Logitech Revue is the first STB (Set Top Box) that features the newly launched wonderful Google TV. The launch of Box has clearly focused the usage of TV in future. It intended to combine the television to the internet, by fusing them together. It has few new revealing features such as HD calling, myriad apps and a wide range of controls. It has set up a standard for future product and a potential standard.

Overview

Google TV Box has much more good features than a normal STB or a TV Box that connects to the TV Set. Although, there were many failed attempts of earlier WebTV launchers, but today the internet has changed drastically. The Android based Google TV Box has attempted to meet television and internet initiatives. New revolutionary software has been provided to access the online media with the latest powerful interface. It overlays TV content/satellite box from the cable and it can control AV receiver, TV, STB with IR emitters (built-in). The users can view both offline and online content through the Google search bar. Chrome is the built-in browser that supports HTML5, flash videos, music and photos from DLNA device or PC.

Hardware

The Logitech Revue STB is the first product with Google TV. The size of the hardware device is of that of a thick hardcover book but it is a bit lighter. It connects to the cable box or television box through HDMI port and it also has IR blasters, Ethernet and USB ports. Atom CPU of 1.2 GHz is mounted inside but it is not head-turning, which will assist in playing the spiffy videos.

Keyboard is provided by Logitech for navigation and to enter text. Although this it is lighter than other keyboards, it is uneasy to sit with the keyboard instead of a small remote control device. Pressing the shortcut keys can suffice to find the videos but the control over the videos can be a bit troublesome. The gesture pad is not that smooth as that of a mouse, and users might find it difficult to navigate websites or click on links.

Software and the User Interface

Android has debuted with new potential and power and it is used in Google TV. It seems consistent on the use of Android. Google has designed a customizable panel on the left which houses applications, bookmarks and what’s-on user guide. On the right of the interface, one could find a small menu for selecting media to play. The peeking radial gradient background is the one what people usually want. The user has freedom to customize shortcuts for the navigation pane. The application follows the reliable and sensible UI guidelines. It allows the user to hop to another source of media or web by pressing the home button. By pressing the search button the user can access the contents from the web or particular application. The best part of Google TV is that it reduces the work of finding something to watch; hence it also minimizes the complexity.

Watching TV

Google TV does not intend to replace cable. It is a companion for TV, which makes television watching easier. It helps in finding certain entertaining programs and acts more as a home entertainment. Google TV searches for video options irrespective of the location. User can search and decide what he wants to watch.

Specifications

General

• Manufacturer: Logitech
• Part Number: REVUE
• Product Type Digital multimedia receiver

System

• A/V System Recommended Use Home

Audio System

• Output Mode Stereo
• Digital Audio Format Dolby Digital output

Connectors

• Optical Digital Output Yes

Digital Player (Recorder)

• Device Type Digital player (HDD)

Network & Internet Multimedia

• Functionality WEB browsing,
  Internet video playback
• Connectivity Wireless / wired
• Connectivity Protocols IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet),
  IEEE 802.11n,
  IEEE 802.11b (Wi-Fi),
  IEEE 802.3u (Fast Ethernet),
  IEEE 802.11g

Remote Control

• Type Remote control

Connections

• Connector Type 1 x SPDIF output – Rear,
  2 x ( 4 pin USB Type A ) – Rear,
  1 x – Rear,
  1 x ( RJ-45 ) – Rear,
  1 x – Rear

Miscellaneous

• Included Accessories IR blaster

Power

• Type External

Manufacturer Warranty

• Service & Support 1 year warranty
• Service & Support Details Limited warranty – 1 year

The Bottom Line

As Google TV bridges internet and television, web browsing becomes difficult as compared to the computer. The fonts used are small and websites take longer to load. Stick to the actual computer instead of Revue for watching videos or browsing internet. This device is great to watch football game or sports on large screens in the living room. Watching YouTube videos has great clarity but at the same time some websites such as Hulu, blocks Google TV’s access to videos. Google TV does not give a feel of a finished product if it is compared with other competitive products. The best advice would be to stick to the traditional cable television for TV and computer for internet. Waiting for a new improved version of Google TV, would be a better option!

