The Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc PlayerModel number:NSZ-GT1 Review

Update: 3 November 2011

Finally!

Really, almost one year later? Gordon Bennett – that took a while didn’t it?

In the early hours of this morning, 3 November 2011, Google released the OS update for the Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player – NSZ-GT1. A few hours later, the same upgrade was available for the Sony Google TV in the kitchen. It is the Android 3.1 OS, also known as; android 3.1 honeycomb operating system. The same OS that is on the latest Android tablets.

Once the Gizmo was updated, which only took around 5~10 min over Wi-Fi, Pandora’s Box opened too. All the anticipation of the original purchase, a year ago, came to fruition. Well, almost all. Let me not forget to tell you, it retains your bookmarks etc. which was important in my case. You will need to sign in to Apps like Netflix and Pandora (music streaming app) again, of course. Going through the 3 min. initial demo is definitely advisable since the navigation is very different now. Most significantly, the “Android Market” is now available, giving us access to a deluge of new Apps to select from. Do remember these are honeycomb Apps and not all the Android market Apps. Nevertheless, infinitely more choices.

Android Market on Google TV Boxes

Android Market on Google TV Boxes

 

The Media Player is still a waste of time for me. It sees my Windows 7 PC’s , music, video, and pictures, but reports the folders as all empty. It maybe something to do with permissions settings on the PC side, but certainly not intuitive. Nor are there any settings instructions as is on Xbox or PS3.

So, am I finally happy and content after this OS upgrade?  Oh YES! Love it! Better late than never … thank you Google/Sony!

With this upgrade and the heavily discounted prices of these Gizmo’s (if you can still get one), I’d give it my big thumbs up 🙂

Original Review: Dec 19. 2010

————————————

 

I got this unit about three weeks ago. The normal price at the Sony center was $399. They had a special offer for a week, selling the unit at $299. Now, bear in mind, I have a PS3 and absolutely love it. So, I did compare this Gizmo with Apple’s TV, Logitech, my PS3, and Xbox360, before deciding to buy one.

What I was hoping for:

An all in one Gizmo, to hook to the TV to fetch and send email, browse the Net, media stream from my PC’s and storage devices, get useful and necessary Apps like Netflix etc., advance TV program guide & search with programming abilities, and a good Blu-ray disc player.

What did I get:

Well, as it stands for now, close but no cigars.

The unit is capable and performs pretty much all the functions above, hence the purchase. The shame is, it is not quite there yet. Almost everything, when it works, is a notch below flawless. Setup and picture quality were pretty fine. Wireless network works at n speed, no problem. Sound quality for my home theater setup was way below par. It simply cannot do 5 Channel Stereo. Forget about the optical connection, I got far better sound with HDMI connection. That’s no surprise.

Browsing is fine for most needs. Don’t expect to play online Java or Flash games however. There is no dedicated email App, but your webmail, in particular Gmail, will work great. Media streaming at the moment is dismal. It freezes, goes into endless loops and is beyond slow. It is crying out for a bug fix and an update that I’m sure it’ll have.

I was underwhelmed with the TV guide capabilities. Even more so, with the Search capabilities. Google – Search … you know.. You’d think there’s something special going to happen there.

It does NOT have DVR capabilities and the interaction with my DIRECTV DVR box was nothing more than program guide, menu system and change channel. It cannot search the recording on the DVR. Apparently if you have a Dish box, it will.

Finally, the Apps. Android… remember? Tens of thousands of Apps…? No – you’d be lucky to have 10 or 12 useful Apps for now. One of them was the Netflix App that until yesterday only listed your Instant Queue. An update today certainly makes it more worthwhile. It is now almost as good as the Netflix App on the PS3!

The Blu-ray disc player has a slight edge on my PS3, and having compared the technical spec on the web and the real visual differences in the shop, it’s right up there with the $200 Sony Blu-ray players.

I must say, I really do like the remote. For a small little unit, the keyboard is quite functional and the controls are logical. It acts as a pretty decent universal remote for the rest of the units too.  My only grip is the mouse functionality on the right. It’s as sensitive and responsive as my 4th Grade teacher was. And just like her, it has split personality. For some functions like the Netflix App, you have to use the arrow keys on the left. For some other features, particularly web browsing, the mouse on the right has to be used.

Am I happy I got this Gizmo:

Hmmmmmh .. Eaeeer…., I think I will be, in a few months – I hope! This gizmo has a lot of potential. I’ve no doubt Google will update the OS and offer masses of Apps for this box (and the Google TV of course) sometimes next year. Number one problem right now is the miserable media streaming and lack of Apps.

Likes:

The upgradable OS, remote, picture quality, setup, connections, Network capabilities, Chrome Internet Browser, Blu-ray Disc player.

Dislikes:

Terrible media streaming, lack of Apps, frustrating mouse, lack of DVR capabilities, less than ideal audio capabilities.

Would like to see added:

Fix the bugs and crashes. Masses of Apps, movable picture in picture capability, fix my dislike above. Oh and while you’re at it, I can’t see why it couldn’t replace my Sligbox with the right App.

Links:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&categoryId=16192&N=4294966115&Name=Blu-ray%20Disc%20&%20DVD%20Players#/googletv

2 Readers liked this postVote if you liked this post

How do you rate this product?

Post to Twitter