Google has announced that they are adding access to YouTube TV through the standard YouTube app. This allows them to, essentially, get around Roku’s removal of the YouTube TV app since the YouTube app is still accessible on Roku devices. At the bottom of the YouTube app’s left-side navigation menu will soon be a button “Go to YouTube TV” button. Read more ›
Roku has dropped YouTube TV from its channel store, making it impossible to install the service on any Roku device. This is due to a dispute between Roku and Google regarding the terms of their contract renewal which the two companies have not been able to agree on. Roku has chosen not to remove the YouTube TV app from devices that already have it installed, but they warn customers that there is no way to reinstall the app, should they choose to uninstall it or reset their Roku device. Read more ›
Roku and Google are currently in a dispute which may result in the YouTube TV app being removed from Roku devices. At the core of this dispute are features that Google wants Roku devices to support. Neither company is being overtly specific about the features in question but Roku says they “harm users” and are “anticompetitive,” while Google says the features “ensure a high-quality and consistent experience for our viewers.” The more we learn about these requested features, the more it seems like Amazon’s Fire TV devices already support them, and rightfully so. Read more ›
Another month, another dispute between streaming services and streaming hardware manufacturers. This time it’s between Roku and Google over the presence of YouTube TV and YouTube app on Roku devices. It looks like the agreement between the two companies is up for renewal shortly and negotiations “have broken down,” according to an email Roku sent to its customers in hopes of garnering support that they can leverage against Google. Read more ›
Google has just announced the new Chromecast (2020) with Google TV, their first true competitor to Amazon’s Fire TV line of streaming media players. Unlike past Chromecast models that required a mobile phone to use, this new Chromecast comes with a remote and runs Android TV, which has a completely redesigned interface that Google is branding as Google TV. Like past Chromecasts and the Fire TV 3, the new Chromecast is a pendant-style device that hangs off of its permanently attached HDMI cable. It supports 4K video at 60fps, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and costs $49.99. Read more ›
The Nest Hub, and larger Nest Hub Max, smart displays from Google are the first of their kind to receive official support for Netflix streaming. Despite entering the smart display market over a year after Amazon, Google has beat out all of Amazon’s Echo Show models in supporting the largest streaming service. To watch Netflix on a Nest Hub, just say “Hey Google, open Netflix.” Read more ›
Back when Amazon and Google announced that an official YouTube app would finally come to Fire TV devices, they also said a YouTube Kids app would arrive as well. That day has come because a YouTube Kids app has just arrived for Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Edition devices. The app appears to be compatible with all Fire TV models, all the way back to the first 2014 Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. Google says YouTube Kids is “a safer online experience for kids.” The app limits access to YouTUbe videos to those that “a mix of automated filters built by our engineering teams, human review, and feedback from parents” have deemed to be family-friendly. Read more ›
Amazon and Google have just jointly announced that an official YouTube and YouTube TV app will be coming to Amazon Fire TV devices and Fire TV Edition televisions later this year. Additionally, Amazon Prime Video will be coming to Android TV devices and Chromecasts. The long disagreement between the two companies that has kept their services apart seems to finally be coming to an end. Read more ›
Televisions and streaming media players running Android TV have begun displaying sponsored ads on their home screens. The ads were spotted by Zatz Not Funny, among many others, and first reported on by XDA Developers. The ads have been seen on the NVIDIA Shield TV, Mi Box, and Sony televisions. Google has confirmed that this is a “pilot program” that they themselves are running. Unlike the Apps Spotlight row that began appearing on devices a little while ago, this new sponsored ad row cannot be turned off unless you lock the device down by creating a restricted profile.
Amazon is finally actually selling Google’s Chromecasts, as first spotted by Android Police. Both the regular 3rd-gen Chromecast and the Chromecast Ultra are now listed as in-stock and available to purchase directly from Amazon. Read more ›
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