Google Fiber no longer focusing on TV

[phareous]

I wonder what this will mean for the former-SageTV team

https://arstechnica.com/information-...old-school-tv/

[egeller]

I suspect that ship has already sailed. I thought I read here, on the forum, that Google's DVR solution is no longer based on SageTV. I understood that this is why we lost the EPG July 1. Whatever impact is probably known or implemented.

[reggie14]

I assume the SageTV team worked on the new Fiber TV system. And they're not getting rid of that yet, so presumably they'll stick around as a skeleton team supporting that.

I've always found Google's purchase of SageTV to be a bit odd. An semi-traditional DVR like SageTV, as advanced as it was/is, didn't seem to fit with Google's broader strategy (to the extent Google has one). Why build a super-fast FTTD network but then continue to use a cableTV+DVR system in each home?

An OTT streaming service seems like it always would have made more sense. I wonder if there was any serious talk within Google at offering something like Youtube TV at the time they started Fiber.

If I had to guess, I'd say their market research indicated most people got their high-speed internet from the same company as their TV. So they thought they needed a TV service. And Google probably didn't have the corporate will to really push for a streaming licensing deal. Youtube TV seemed to come along after other companies broke the ice.

Some of this shows how comparatively disorganized Google seems compared to Apple. Sometime like Youtube TV could plausibly be a good alternative to Fiber TV, but only if Google worked on an expanded channel package and streaming boxes. But, as it stands, the package is awfully limited, and the only current way to stream to a TV is by casting it. Oddly, Google even left their own Android TV boxes out to dry.

By the way, I vaguely remember a post from Narflex teasing something big shortly after we found out SageTV was being used for Fiber TV. The context, if I remember it right, was people asking about possible mass-market product plans. Do we know what Narflex was referring to? Was it just the open source move (which came much, much later)? Or do you think Google had broader plans at one point?

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by reggie14

I've always found Google's purchase of SageTV to be a bit odd. An semi-traditional DVR like SageTV, as advanced as it was/is, didn't seem to fit with Google's broader strategy (to the extent Google has one). Why build a super-fast FTTD network but then continue to use a cableTV+DVR system in each home?

I think that was the point, they needed a Cable/DVR system, quick, cheap (in Google terms) and temporarily. Easiest way to accomplish that is to buy some small company that already has a product that meets those needs.

An OTT streaming service seems like it always would have made more sense. I wonder if there was any serious talk within Google at offering something like Youtube TV at the time they started Fiber.

I'm sure there was, but if you think back to that time period, there really wasn't any OTT TV service, content owners hadn't warmed up to that idea yet. I suspect it was too hard/expensive or impossible to get the content they needed for their service, unless it was a "traditional" TV service.

That's all changing now with many OTT TV services and On Demand streaming rapidly growing.

By the way, I vaguely remember a post from Narflex teasing something big shortly after we found out SageTV was being used for Fiber TV. The context, if I remember it right, was people asking about possible mass-market product plans. Do we know what Narflex was referring to? Was it just the open source move (which came much, much later)? Or do you think Google had broader plans at one point?

I'm guessing it was just the open sourcing of SageTV.

[SHS]

Originally Posted by stanger89

I think that was the point, they needed a Cable/DVR system, quick, cheap (in Google terms) and temporarily. Easiest way to accomplish that is to buy some small company that already has a product that meets those needs.


I'm sure there was, but if you think back to that time period, there really wasn't any OTT TV service, content owners hadn't warmed up to that idea yet. I suspect it was too hard/expensive or impossible to get the content they needed for their service, unless it was a "traditional" TV service.

That's all changing now with many OTT TV services and On Demand streaming rapidly growing.


I'm guessing it was just the open sourcing of SageTV.

Don't for get all mickey mouse headache they had just try get fiber install you know all road block the by AT&T, Comcast and other.

[Narflex]

I'm fairly sure the tease from before was regarding Open Sourcing SageTV.

None of us work on Google Fiber anymore, we have all shifted to other things.