to be used to select and control media playback on a TV.[4]

Google has partnered with Sony, Sharp, and Philips (TP Vision) to offer the platform in TVs. Version 2 of Shield Android TV was announced at CES 2017 with Google Assistant in a future update.[5]

History[edit]

Google and Asus co-developed the first device to employ Android TV, the Nexus Player, released in November 2014 (now discontinued[6]). Razer released media player with a focus on gaming.[7][8]

Features[edit]

Android TV allows consumers to use an HDTV set to play music, watch video originating from Internet services or a local network, and play games (Emulators and Android Games). Android TV can be paired with Bluetooth gaming controllers to interact with the system interface / applications, as well as, playing games. Android TV also includes all features and streaming capabilities of the Chromecast device.

Digital media players[edit]

Shield Android TV[edit]

Main article: Shield Android TV

The Shield Android TV by NVIDIA was announced on March 3, 2015,[12] and initially marketed as the Shield Console. The branding was changed because NVIDIA did not want to appear to be competing with eighth generation consoles.[13] Unlike the Nexus Player and the Forge TV, the Shield Android TV has a higher price point of US$200. A primary selling point of the device is the Tegra X1 chipset which is far more powerful than that of any previous Android TV device. The set-top box also has 3 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi ac. The device ships with a Wi-Fi Direct NVIDIA-branded game controller. Other features include integration with NVIDIA GameStream and GeForce NOW. As with previous NVIDIA Shield branded devices, a small selection of NVIDIA-exclusive Android-ported AAA video games are optimised for the Tegra X1 chipset.

ADT-1[edit]

The ADT-1 Developer Kit was released by Google before any commercial Android TV devices were released. The hardware was given to some Google I/O 2014 attendees and later mailed to other developers.[14] The device uses a Tegra 4 chipset and has 16 GB of flash memory.[15]

Nexus Player[edit]

Main article: Nexus Player

The Google Nexus Player was the first consumer Android TV device, releasing first in the US on November 3, 2014, featuring an Intel Atom chipset, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of flash memory. It supports 1080p, but not 4K. Google has not revealed a successor to the Nexus Player and prices have been quietly cut at local retailers shortly after a September 29, 2015 event where Google revealed their next line of Nexus products along with an updated Chromecast[16] leading to questions over the future of the Nexus Player and Android TV.[17]

Mi Box[edit]

The Xiaomi Mi Box was first unveiled during Google I/O in May 2016, featuring an quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU with a Mali 450 GPU, 2 GB of RAM, dual-band Wi-Fi ac and 8 GB of flash memory expandable via USB 2.0 port. It supports 1080p and 4K.

Other third-party offerings[edit]

The Freebox Player Mini is offered by French ISP Free, and is a 4K capable Android TV set-top-box and accompanying Freebox Server FTTH/xDSL router.

The Forge TV, by Razer, was announced at CES on January 6, 2015.[18] Featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of flash storage, a USB 3 port and a gigabit Ethernet port, the Forge TV was marketed as a micro-console rather than a multimedia device. Pre-orders began on April 23, 2015[19] at a price of US$100 with shipment by April 29, 2015.

Korean telecom company LG UPlus announced in May 2015 that they will introduce Android TV on U+ tvG 4K UHD and U+ tvG Woofer IPTV STB (provided by LG Electronics).[20]

In June 2015, French telecom company Bouygues Telecom announced an integrated set-top-box code named "Miami" based on Android TV. The device launched in October.[21]

Televisions[edit]

Sony, Sharp, and Philips announced that they would release TVs in 2015 running Android TV.[22] All TVs on the Android TV platform will support capabilities such as Google Cast, voice search, and the Play Store app. Sony's Android TVs are currently available;[23] in May 2015, Sony released the Bravia 2015 models running the platform. They include a regular HD model and a 4K-capable model.[24] Sharp's television sets became available June 10, 2015,[25] beginning with the release of two models.[26] Philips announced that 80% of their 2015 TVs will run Android TV,[27] the first two models of which were released in June 2015.[27]

Other devices[edit]

At CES 2016, Google announced that Android TV devices will be available from Arcelik, Vestel, RCA, Hisense, TCL and Bang & Olufsen by the end of the year.[28]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Opam, Kwame (June 25, 2014). "Google officially unveils Android TV". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 27, 2014. 
  2. ^ Howley, Dan (June 25, 2014). "Android TV: Google Takes Over The Living Room". Tom's Guide. Purch. Retrieved June 27, 2014. 
  3. ^ Newman, Jared (June 26, 2014). "The Promises and Perils of Android TV". Time.com. Time, Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2014. 
  4. ^ a b Bonnington, Christina (June 25, 2014). "With Android TV, Google Takes Another Shot at the Set-Top Box". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved June 27, 2014. 
  5. ^ http://www.androidcentral.com/nvidia-shield-android-tv
  6. ^ Google confirms the Nexus Player has been discontinued
  7. ^ Hachman, Mark (June 25, 2014). "Google launches Android TV -- and here's what it looks like". PC World. IDG Consumer & SMB. Retrieved June 27, 2014. 
  8. ^ http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gaming/games-consoles/razer-forge-tv-1277807/review
  9. ^ "Which devices work with HBO NOW?". 
  10. ^ "FandangoNOW app comes to Android TV". 
  11. ^ Gordon, Joshua (March 13, 2015). "Android TV: Haystack TV Doubles Engagement with Android TV". Google. 
  12. ^ Chris Smith. "NVIDIA Shield Android TV console: Specs, prices and release date - BGR". BGR. 
  13. ^ Ryan Smith. "NVIDIA’s SHIELD Console Becomes SHIELD Android TV". 
  14. ^ "The Information: ADT-1 Is Actually A Cancelled 'Nexus TV' Project, Head Of Android@Home Has Left Google". Android Police. 
  15. ^ "Google ADT-1". 
  16. ^ Adi Robertson (29 September 2015). "The 9 most important things from Google's Nexus event". The Verge. Vox Media. 
  17. ^ "Is the Nexus Player discontinued?". XDA Developers. 
  18. ^ "Razer Forge TV: part Android box, part complete surprise". TechRadar. 
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-24. Retrieved 2015-04-27. 
  20. ^ The Korea Herald. "LG Uplus launches new Android TV services". 
  21. ^ "Bouygues Telecom dévoile Miami, son futur décodeur Android TV". Clubic.com. 
  22. ^ "Android TV will be in Sony, Sharp and Philips TVs next year". Engadget. AOL. 
  23. ^ "Televisions". 
  24. ^ "Sony Global - Sony's Android TV". 
  25. ^ Jacob Kastrenakes (10 June 2015). "Sharp’s first 4K Android TVs are now available". The Verge. Vox Media. 
  26. ^ "Sharp introduces two new series of Smart TVs with Android TV on-board". Android Central. 
  27. ^ a b "80% of Philips TVs for 2015 will be Android TV". Android Central. 
  28. ^ "Official Android Blog: More fun in the living room with Android TV and with Google Cast speakers". Official Android Blog. 
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