An all-access pass to the Oscars

This Sunday, millions of eyes will turn to the TV screen to watch to watch the 83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony celebrating Hollywood's best filmmakers. In order to make sure you're best prepared for the big event, we thought we'd list a few of our favorite Oscar-worthy sites, all of which are viewable from Google TV.

• Educate yourself on the nominees. YouTube Trends has developed a lineup of the most viewed trailers from the list of nominees for this year's show. Not surprisingly, Toy Story 3 and Black Swan top the list.
• Got an eye for fashion? Feast your eyes on last year's red carpet fashions from E! Online. It seems like ages ago that we saw Sandra Bullock in that glamorous gold dress. What will they wear this year?
• Watch the hosts prepare for the big show on the official Youtube Oscars channel. Here's our favorite video of Anne Hathaway and James Franco preparing to take the stage.
• No cable? No problem. With the Oscar All Access Pass, you can direct your own Oscars experience and get a behind the scenes look at everything from the red carpet to the Governor's Ball. Interested in the show only? Catch the livestream channels from both the Academy Awards and AP Live. 
• Make your bets! Oscar.com lets you review the full list of nominations and cast your votes for the winner. Send the link to your friends to see who gets the most right.

We'll certainly be tuning in for the entire event this Sunday, and hope you will follow along as well, whether its from TV or the web. Best of luck to the nominees!

Amazon Prime members now get free instant streaming

Best of Google TV Series

I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for a while now and love the free two day shipping, especially when I’m keen to get my hands on the latest Google TV device as soon as possible.

Now there’s even more reason for Google TV users to love this service. Amazon currently has over 90,000 movies and TV shows that you can stream instantly on your Google TV device for a few dollars. Well, they have just announced that Amazon Prime members will also get unlimited, commercial-free access to more than 5,000 of those movies and TV shows, for no additional cost. Titles include “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Syriana,” “March of the Penguins,” and—my personal favorite—”Doctor Who.”

This will work immediately on all Google TV devices, so give it a whirl if you’re an Amazon Prime member. If you don’t already own a Google TV device, then here’s another reason to make the most of that Amazon Prime membership.

Posted by Peter Sherman, Google TV Marketing

Grammys recap

Best of Google TV

If you missed the Grammys last weekend, you can still catch the memorable moments on Google TV.

If what you’re after is the red carpet fashion and interviews, head over to The Grammys YouTube page. Watch the highlights on YouTube leanback including Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine in haute couture and Mumford and Sons in stylish cravats. There you’ll also find acceptance speeches by The Arcade Fire, Lady Antebellum and Lady Gaga.

VEVO has curated a playlist of videos featuring the top 2011 Grammy Winners. Check out first time Grammy winners like Ryan Bingham and La Roux, as well multi-time winners like Buddy Guy & B.B. King. Check out these videos as well as recaps from past Grammys on VEVO’s spotlight site.

The full list of nominees and winners is available on the Grammys website where you can also watch the pre-telecast ceremony in its entirety.

Posted by Charlie Harding, Google TV Marketing

Al Jazeera on Google TV

Best of Google TV Series

Over the past two weeks, Al Jazeera has carried 24/7 breaking news coverage of the protests in Egypt. Live video of the protests from Tahrir Square, streaming from AlJazeera.net and English.AlJazeera.net, have driven a 2500% traffic increase to their website. The majority of this traffic has come from the United States, as U.S. viewers can’t access Al Jazeera’s broadcast on television.

This week, Al Jazeera released their Al Jazeera spotlight site where you can watch breaking news clips, scan headline news and dive into the breadth of their web content -- all on the big screen.

For the latest coverage on the protests in Egypt you can also visit Al Jazeera’s YouTube channels in both Arabic and English for premium coverage and CitizenTube for on-the-ground citizen reports.

- Posted by Daniels Lee, Developer Relations

Rate your favorite Super Bowl ads from yesterday's game

If you're an American, you probably know that there was a rather important sporting event that took place yesterday --  the Super Bowl. 

