OSNews: http://www.osnews.com/story/23880/Logitech_Revue_Not_As_Good_As_It_Should_Have_Been Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2013, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Fri, 24 May 2013 02:20:25 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif OSNews.com http://www.osnews.com ?? http://www.osnews.com/thread?444176 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444176 The real GTalk (not the @#%#$'d up "web" version) doesn't support any cams at all, so ... huh? Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Shannara) Comments Comment by Kroc http://www.osnews.com/thread?444179 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444179 It’s all about the money. It’s companies doing backroom deals with each other trying to wrangle the biggest slice of the pie and gain a monopoly. Why did Google allow Logitech’s proprietary and useless webcam software? Money. Why did they omit basic TV features? Money. (cable networks fearing change)

None of the companies involved here are in it to give you a good TV experience. They are in it to extract as much cash from you, and each other. There is simply no changing this.

Some big companies are going to have to fold before you get the perfect TV experience you want. Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Kroc) Comments I want a hackable TV http://www.osnews.com/thread?444194 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444194 Just give me a good CPU, enough RAM and fast network connection in an open package and I will do the rest.

I just want the whole shebang integrated into the TV (same wall plug and just a overlay over the normal TV)

Once TVs like that are on the market a whole explosion of useful programs/hacks will appear. Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:38:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kragil) Comments Comment by robojerk http://www.osnews.com/thread?444201 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444201 The price bothers me. I blame Intel's involvement for being at least $100 overpriced.

I also have some questions about how it interfaces with DVR's like, do I have to use the IR Blasters?

No Hulu is bothersome, but there are other websites for the shows I watch. I think it's shame HBOgo requires a cable subscription. Short sightedness on their part. Where's Showtime?

No Market is damn near criminal if you ask me. If Logitech will allow other apps (Gtalk, Facetime, etc.) access to the webcam then I can see a lot of people putting it to good use (video porn?) to it. Still, no Market means it's not available.

I kind of like the UI. It's setup to be navigated with a remote. Both the OP and I haven't actually gotten a chance to use the UI so I'm still waiting to see before I really give it praise or ridicule it.Edited 2010-10-06 23:00 UTC Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (robojerk) Comments Ah Eugenia http://www.osnews.com/thread?444210 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444210 I like how you hold up Logitech Vid as a closed and new network, while at the same time mentioning Facetime as a big popular network along the likes of Skype.

Logitech Vid has been around longer than Facetime. If you're going to lambast Logitech for not interfacing with a popular network that's fine, but Facetime is even worse. Why couldn't Apple just hook into Skype? Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (leos) Comments RE: Ah Eugenia http://www.osnews.com/thread?444212 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444212 Practically speaking, Facetime is more popular than Logitech Vid. The vast majority of people who buy Logitech cams don't use the chat software installed. They use their cams with Skype instead.

Besides, Facetime is supposed to be an open standard.Edited 2010-10-06 23:22 UTC Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:21:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments Your information is incorrect http://www.osnews.com/thread?444222 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444222 Logitech stated during the announcement today that apps can use the webcam. Nothing will prevent skype from creating an app which uses it. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:18:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (hohlraum) Comments RE: Your information is incorrect http://www.osnews.com/thread?444223 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444223 This is good to hear. However, this does not bail out Logitech from blame. It will be at least a full year before Skype offers a video chat ability for Google TV. They still haven't even done it for the iPhone, which is their main non-desktop market.

Logitech should have gone with the current defaults: iChat first and foremost (it has the most video chat users than any other protocol), and then they should have had a Skype deal too. These are things that had to be worked on before this presentation today, not awaiting third parties to do the job for them -- many, many months later. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:22:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Eugenia) Comments Bummer http://www.osnews.com/thread?444226 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444226 And here I thought the only problem was it required a HDTV to use. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (RichterKuato) Comments RE[2]: Your information is incorrect http://www.osnews.com/thread?444228 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444228 I actually doubt iChat has more users using video than Skype. I personally know not a single person using iChat whereas even those who have Macs prefer to use Skype. iChat is also limited to a single platform whereas Skype is available atleast for a few. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:47:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (WereCatf) Comments RE[2]: Your information is incorrect http://www.osnews.com/thread?444229 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444229 iChat?

I'm more interested to see what protocol Microsoft is going to throw at us for Video chat through Xbox 360 with Kinect. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:58:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (robojerk) Comments The real nail in it's coffin http://www.osnews.com/thread?444233 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444233 Is that for $100 less you can get a ION+Atom powered NetTop like the Acer Revo or Lenovo Ideacenter with Win7 on it that will do everything that does and MORE.

or for $50 more you can get a ION backed 1.8ghz dual core Atom that blows it completely out of the water.

Sure in both cases you might have to drop $10-$20 on a remote (like the Diamond All in Wonder USB), but I guarantee it will be a better rig overall.

More than anything, it's the price-point on what is basically a total joke for hardware and capabilities that spells the doom of these toys. If it was price pointed at $100 we'd be cheering it from the rooftops. At $300 it's a case of "mother ***** you out of your god ***** mind?!?"

Happy owner of a Acer Revo as his media center PC checking in while watching "Burn Notice" in 1080P on it!Edited 2010-10-07 01:12 UTC Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (deathshadow) Comments RE[2]: Your information is incorrect http://www.osnews.com/thread?444234 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444234
Logitech should have gone with the current defaults: iChat first and foremost (it has the most video chat users than any other protocol), and then they should have had a Skype deal too. These are things that had to be worked on before this presentation today, not awaiting third parties to do the job for them -- many, many months later.


