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”.

How to get your family on Google 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 fun. Like any self-respecting embarrassing dad, I 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. 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.

I tend to upload the very best videos to YouTube, so that the world can share my family insanity. 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.

When I say you can get your family on TV, I mean all of them, wherever they are in the world. 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).

Posted by Ambarish Kenghe (AK), Product Management Team

Rocking Out for the Holidays

Best of Google TV series

It’s the first week of December -- time to get ready for the holidays! What better way to get into the spirit than to listen to holiday music? And why listen to it on your computer or your iPod when you can listen to it from your TV, which is likely connected to the best speakers in your house? Here are the Google TV team’s top music recommendations for Google TV:

1. Pandora* - pick a song or artist you like, and Pandora will magically create an endless playlist of similar music for you.
2. VEVO** - a TV-optimized set of back-to-back HD music videos featuring your favorite artists.
3. Napster* - grab a subscription and get unlimited music.
4. Grooveshark - millions of streaming songs online.
5. Last.fm - stream music and keep a record of what you listen to from any player.

In the Spotlight
Want even more? Here are some new websites that have been optimized for Google TV. If you have a device, you can try them out in the Spotlight folder linked from your home screen.

1. Crackle.com - free uncut movies & TV shows.
2. Fraboom.com - online children’s museum - it’s like a live classroom in your living room.
3. KQED.com - Public Media serving Northern California featuring news, food, arts, and science.
4. mSpot.com video - mSpot Movies brings the newest on-demand movies to your TV.
5. PartyCentral - a fun game where you can socialize with guests, earn popularity, and customize your house to host the hottest party.

Check them out and let us know what you think! And if you're a Google TV owner, please add a comment below, Facebook us, or tweet at us with your own favorite things to do. Who knows - we just might feature it in an upcoming post!

* Available in the Applications folder linked from your Google TV home screen.
** Available in the Spotlight folder linked from your Google TV home screen.

Up to $200 off Sony Internet TVs and blu-ray players

Our friends at Sony are so excited about the holidays that they are spreading the joy by reducing the price of their Google TV powered Sony Internet TVs -- for a limited time only. From November 25th to November 29th, they are reducing the price of the 46” TVs by $200, while the Blu-ray player and 40” TV are reduced by $100. That means you can get an awesome 46” TV powered by Google TV for $1199, a 40” model for $899, or a Blu-ray player with Google TV for only $299 (all prices exclusive of tax, etc.).*

These deals are available at sonystyle.com, Sony Style stores, Best Buy, and other select dealers. Happy shopping!

*Quoted prices based on information from Sony. No offer to sell or price guarantee made by Google.

Posted by Peter Sherman, Marketing Team

Thanksgiving made easy with Google TV

Best Of Google TV Series

It’s that time of the year again - the time when your kitchen and house are buzzing with family, friends and food. The holidays are of course all about spending time with loved ones, but for many, it’s also a great time to experiment with new recipes. This year Google TV has made discovering new recipes and ideas for fun decorations much easier.

This past weekend, a few friends and I were watching "Boy Meets Grill" on the Food Network on my Google TV powered TV and Bobby Flay was showing how to make a delicious modern day turkey. It got us to thinking about our own thanksgiving menus, so we put the TV into Dual View mode (which lets you browse the web while you watch TV in the smaller window) and we scooted on over to FoodNetwork.com to browse other recipes. There are more than 1,400 Turkey recipes on Food Network's site alone, and we now had access to them al on the big screen to browse together. The possibilities for how to prepare this staple main course are endless and we found recipes that suited each of our tastes - from Black Pepper-Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey to Deep Fried Turkey.

Next we hit Epicurious.com where we found categories of recipes for more Thanksgiving staples like stuffing, veggies and pies - with a truly beautiful imagery of each recipe so we could see what the finished dish would look like.

We didn’t stop there. We then navigated over to Chow’s optimized site for Google TV where we were met with a slew of educational videos to help prep us for our feasts. We learned how to truss a chicken or turkey, how to roll pie dough with a wine bottle and how to make a quick and easy holiday centerpiece. 

Before we knew it, our holiday menus and decorations were planned - from the comfort of my living room - and we could get back to watching TV. For the cooks out there, Google TV is a great way to help you plan your next celebration! Happy Thanksgiving.

Posted by Gina Weakley, PR Team

Best of Google TV

Hello Google TV fans! Today we’re introducing our “Best of Google TV” series, a set of posts about our favorite things to do and watch on Google TV. Check back in weekly or sign up for our email list to catch these as soon as they are posted.

In the Spotlight
Here are some new websites that have been optimized for Google TV. If you have a device, you can try them out in the Spotlight gallery linked from your Home Screen.

1. Chow - Learn how to become a better chef with these smart cooking tips.
2. CNET - Watch reviews of all the latest gadgets and tech sites.
3. Vimeo - Kick back and enjoy your videos in stunning high quality.
4. PBS Kids - Watch videos of shows like Curious George and Dinosaur Train!
5. Flixster - Catch the latest Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews, watch trailers, and get showtimes.

Team Picks
A list of our favorite websites, Spotlight sites, apps, and/or interesting features within Google TV.