Everyone knows that half the fun of watching the game is watching the commercials. That's why this year we've partnered with our friends at YouTube to optimize the infamous Ad Blitz site so that you can re-watch and rank all of your favorite ads right from your TV. 

Just visit youtube.com/adblitz from the Google TV browser and follow the prompts to rate the best 30-second spots as you watch them in HD. May the best ad win!

- Posted by Brittany Bohnet, Google TV Product Marketing

Optimizing your site for TV is now easier

As the Google TV platform continues to launch across more devices, developers are probably searching for an easy way to bring great content to Google TV users. We’re happy to announce that we have an answer.

Google TV enables developers to build powerful websites using the same technologies they already work with. These include HTML5, JavaScript, CSS and Flash. While existing websites can be displayed in Google TV, the user experience isn’t always ideal within the context of a living room. We previously provided a guide for optimizing websites for TV, and today we’re releasing several templates and a UI library to make it easier for developers to build optimized sites.

We’ve created two template designs that are focused on delivering video content, but equally suitable for photos or other multimedia. We recognize that some developers prefer using open web technologies, while others prefer Flash. So we’ve created two separate versions of each template.





All templates are open sourced under the Apache 2 license, so developers can make modifications to these templates and customize them to fit their brand and desired functionality.

One important optimization for browsing websites on TV is ensuring that D-pad navigation works well. The JavaScript-based templates utilizes a new library we’ve developed for this purpose-- the Google TV Web UI Library. This library has been open sourced as well.

To get started, you can download the template you want and visit our Google TV Web Developer Forum to get help. We look forward to seeing all the great sites developers will build using these templates.

By Steve Hines and Daniels Lee, Google TV Developer Relations Team

Getting your family on TV

Best Of Google TV Series

As the holidays get into full swing, I am spending more and more time with my extended family, getting in to all kinds of hi-jinks. Like any self-respecting embarrassing dad, I find love capturing these precious moments by making tons of great little videos and taking even more photos. I no longer need any fancy equipment to do this – most smart-phones now take great photos and videos (I love my Nexus S, if you're interested.)

The best part is that we can all slump on the sofa and re-live the best moments on my TV whenever we want, because it's powered by Google TV. In the not-so-distant past, your family would only get on TV if they were (un)lucky enough to get onto a TV show. More recently, you would have to find the right lead, plug your high-end camera into your TV and navigate though impossible menus and settings.

Now, you don't need any fancy equipment to do this, either – the media player app can play most media files that are plugged into the device (on a thumb-drive, for example) or streamed across the local network from a DLNA device like a PC or smart-phone.

My preference is to do a little editing, then save the best photos and videos to a Picasa Web Album, which I can do straight from my phone. Using the Gallery app on my TV, which syncs to Picasa, I immediately have a slide-show on a 46" photo-frame right in the living room. We've had a lot of fun using Picnik to add silly effects to our photos, which can be done from TV, phone, or anywhere.

I tend to upload the very best videos to YouTube, so that the world can share my family inanity. Watching these in Leanback mode on TV makes it feel like we've almost got our own TV channel – it's even in HD, which is pretty incredible for something recorded on a phone.

The most important point is that you don't need to use the same services I do. Because Google TV has a full web browser, it can access any website you want to use. For example Flickr looks great on the big screen and Vimeo Couch Mode is optimized for viewing on Google TV.

It's not just limited to the family member who happen to be on my sofa at that time. If you have the Logitech TV Cam, you can video chat with friends and family on the big screen (no more huddling around a tiny laptop screen). Next, I'm going to try using Qik to live stream from my phone to a TV - kind of like a live broadcast, right?

Posted by Larry Yang, Google TV Product Team

News from any source

Best of Google TV Series

Television is stil the main source for the daily news in the home, according to PEW research. Until lately, print and web news content have been absent from the big screen. We’ve been working with developers to enhance your TV news experience, optimizing both traditional and innovative news sources for Google TV.