I don't believe that for a minute. First of all, the only people that could possibly be using Facetime are iPhone 4 users, and while sales are strong, just owning an iPhone does not make you a Facetime user, just like owning a mac does not make you an iChat user even though it comes with the program. Heck I own a mac and an iphone 4 and have never used either iChat or Facetime. Logitech Vid has been out for over a year at least and comes with every Logitech webcam. Neither of them are what you might call popular, but I'd pitch them about even in unpopularity.

And iChat having more users than Skype? Ha! Where's the numbers? Skype has over 500 million accounts and over 45 million daily users.

The real WTF is that Facetime doesn't work with iChat.Edited 2010-10-07 01:14 UTC Thu, 07 Oct 2010 01:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (leos) Comments RE: Ah Eugenia http://www.osnews.com/thread?444248 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444248
I like how you hold up Logitech Vid as a closed and new network, while at the same time mentioning Facetime as a big popular network along the likes of Skype.

Logitech Vid has been around longer than Facetime. If you're going to lambast Logitech for not interfacing with a popular network that's fine, but Facetime is even worse. Why couldn't Apple just hook into Skype?


Skype is a closed proprietary protocol and Facetime is a technology that utilised open standard technology - doesn't it therefore sound fucking ridiculous to rant on about Facetime whilst ignoring the proprietary nature of Skype? I certainly think it sounds fucking ridiculous. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 04:12:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (kaiwai) Comments TV http://www.osnews.com/thread?444254 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444254 Why should the TV change as much as dropping the remote ? It would alienate current TV users ("Look ! It's a computer ! Complicated, unreliable, inefficient junk, burn it !") and it would not magically make people who hate this passive video media come back.Edited 2010-10-07 05:43 UTC Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Neolander) Comments RE[2]: Ah Eugenia http://www.osnews.com/thread?444256 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444256 Facetime is based on SIP (new and improved you could say):
http://blog.imtc.org/index.php/2010/06/09/the-technology-behind-app...

But so is Logitech Vid:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SightSpeed

So, there is a chance these products will converge towards interoperability. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:53:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ddennedy) Comments RE: Comment by robojerk http://www.osnews.com/thread?444262 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444262 The article and this comment are misleading about app market. There is no market on launch, but they said it is coming in 2011.

The smartphone app has voice command, but I wonder if the mic in the camera may some day enable voice search and command. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:46:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ddennedy) Comments Innovaiton http://www.osnews.com/thread?444266 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444266 The only 'real' innovation I have seen lately, is the inclusion of Plex on LG TV's in 2011. All the media apps you can throw a stick at (netflix, hulu etc etc), and will also stream your local media (up to 1080p) in almost any format, without a hitch. One remote, and one device to rule them all. The logitech announcement is just one big fail so far..in comparision. Even though it technically provides more 'features'.

http://www.plexapp.com/press_LG.phpEdited 2010-10-07 07:17 UTC Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (blodsbror) Comments RE: Comment by Kroc http://www.osnews.com/thread?444283 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444283 agreed

Some big companies are going to have to fold before you get the perfect TV experience you want.

That or you're going to have to build your own TV. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 08:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Laurence) Comments What folks miss... http://www.osnews.com/thread?444379 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444379 Or maybe I am missing is the fact that this is a box that sits between your TV and your cable/DSS receiver. So look at it like this:

Cable/DSS ($60/month, basic+ channels worth having)
Internet ($60/month for a speed worth having)
$300 for Logitech Revue

I cant ditch my Cable/DSS for this thing. It will be ad supported in the coming year (Yes, Google has said as much). So not only will I have to deal with the ads on broadcast channels, but also ads showing up somewhere in the UI for the appliance itself whenever I access it. And my cost for entertainment has gone up, not down.

Why do I want apps on my TV? I want to watch TV. If apps can supplement my viewing experience they shouldn't relegate my TV viewing to a small corner of my 65" screen. The presentations Google and Logitech have provided show the device overwhelming the TV experience, not enhancing it.

Im not seeing a reason for broadcast networks supporting it either. If they make their money from ad placement via commercials and charge based on viewership, Google will supplant them since they'll be acting as middle man (where the box sits) during content delivery. No advertiser is going to pay ABC, and then Google to show the same ad during the same show.

For right now, its an answer with no discernible problem. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:01:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jackeebleu) Comments Can't boot another OS? http://www.osnews.com/thread?444391 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444391 This is really my quesion. Can any of them boot to what I want? Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jefro) Comments RE: Can't boot another OS? http://www.osnews.com/thread?444443 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444443 Wy would you want to boot an OS on your TV? Stop being a jackass. Thu, 07 Oct 2010 23:39:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (jackeebleu) Comments RE: I want a hackable TV http://www.osnews.com/thread?444596 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444596 TV's like that are on the market. They are called media center PC's. Sat, 09 Oct 2010 13:10:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Priest) Comments RE[2]: Your information is incorrect http://www.osnews.com/thread?444599 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444599 The only way to have a subset of 3rd party apps available on release day is to work with those vendors before the release. Based on what criteria are 3rd party vendors chosen for this early access?

Why not just launch a platform, and then when /everyone/ gets access to that platform they can start developing apps on it.

Let the early adopters well, adopt early, and the 2nd generation product will address most the launch day criticisms of the first one.

Why not? Sat, 09 Oct 2010 13:24:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Priest) Comments RE: Bummer http://www.osnews.com/thread?444602 http://www.osnews.com/thread?444602 I would agree with you if this was 2005. It isn't even available today and you can get 720p TV's with HDMI for under $300. The product is aimed at early adopters, not everyone else. Sat, 09 Oct 2010 14:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Priest) Comments