1. Net-A-Porter.com - “A place where I can watch runway videos and shop for the outfits at the same time.” - Gina
2. ESPN.com - “I can put the game in dual view and use the larger part of the screen to check my fantasy stats online.” - A.K.
3. SesameStreet.org - “My son will not watch Sesame Street, but he LOVES Elmo. With the Sesame Street website, I can create a playlist of Elmo-only videos and keep my son entertained for hours on end.” - Rishi
4. TED.com - “A place where I get inspired.” - Dean
5. Tumblr.com - “I love to follow all of my friends’ latest blog posts here. The TV experience makes it so much easier to browse them all on one screen.” - Brittany

We hope you enjoyed this week’s picks! Please post your thoughts in the comments, or send us a reply on Twitter or Facebook. If you’re a developer and want to submit your TV-optimized site for inclusion in a future post, please do so here (a Google Account is required).

Ten things to try on Google TV

We’ve just posted these tips to our Help Center and we thought our readers would find them useful too.

1. Search using the Quick Search Box
The Quick Search Box (QSB) makes scrolling through channels a thing of the past. Press the search key and harness Google’s search power to discover TV offerings and web content. Navigate anywhere you want to go-- type in a URL in to surf the web, or type in a channel name to go there instantly. With the QSB, you can:

• Quickly search for online videos. Try typing “Lady Gaga” to find a music video.
• Navigate to all of your favorite websites. Try typing “YouTube.com.”
• Easily find your favorite TV shows. Try typing in the name of a series like “The Office” or “Colbert Report” and view the series results page to see where you can find episodes across TV, the web and apps. Click on an episode and watch directly from Amazon Video On Demand®.
• Surf directly to a channel by typing its name. Try typing “CNN.”
• Search the web. Try typing “Google TV” and selecting “Search the web.”

2. Discover something new with Spotlight

Home Screen > Spotlight

Google TV Spotlight features websites that have been optimized for viewing on Google TV. Use the Spotlight folder for quick access to great content on the web, including streaming music videos on VEVO®, cooking tips on CHOW® TV and illustrated children’s books on MeeGenius!®. Click the link icon to open the website in Google Chrome, or click on “All Sites” to view the full selection of websites optimized for TV viewing.

3. View a photo slide show using Google Gallery

Home Screen > Applications > Gallery

No more crowding around the computer screen to see your vacation pictures: Google Gallery lets you easily view photos on your TV screen. View photo albums uploaded to your Picasa account, or simply plug a USB storage drive directly into your Google TV device.

4. Explore apps

Home Screen > Applications > NBA Game Time

Home Screen > Applications > CNBC Real-Time

Check out NBA® Game Time to view game information, standings and high-definition video highlights from the current NBA® season. When the game’s on, press the Dual View button to watch in a picture-in-picture box while you check scores or stats in NBA® Game Time-- and don’t miss a moment of the action! Or try out CNBC® Real-Time, where you can keep track of a customizable list of stock quotes while watching video clips on hot topics in the world of finance. Expect many more applications after we open the Android Market on Google TV in early 2011.

5. Subscribe to an audio or video podcast using Google Queue

Home screen > Google Queue

Google Queue keeps track of all your favorite online series, podcasts, recorded video and RSS feeds. Browse, search for and subscribe to new video and audio podcasts in Queue, or use press the Bookmark (Star) button while browsing to add a video or website to your Queue to view later. Your Queue will automatically update with new content from your subscriptions, so you won’t miss an episode of Jake and Amir or an update from NPR’s Talk of the Nation. Try out something new, like a high-definition underwater video podcast from Marine Channel HD.

Check out our Google Queue tutorial video

6. Find out What’s On-- the simpler way

Home screen > What’s On

You’re in the mood for a comedy show, but don’t want to waste time scrolling through an endless list of channels. Navigate to “What’s On” and click on Comedy to see what shows are playing now and how much longer they’ll be on, as well as what shows are coming up in the next few minutes. Browse Movies, News and information, Sports, Home and garden, Reality and game shows and many more categories.

7. Watch videos on YouTube Leanback

Home screen > Spotlight > YouTube Leanback

Not sure what to watch? Let YouTube entertain you! Leanback selects videos based on your YouTube viewing preferences and plays them in full-screen high definition-- just like watching TV. Leanback’s interface lets you easily browse or skip ahead in your video queue, and pressing the Down arrow will allow you to rewind, fast-forward or open the video in the YouTube.com website. Press the Up arrow or start typing at any time to search YouTube for something different.

8. Stream a movie

Home Screen > Spotlight > Amazon Video on Demand

Home Screen > Applications > Netflix

Visit the Amazon Video On Demand® service to stream top movies and TV shows directly to your  TV. Browse a wide selection of premium content offerings and only pay for the movies and TV shows you want to watch. If you’re a Netflix® subscriber, use the Netflix® app to access your Instant View queue.

9. Coming soon: Use your phone as a remote

No more fighting over the remote! Control your Google TV device from your Android phone or iPhone.

10. Multitask!

Use the Pandora® or Napster® app to create a soundtrack for your photo albums in Gallery, or to listen to music while browsing the web. Use Dual View to check player stats online while you watch football, or update your friends on Twitter® while the news is on. Be creative! More apps are coming soon, and as Google TV continues to grow, the possibilities will multiply.

**Learn more at our Google TV Help Center.

Posted by Daniel Pickens-Jones, Consumer Operations Associate