Sony NSZ-GT1 Blu-Ray Player with Google TV Review
by Andrew Van Til on November 29, 2010 3:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Google TV
- Media Streamer
- Sony
- Media Player
- Blu-Ray
Overall the Sony NSZ-GT1 is a decent Blu-ray player with a unique feature set, and the potential to provide the most comprehensive non-linear TV experience to the home theater. Given the player’s performance and feature set (most notably lacking 3D), the price ($300) is an issue when compared to other products like Sony’s 3D capable BDP-S570 which offers a similar feature set (minus TV and search) but goes for ~$160 street. I was unable to track down any component pricing information from Intel, so while it is impossible get a good feel for what is driving the cost, the root cause is largely irrelevant—products are judged by their price competitiveness, not by the bill of materials. The good news is that Intel’s CE4100 can support frame sequential 3D so the potential is present for Sony to fill at least that feature gap, hopefully they do.
It is not unusual for Google to introduce and unfinished product into the market, so while there are several issues with the execution, I suspect that most will fade away with subsequent updates to the platform. Also, depending on the level of access provided by the SDK, there is enormous potential for third parties to bring other useful applications like ATSC or functional local network file playback to the platform. That said, I am not convinced that the current implementation demonstrates that Google truly understands that TV media consumption is fundamentally different from the way we use their other services. The TV and associated components are shared devices often used by multiple people at the same time, so while GTV is an interesting product, it is narrowly focused on enabling a single user experience to the detriment of everyone else who might use the device.
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vshah - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
is it nsx-gt1, or nsz-gt1? it varies in the title/article.ganeshts - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
Editorial mistake :) Fixed, thanks!piroroadkill - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
I'm not entirely sure who this is aimed at: the setup process looked pretty long-winded for most people who sit infront of a TV, being spoonfed content while drooling. I mean, seriously, a question whether you want the thing to boot slowly or quickly? It should make the best guess for defaults in the majority of cases, and give you the option to fuck with it later: look at how the Windows installation process has been streamlined over the years.Then the tech savvy guys? They already have an htpc and are more than willing to play around to get it right, using xbmc or some such...
bji - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
Sony consistently makes the worst remote controls of any major consumer electronics manufacturer. It's likey they don't employ even a single user interface person to help design these devices, they just either rely on out-of-touch engineers or dumb marketing people to design their remotes.The ultimate example was the Playstation 2 remote. It was a grid of buttons with the DVD controls (ffwd, play, rewind, etc) placed fairly randomly and with no tactile distinction whatsoever between the keys. So totally lame.
Ever since the Playstation 2 remote I've been paying attention to Sony's designs and every time I see a Sony remote I am reminded that they still have the suckiest remote designers.
nutmac - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
I would love expand HQV 2.0 benchmark comparison against popular players, such as PS3.babgvant - Monday, November 29, 2010 - link
That's a great point; I've never seen a media centric review of the PS3. As hard as it gets pushed as the ultimate BD player, it would be really interesting to actually test that.Voldenuit - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Andrew,while I found your review well-written and informative, I can't help but feel that you were a little too lenient with it in your final thoughts.
A google device that has no universal search? Fail.
A media streamer that has no worthwhile codec and container support? Fail.
A remote that is unusable by anyone without an IT degree? Fail.
A consumer device that you have to press Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot when it hangs? WTF?
At the $300 asking price with the level of functionality and robustness out-of-the-box, the NSZGT1 deserves to be publicly lambasted, if not downright ridiculed.
Even Apple's RDF wouldn't be able to disguise this Thanksgiving turkey.
Also, any chance AT will revisit the Boxee Box with the revised firmware?
ganeshts - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
Andy will respond to your comments on his leniency towards the NSZ-GT1 :)We will take a look at Boxee Box again as soon as TrueHD bitstreaming is enabled or December 15th, whichever is earlier.
babgvant - Tuesday, November 30, 2010 - link
GTV is a CE device targeted at mainstream users, so the abysmal container support is forgivable; otherwise, those are all valid points. That said, I think the platform's potential outweighs the teething issues; so while the current implementation is clearly unfinished, and I worry that Google doesn't understand the difference b/w the TV and mobile user experience, it is still too early to get out the pitchforks and torches. Six months from now will be another story.IMO the current MSRP for this player is too high (Sony even dropped the price $100 a few days ago, so they must also recognize this); it's crazy that we can buy a better BD player (faster, quieter, more power efficient and has 3D) from Sony for $140 less. Between us, unless the apps platform gets exponentially better real soon I think they will need to knock another $100 off the top to be competitive in the mainstream. I could have made that clearer in the FT.
Aloonatic - Wednesday, December 1, 2010 - link
Grrr, lost my comment with FireFox crashing, so my reply in brief...Re: $300 - This is a BluRay player too, let's not forget.
Then the rest of my rambling comment was mostly a complaint about Sony controllers, when they will invest in people to sort out this problem? They haven't produced a good controller/remote since the original PS controller, and that was a less than subtle copy of the SNES controller (and they are just copying Nintendo again with Move) which was OK at the time, but now is very old and tired but still they persist with it with the PS3?!?! Sort it out Sony! It's not like you are a corner/cost cutting budget brand for Jebus' sake!