Logitech Revue with Google TV: Hands-On Review

News
By William Van Winkle
published

Is this product the rebirth of living room computing? We get philosophical, and detail-oriented in our review of the Logitech Revue with Google TV.

Setup Walk-Through, Part 1

When I shared my wife's Facebook comment with Logitech, the company rep practically beamed and said that was exactly the response they wanted from the audience they really wanted to hear it from. The Revue is supposed to be easy enough for anyone to install and operate. Now, as I said, my wife did most of the initial setup. Our aged amplifier lacks HDMI and is short on several ports, resulting in a chain of splitters and adapters that left my wife baffled as to what went where. So, Logitech's instructions are concise and clear if your home theater setup is fairly simple and modern.

Once your connections are made, the Revue shows a splash screen followed by a few moments of data downloading. This feeds into a little eye candy, with many-colored geometric shapes flying about, followed by another Logitech splash screen. Now you arrive at the keyboard controller tutorial, where you're instructed how to turn the device's power switch on and get comfy with the navigation buttons.

Now comes the configuration. First, Logitech has you "push" each side of the Google TV display area to meet your screen's edge. This is the one place where I found Logitech's instructions poorly worded. Rather than "press and hold" the button, what you actually need to do is repeatedly press each directional button until the blue showing on that side disappears. Holding down the arrow will cause the display area to overshoot your screens borders, leaving you wondering later why the edges of your browser are chopped off.

Next, at Step 4 of 12, you'll choose whether to connect by Ethernet or Wi-Fi. Originally, I went with the wired connection since I have structured wiring to my home theater. Later, I revised my setup options and tried out the wireless option. Admittedly, I had a very strong signal since my 11n access point is about 10 feet from the Revue, but I was shocked to find that I could not tell a difference in performance between the two connection types. Wireless 720p video showed no evidence of frame dropping, and I couldn't detect content taking any longer to load. Traditionally, I've been very skeptical of wireless for HD content because of many disappointments, but Logitech gets it right in the Revue.

William Van Winkle

William Van Winkle is a freelance editor and tech journalist who has been writing for more than 20 years. His work has appeared on Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, Tom's IT Pro, AMD, Seagate, Computer Shopper, and more. He is also an author, writing poetry, short stories, and science fiction and fantasy books.

13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • What "appropriate adapters"? Do they exist? Whar'zat?
    Reply
  • San Pedro
    I just hooked up my PC to my TV with an HDMI cable. That works pretty as a media center, pc, and gaming console.
    Reply
  • Hey Will, you can already do voice searches on the Revue using the Harmony app on your Android smartphone.

    It's found on the keyboard screen.
    Reply
  • topcold
    pinnacles don't happen in capitalistic systems
    Reply
  • spoonless_eddie
    Can I see this on my PC? over the net? with open-source software? Can I copy this content to watch on another machine, when I am unplugged? Can I give it away, or donate it to charity, when I am finished with it?

    A fool and his money are soon parted.
    Reply
  • jamezrp
    Good read Will. I look forward to testing out the Revue myself.
    Reply
  • "I couldn't see a way to create or otherwise use bookmarks from within the browser."

    I suggest pushing the dedicated bookmark button (it's a star) on the keyboard. It matches the yellow star theme that Google has used for bookmarks across many different products. (Google Maps, Chrome, Google Bookmarks, Google Docs, Google Reader, etc, etc)
    Reply
  • cashews
    Once it has lan support I might give it a try, until then I can't see it replacing a htpc
    Reply
  • williamvw
    mtthwgrms"I couldn't see a way to create or otherwise use bookmarks from within the browser."I suggest pushing the dedicated bookmark button (it's a star) on the keyboard. It matches the yellow star theme that Google has used for bookmarks across many different products. (Google Maps, Chrome, Google Bookmarks, Google Docs, Google Reader, etc, etc)Bam! You're quite right. Somehow, I totally missed that. I just tried it: went into Google Docs, hit the star button, told the pop-up to make the link into a bookmark, and there it is in my Bookmarks section. (Note also that the pop-up gives you the option to send the page to your Queue rather than the Bookmarks.) That said, I think the thing that threw me was the bookmarks being separated from the main Chrome UI. Perhaps it would be more intuitive if there was a small icon in the corner of Chrome that spawned a fly-out bookmarks menu? Food for thought. Still...my bad, and thank you for the correction, mtthwgrms.
    Reply
  • topcold
    "I couldn't see a way to create or otherwise use bookmarks from within the browser. "

    Have you tried using the keyboard shortcuts from the PC browser? (I don't know if that works, but people are saying most of the keyboard shortcuts are the same)


    "but Google can't let the same riotous sprawl hit living rooms that we've seen on its smartphone marketplace"

    Its called 'choice' - if you want someone else to make the choices for you, you could always get Apple TV ;)


    "Perhaps this is why Google is waiting until next year to open up its TV app store and broaden its functionality."

    No, here is why: Each version of Android has certain compatibility definitions manufacturers must follow if they want to be considered a fully compliant Android device.

    They don't have to - but then they don't get access to the proprietary Google apps, like the market)

    So, amusingly enough, according to Googles own guidelines, Google TV is not a compliant Android device (for instance, version 2.1 of Android requires the device to have GPS - obviously Google TV doesn't have a GPS nor need one) - so instead of giving themselves permission to break the rules (and risk lawsuits and angry manufacturers) they adhered to the rules and didn't add the market.

    Now the next version of Android is very close, and there they can make sure to phrase the new rules for requirements in such a way that Google TV will be compliant. And since the new rules apply to everybody, nobody need get upset.



    Reply