• The New York Times offers daily TimesCast video-news updates alongside video blogs and featurettes.
• USA Today has improved reading for the big screen: you can browse through the day in photos, stay up-to-date on sports news, and track the world of business.
• The CNBC News App lets you watch the latest web videos in business news. Follow the markets as they happen and track your personal, customized stock portfolio.
• The Huffington Post brings together the best of traditional news, the blogosphere and opinion reporting in their sleek News Glide web-app.
• The Onion covers “the important stories lesser outlets fail to report” through their comedic style.

Video journalism has also proliferated across YouTube. On YouTube Leanback, viewers have access to rich content from channels like the Associated Press, Al-Jazeera English, and NPR. Alongside traditional news sources, YouTube has built a thriving community of citizen reporters. The News & Politics channel, CitizenTube, aggregates video news from across the YouTube community, providing raw footage from the scene of breaking news and unique perspectives from people and places around the world.

On Google TV you can get breaking news from many sources: cable broadcast, the web, blogs, and even citizen journalists.

Posted by Olivia Ma, YouTube News Manager, recently watched Google TV Entry - Stop Motion Animation

Google TV On campus

(Cross-posted on the Google Student Blog)

Google TV has been popping up on college campuses across the country. We’re coordinating with the Google Student Ambassador Program and University Programs to share Google TV with students and faculty.

This initiative began last semester when Google Student Ambassadors hosted Google TV study breaks on over thirty campuses. The ambassadors had students compete to win Sony Internet TVs for their friends and school. They hosted pizza breaks, tech challenges, YouTube marathons and of course, college football viewing parties. The top seven most creative study breaks won two Sony Internet TVs to give back to their college as a reward for their school spirit and enthusiasm for Google TV.

The momentum from the Google TV study breaks has carried over into the classroom. Already, the web on TV has proven itself as a great platform for for early education and reading skills with web apps like PBS Kids and Meegenius. However, professors have expressed interest in expanding these opportunities to all levels of learning.

That is why we are announcing Google TV for EDU, a seeding program to support university research. Google TV for EDU asks campuses around the country: how can educators enhance the Web on TV for the classroom. Specifically, we’re asking faculty how their research could:

• Generate new interest in television engineering
• Make computer science tangible for students
• Help in the development of smart TV curricula and new educational tools
• Contribute to in-classroom and distance learning over television
• Reach a wide audience

We officially launched the program yesterday to select university faculty with experience and leadership in television. These select faculty will receive a Logitech Revue to carry out their research in the classroom. Over the next few months we’ll be posting outcomes of their research as well as information on new educational web-apps.

Posted by Miriam Schneider, Product Marketing Manager

Samsung and Google TV

Earlier this week, we shared that Vizio is working on several devices powered by Google TV. Today, Samsung also announced that they’re building a 3D Blu-ray player and companion box with Google TV. Check out their press release for more details. We look forward to working closely with all of our partners to bring Google TV powered devices to more consumers this year.

Posted by Mickey Kim, Google TV Partnerships Team

Google TV: A new partner for the new year

We’re back from the holidays and ready to get crackin’ on 2011. Last year, we launched the first version of Google TV with our partners Sony and Logitech, and this year, we'll continue to make the product even better for you. As we shared last month, we’re constantly iterating on Google TV, adding new features and content, improving the user experience, and fixing bugs. We are in the early stages, and the future is bright.

Today I'm excited to share that we're kicking off the year with a new partner, Vizio, a leading TV maker in the U.S. Vizio is making a new line of TVs and a Blu-ray player incorporating Google TV that will hit shelves later this year.

Also in 2011, we plan to bring developers tools for building applications specifically for the TV and living room, and we plan to bring Android Market to Google TV, so consumers can download thousands of applications to their TVs. Check back in with us periodically to see the latest from our team and partners.