Slim HD Digital Media Player is a hard drive based transportable media drive released by Micca, last year. It is based on typical 2.5” notebook hard drive, which can handle a range of formats and containers and also had 720p HDMI output. A focus on the compact form factor, an ability to use it as a portable USB drive and ease of use are some important features of Micca Slim-HD.

Overview

Basically, Micca Slim-HD 1080p provides a playback of all popular music, photos, video and audio formats up to 1080p resolution. Its 1080p HDMI output sends clear and sharp audio and video in pure digital format to HDTVs. Micca Slim-HD is bundled with a remote, USB cable, composite A/V cable and AC adapter. It has an internal drive bay that accommodates all standard SATA hard drives of 2.5” height for up to 750GB in storage capacity. It can also be used to play movies in-car video system, as it has optional car power adapter.

Design

The DMI (Digital Media Player) is quite slim and small, at 5.35” (L) x 3.15” (W) x 0.79” (H). In design it is as same as other 2.5” portable hard drives, excluding slightly thicker. It is smaller than most of the other HD media boxes such as Seagate’s GoFlex TV and WD TV Live models, which both go beyond 4” x 5” x 1.5”. At the top face of Slim-HD, there is logo of Micca Slim-HD, a power button and LED. Its front side contains the remote’s IR sensor and HDD activity light. The back side includes a 3.5mm AV out, a mini-USB port, an HDMI port and a 5.2V DC input. To the right side there is SDHC card reader to round out the ports.

The remote of the HD is very small as well as light, but somewhat confusing due to its buttons as they are not organized properly. Once the button placements are figure out, it works well. It has an integrated SD card slot for those people, who want to put the memory card of their camera onto the TV directly for viewing purpose.

The UI (User Interface) of HD is very clean, intuitive and functional with straightforward menu system. Its home screen is black and has 5 buttons such as Movies, Music, Photos, Files and Settings. Its files and folder are presented in alphabetical order in white text on black background.

Features

With broad audio and video codec and file format which supports up to 1080p Full-HD resolution and 20-50mbps, Slim-HD is truly a next generation digital video device. Its internal 2.5” drive puts it apart from GoFlex and Live Plus, which don’t have internal hard drives.

The following table gives a brief summary of Micca Slim-HD Specifications:

Slim-HD has been made to use with all TVs, HDTVs and home theater systems with extensive connectivity. Though there is no cooling mechanism in Slim-HD, it is completely stable and doesn’t heat up much which points to the low power consumption of F10 SoC. Other than that, Slim-HD has more compatibility than WD TV with more compressed 1080p video.

The bottom line

Micca Slim-HD is a compressed yet very powerful and transportable digital media player, which has playback capability of all popular music, photos and videos. It is also capable of decoding all popular video formats up to 1080p resolution. It is really an interesting proposition, which is a great entertainment source for business and vacation trips.

Three years after the launch of the original expensive Apple TV, Apple has re-launched their updated Apple TV, which is smaller, cheaper and based on streamable video. This product appears to be a worthwhile entertainment system. The new device has hit the market with new functionalities and enhancements, which supports WiFi-N 802.11. It does not have local storage drive as this box is built on rental model and it depends on the internet cloud for the streaming media content.

Overview

This new product is smaller to the earlier launch, weighting almost half a pound. Its sides measure 3.9 inches and it is less than an inch tall. It operates with very little power and low operating temperature. There is no power button to turn it on or off, hence it is constantly on standby mode unless unplugged. The design is very simple with only essential connectivity solutions. The rear of the device has ports for power, Ethernet, micro USB, HDMI cable and optical audio. Setting up the device is very simple – just plug in and enter the network information.

