Huh? H.264 is a codec, while MP4 and MKV are containers. It would be nice if they'd include a few other containers, such as AVI for compatibility. You should be able to flash/upgrade the codecs as well. It's a nice form factor and the price is right. Looking forward to a full review.
The vast majority of media players in the Google Play Store are poo though, as they only provide software playback for most devices.
And that's pretty atrocious given the lack of grunt in mobile devices.
That said I'd wager AVI merely being an omission, as I should hope any codec and container that's the default for DLNA streaming would be supported out-of-the-box.
Matroska support is the big one though, that's the one that's usually sub-par.
I know that while they only supported HW acceleration on some hardware, you figure with the new ICS release everything would be accelerated by now. Is there not a simple video API that always does the right thing regarding acceleration?
I don't know what the fuss is about. At least here, my HTC Sensation can play everything, with the built in player, h/w wise. Yes, even mkv and vorbis stuff.
Some stuff isn't accelerated more due to the chipset, not so much android or the program.
I still have lots of questions about this. I am hoping you guys are planing a full review soonish. Like what quality of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video does it support and are Amazon Prime videos available for free?
Please include in the unit review how well it does playing high profile h.264 video with some samples of really complex, highly compressed, high quality video.
Encoders can use tricks such as CABAC, motion estimation across 32 or more frames, etc. to reduce file size while maintaining high quality. There are also tricks to reduce decoder CPU usage which either make the file larger or make it look worse at the same size.
Many embedded players "support high profile h.264", but fail to play complex videos without dropping frames.
I believe we have one of the best test suites for media streamer evaluation. We will summarize our findings in a manner similar to what was presented here:
Tactile appreciation of where buttons/functions are is so important on these devices and OEMs seem to forget that. I want to be able to play, pause etc with*out* looking at my control. This remote looks painful in that regard.
I'd like to know if it supports Hulu as well and not just Hulu Plus. Also, as far as media players go from the Google App store (or whatever it is called) how is GTV Box? I saw it mentioned somewhere. I'm waiting to see if XBMC will ever be released for Google TV. I know there is Plex but I'm partial to XBMC. I don't like having to run a "Plex Media Server" and prefer just a connection via SMB or NFS of my choosing.
XBMC just announced XBMC for Android, which they hope to have available on the Google Play store upon completion. The real issue is full hardware support for the device, but I foresee the Co-Star being fairly popular, and would bet on them making full hardware acceleration a priority for the device.
would something like this replace a logitech harmony remote? With both IR and bluetooth it's interesting as seemingly this could also work as a PS3 remote and you wouldn't need the $30 adapter like you do with the logitech.
possibly, but the thing about google tv is that it has an hdmi input to put an overlay over dish/cable content. The ouya doesnt have an hdmi input, only output, so that would be impossible. Other than that, I do believe that the ouya might make a much better media streamer since the Tegra 3 chipset is 1: better than what is in the vizio, and 2: has alot of support from 3rd party media applications as well as better codec support. Thats assuming that the processor is what is detailed here: http://androidandme.com/2012/07/news/vizios-99-goo... also, the gpu is a Vivante core which to the best of my knowledge hasnt been used yet in anything mainstream, and will probably keep developers of things such as xbmc to the ouya.
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bigboxes - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Video Playback: H.264, MP4, MKVHuh? H.264 is a codec, while MP4 and MKV are containers. It would be nice if they'd include a few other containers, such as AVI for compatibility. You should be able to flash/upgrade the codecs as well. It's a nice form factor and the price is right. Looking forward to a full review.
masterful18 - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Well if it has access to the play store, should be fairly simply to download an app such as MX player and get most codec support.Exodite - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
The vast majority of media players in the Google Play Store are poo though, as they only provide software playback for most devices.And that's pretty atrocious given the lack of grunt in mobile devices.
That said I'd wager AVI merely being an omission, as I should hope any codec and container that's the default for DLNA streaming would be supported out-of-the-box.
Matroska support is the big one though, that's the one that's usually sub-par.
hechacker1 - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
I know that while they only supported HW acceleration on some hardware, you figure with the new ICS release everything would be accelerated by now. Is there not a simple video API that always does the right thing regarding acceleration?sprockkets - Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - link
I don't know what the fuss is about. At least here, my HTC Sensation can play everything, with the built in player, h/w wise. Yes, even mkv and vorbis stuff.Some stuff isn't accelerated more due to the chipset, not so much android or the program.
danjw - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
I still have lots of questions about this. I am hoping you guys are planing a full review soonish. Like what quality of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video does it support and are Amazon Prime videos available for free?ganeshts - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Yes, a review is definitely on the cards.Sivar - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Please include in the unit review how well it does playing high profile h.264 video with some samples of really complex, highly compressed, high quality video.Encoders can use tricks such as CABAC, motion estimation across 32 or more frames, etc. to reduce file size while maintaining high quality. There are also tricks to reduce decoder CPU usage which either make the file larger or make it look worse at the same size.
Many embedded players "support high profile h.264", but fail to play complex videos without dropping frames.
I can provide stress test samples.
ganeshts - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Definitely!I believe we have one of the best test suites for media streamer evaluation. We will summarize our findings in a manner similar to what was presented here:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5129/2011-media-stre...
Sivar - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
I'd forgotten about that roundup..Wow. That is a thorough test suite. You guys really know what you are doing!
d33pblue - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Does anyone know if this unit is compatible with Hulu?JNo - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
Those buttons look tiny and indistinct.Tactile appreciation of where buttons/functions are is so important on these devices and OEMs seem to forget that. I want to be able to play, pause etc with*out* looking at my control. This remote looks painful in that regard.
laytoncy - Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - link
I'd like to know if it supports Hulu as well and not just Hulu Plus. Also, as far as media players go from the Google App store (or whatever it is called) how is GTV Box? I saw it mentioned somewhere. I'm waiting to see if XBMC will ever be released for Google TV. I know there is Plex but I'm partial to XBMC. I don't like having to run a "Plex Media Server" and prefer just a connection via SMB or NFS of my choosing.Alecthar - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
XBMC just announced XBMC for Android, which they hope to have available on the Google Play store upon completion. The real issue is full hardware support for the device, but I foresee the Co-Star being fairly popular, and would bet on them making full hardware acceleration a priority for the device.agent2099 - Monday, July 30, 2012 - link
would something like this replace a logitech harmony remote? With both IR and bluetooth it's interesting as seemingly this could also work as a PS3 remote and you wouldn't need the $30 adapter like you do with the logitech.Silenus - Wednesday, August 1, 2012 - link
Am I the only one thinking that a rooted and custom ROM'd OUYA would make a far better GoogleTV than this GoogleTV?!KineticHummus - Monday, August 13, 2012 - link
possibly, but the thing about google tv is that it has an hdmi input to put an overlay over dish/cable content. The ouya doesnt have an hdmi input, only output, so that would be impossible. Other than that, I do believe that the ouya might make a much better media streamer since the Tegra 3 chipset is 1: better than what is in the vizio, and 2: has alot of support from 3rd party media applications as well as better codec support. Thats assuming that the processor is what is detailed here: http://androidandme.com/2012/07/news/vizios-99-goo... also, the gpu is a Vivante core which to the best of my knowledge hasnt been used yet in anything mainstream, and will probably keep developers of things such as xbmc to the ouya.