Posted by Rishi Chandra, Google TV Product Manager

New Years Resolutions

Best of Google TV Series

As New Year’s Eve approaches, many of us will draw up lists of resolutions. This year, as you’re setting out to learn a new skill or get in shape, the best place to start is right in your living room.

One of the top New Year’s resolutions is to pick up a musical instrument. But let’s be honest, it’s discouraging when bumbling around with a guitar pick does not make you an instant Hendrix. Instead of struggling on your own, or struggling to find the right teacher, try taking lessons from home on Google TV. Berklee School of Music offers great intermediate and advanced lessons for guitar, bass, keyboards, and voice on their YouTube Channel. For guitarists, RockOnGoodPeople has lessons for all levels in all genres of music. They post new licks, scales, and chords all the time to help you unleash your inner Clapton, Page, or Swift. Hey—no judgment.

If music isn’t your language, there are foreign language lessons all over the web. You don’t need expensive software to learn a new language when there are great resources on Google TV. For the basics like greetings, directions and the all-important food-related vocab, tune into SpanishDict. If you’re looking for long form classroom instruction you can rent half hour lessons from RockN’Learn, with songs and entertaining learning for kids and adults. To advance your learning TheSpanishBlog uploads new lessons on pronunciation every week.

After too many rich Holiday meals, it can be great to balance indulgence with some exercise. If you’re making a commitment to trim down or get fit, but don’t have (or want anything to do with) a gym membership, Google TV can be your personal trainer.

A good place to start is ExerciseTV, where you can get workout regiments and nutrition tips. For rigorous exercise try NerdFitness’s YouTube channel where you can learn new workout circuits and even focus on muscle groups like arms and legs. If you’re looking to build strength, flexibility, and just the right amount of Zen, TaraStiles Yoga channel has detailed instructions for both easy and, well, ambitious Yoga poses (hint: prepare for the blood to rush to your head).

With all these great resources available right from your sofa, it shouldn’t be hard to try a little yoga, pick up the guitar, or practice your Spanish just a little bit each day. This is the year to keep those resolutions, with a little help from Google TV.

Posted by Charlie Harding, Marketing Team

Interactive TV for kids (and no we're not talking about channel surfing)

Best Of Google TV Series

We all love the holidays, but it’s always a challenge to entertain the kids, especially when the excitement of gift giving has died down. A popular way to keep them occupied is in front of the TV, but this often leads to endless channel surfing, the occasional cry of “I’m bored,” and a high likelihood that your kid will end up watching “whatever’s on.”

While we can’t guarantee that your kid will choose to watch the most educational content every time (we’re partial to YouTube EDU), we are sure you’ll find that Google TV helps in many ways.

The least that Google TV can do is to end the era of mindless channel surfing. Using Google’s search functionality, your kid (or my nephews) can find the show or movie they are looking for immediately, whether it’s on TV or the web. A search for “Santa” just brought up 24 movies and 30 episodes on TV and services such as Amazon Video On Demand or Netflix. Once my nephews are through with those, we can get started on all the great Santa-related web videos on YouTube, Vimeo, and the rest

If your kids want truly interactive TV (who can blame them?), then Google TV can really help out. There are great websites optimized for the TV suited for the kits in our Spotlight Gallery. Some of the most kid friendly sites are:

• MeeGenius: Read your kids beautifully illustrated books (a huge array of classics and more modern tales). You can customize some of the content to make it more personal and the app will then read the story out loud, with the relevant words highlighted on screen for you kids to follow along.
• Fraboom: There is so much going on at Fraboom (from educational videos to games) that they are right to describe it as a museum. Look out for the battle against Baron Von Boredom.
• PBSKids: A really simple interface means that kids can navigate around their favorite videos of PBS KIDS shows like Curious George and Dinosaur Train.
• Cartoon Network: Quickly and easily find all your favorite shows from Cartoon Network.