The device uses infrared to connect to the remote sensor, as opposed to Bluetooth. Infrared, works on the line of sight principle of connectivity, which means that the remote works only when it is pointed in the direction of its sensor without obstructions. The remote is effective enough and has many buttons for basic navigation such as play, pause, central button and a directional wheel for clicking. The remote is made of aluminum and it is very thin and small. It feels nice in hands but it is extremely easy to get misplaced. These televisions can also be controlled through iPad and iPhone touch.

Apple TV is based on the rental streamable and downloadable content. Television programs and movies can be streamed and downloaded directly from iTunes through the specialized interface. New and old movies can be streamed with 5.1 surround Dolby Digital sound.

Technical Specifications

Size and weight:

• Height: 0.9 inches (23 mm)
• Width: 3.9 inches (98 mm)
• Depth: 3.9 inches (98 mm)
• Weight: 0.6 pounds

Power:

• Built-in 6-watt universal power supply

Wireless:

• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)

Ports and interfaces:

• HDMI (video and audio)
• Component video
• Optical audio
• Analog RCA stereo audio
• 10/100BASE-T Ethernet
• USB 2.0
• 802.11n wireless networking6
• Built-in IR receiver (works with included Apple Remote)

Environmental requirements:

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
• Storage temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% non-condensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

System requirements:

• Wi-Fi (802.11 a, b, g, or n) wireless network (wireless video streaming requires 802.11a, g or n) or 10/100BASE-T Ethernet network
• iTunes Store account for renting movies and TV shows
• Netflix account for streaming Netflix content
• For streaming media from a Mac or PC: iTunes 10.0.1 or later; iTunes Store account for Home Sharing

In the box:

• Apple TV
• Apple Remote
• Power cord
• Quick Start guide

Processor and storage:

• Intel processor
• 40GB hard drive2 for storing content locally
• Up to 50 hours of movies and TV shows3
• Up to 9,000 songs4
• Up to 25,000 pictures5

Video formats supported:

• H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps)
• iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels or 640 by 480 pixels
• MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps)

Audio formats supported:

• AAC(16 to 320 Kbps); protected AAC (from iTunes Store); MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps); MP3 VBR; Apple Lossless; AIFF; WAV

Photos formats supported:

• JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG

TV compatibility:

• Enhanced-definition or high-definition widescreen TVs capable of 1080i 60/50Hz, 720p 60/50Hz, 576p 50Hz (PAL format), or 480p 60Hz

Accessories:

• XtremeMac HDMI to HDMI cable TL951LL/A
• XtremeMac HDMI to DVI cable TL952LL/A
• XtremeMac component video cable TL953LL/A
• XtremeMac analog audio cable TL954LL/A
• XtremeMac TOSLINK optical cable TL955LL/A
• AirPort Extreme Base Station MA073LL/A
• AppleCare Protection Plan MA937LL/A

Hardware:

• 1.0GHz Intel Pentium M-based “Crofton” CPU, based on SSE2 Dothan model # 7645A966 0159
• NVIDIA G72M graphics with 64MB DDR2 memory
• 256MB of 400MHz DDR2

Software:

• Modified version of OS X 10.4.7 along with some 10.4.9 kexts

Firmware:

• Apple TV uses EFI, based on the presence of the hard drive in GUID map

Communication:

• TCP port 3689 is used to communicate with iTunes while using the iTunes Library Sharing feature.
• UDP port 5353 is used by Apple TV for automatically finding computers with iTunes on your network using Bonjour.
• TCP port 80 and 443 are used for basic and secure communications with the iTunes Store via the Internet.

Formats:

• H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps)
• iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels or 640 by 480 pixels
• MPEG-4: Up to 3 Mbps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 720 by 432 pixels at 30 fps)

The Bottom Line

The worst part of Apple TV is the installation of iTunes. The home sharing has to be turned on, without which iPhone, iPad and iTouch remote applications would be unusable. Furthermore, the contents that is stored in the DLNA/PUnP device.

The use of Airplay, the new de-facto content sharing standard is brilliant and becoming very popular. When it is used with iPad with developer builder iOS-4.x, the user is able to stream audio from both iPod applications and YouTube. At the end, considering all the features, Apple TV is a best buy!