Posted by Peter Sherman, Marketing Team

What's new with Google TV?

It’s been two months since the first Google TV device went on sale. Since then, we have been hard at work thinking about how we can make the platform even better for our users. In fact, one of the greatest things about Google TV is that it comes with free, automatic “over-the-air” software updates that give you the newest features and content as we release them. It’s as if Google TV goes up in value over time.

Today we’re excited to start pushing out our first Google TV software update. In addition to fixing some bugs, there are four significant improvements to the platform:

Netflix

We’ve partnered up with our friends at Netflix to upgrade the app so that you can search, browse and watch any movie or show that is in the Netflix streaming catalog. You can even add these titles to your DVD queue if you want them mailed to you. Not sure what to watch? The new Netflix app will also give you personalized recommendations based on what you’ve watched before. Your TV is now an unlimited source of entertainment.

Dual View

Google TV brings the TV and web together in one seamless experience so you can easily watch your favorite TV show and browse your favorite website together at once. With the feature, you can do things like watch Conan while tweeting about him on Twitter at the same time. Since launch, we’ve had users give us feedback that they want even more customization options for this feature, and so today we have enhanced it to allow you to re-size and move the window however you’d like. 

Standard capability

New capability to move and re-size

Remote Control App for Android Phones

What if you could control your TV with the power of your voice? Starting today you can download the Google TV Remote app in Android Market. Apart from the standard TV remote options like changing channels or accessing your DVR, you can now interact with your TV in ways you never have before. For instance, try using the integrated voice search which allows you to find your favorite shows and movies just by speaking into your phone. Or, go from small screen to big screen by sharing videos and websites directly from your phone to your TV. We’ve included a short preview of these features below. Stay tuned for more information about the Google TV Remote for other platforms in the near future.

Movies

Say you’re searching for a movie like ‘Harry Potter’. Google TV now has a movie results page that shows you all films associated with the title so you can quickly watch what you want, wherever it’s available -- ranging from sources like live TV, Netflix, and Amazon Video on Demand. You can also read a quick summary, see photos, and find the cast list. Click on the name of a cast member and we’ll take you to a new search landing page where you can find other movies featuring that actor. Trust us, you’ll never leave the couch again.

Google TV users will start to see these updates roll out to their devices throughout the week. The Google TV Remote app is available today (click here from your Android device or scan the barcode below) but all features may not work until your device has received the update.

Scan from your Android phone

We are continuously listening to feedback and are excited to bring you more Google TV updates in the future. Please leave your feedback in the comments, on Twitter, or on our Facebook page. Don’t have a Google TV device yet? Submit a video telling us why you should receive one and you might just end up with a 46” HDTV to kick off the new year right.

Happy Holidays from Google TV!

- Posted by Larry Yang, Google TV Product Manager

Announcing the “I Want my Google TV!” contest

(Cross posted from the YouTube blog)

If you’re like most people, you probably love watching YouTube videos on your computer. But what if there were a full-screen, HD version of YouTube available a channel flip away on your TV? Now there is, made possible by Google TV.

Google TV brings television, apps, and the entire World Wide Web directly to your living room...so you can watch even more YouTube, only now on the biggest screen in your home. And because it’s the season of giving, the crew here at YouTube and Google are excited to announce a contest to give away 100 free 46” Sony Internet TVs powered by Google TV.



To enter to win, create and upload a video telling us and all your friends on YouTube why you’re pumped up about Google TV. Winning submissions will be selected based on originality, creativity, entertainment factor, technical execution, and how well you explain why you are excited about Google TV and watching YouTube on Google TV. View the contest rules and full list of judging criteria here.

Don’t forget to upload your video by December 22, and tag it with “ytgtv” so we can showcase your creations. Winners will be announced by January 20, 2011.

Good luck!

Camille Hearst, Product Marketing Manager, recently watched “Sony Google TV: Hands-On”.