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Google TV (service)

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(Redirected from Google Play Movies & TV)
For other uses, see Google TV (disambiguation).

Google TV
Developer(s)Google
Initial releaseSeptember 2020; 4 years ago (2020-09)
Stable release
4.39.2590 (Build 678247678.4) / 26 September 2024; 58 days ago (2024-09-26)[1][2]
Operating systemAndroid, iOS, web
TypeDigital distribution
Websitetv.google

Google TV is a digital distribution service for movies and television series developed by Google. It was announced in September 2020, offering search and discovery of video titles across multiple streaming services, including rental or purchase options, alongside watchlist features for accessing titles from eligible devices and platforms. The buy, rent, or preorder options were shared with the predecessor Google Play Movies & TV, which has since moved to the newer service.

The purchased or rented video titles can be watched by a signed-in user on Android TV devices, Google TV devices, the Google TV mobile app (Android and iOS), and YouTube. The Google TV mobile app can download video for offline watching. The search, discover and watchlist options are also available on the Google Search website, the Google TV app on mobile devices, TVs with Google Assistant, and Google TV devices.

Overview

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The Google TV service was announced in September 2020 along with the launch of Chromecast with Google TV having an updated interface with service features available first on it and to be made available later on some Android TVs.[3][4] At the same time, the Google Play Movies & TV app was also updated with same interface as well as related features and was renamed to Google TV on Android mobile devices in the United States.[4] The Google TV user interface is deeply integrated with the Google TV video service.[5]

The service expanded to iOS in June 2022.[6]

Geographic availability

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Geographic availability of movies on Google TV
Geographic availability of TV shows on Google TV

Now part of Google TV service, movies on Google Play are available in 120 countries.[7]

The full country list includes: Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Namibia, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe [7]

Also, TV shows are only available in: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States.[7]

Google TV app is available in: Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Namibia, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Rwanda, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.[7]

Features

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Purchase and library access

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The Google TV service offers options to rent or buy movies and television shows in various video resolutions including SD, HD and UHD, depending on geographic as well as devices and platform availability.[8]

Available content titles can be purchased through a Google TV device or the Google TV app. The purchase feature is not available on iPhone and iPad. The purchased content is added to the library associated with the signed-in Google Account.[8]

Content titles purchased through Google Play Movies & TV or through YouTube can also be found in library associated with the same Google Account and can be accessed using Google TV on eligible devices and platforms.[8]

The Shop tab on Android TV devices can also be used to explore and buy or rent video titles distributed under Google TV service.[9]

Offline downloads

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A user can download a previously bought video on up to five devices and a rented video on one device at a time using the Google TV app. Users can't download videos onto a Google TV device.[10]

Watchlist

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Movies and shows can be added to a watchlist to find or watch content later. The watchlist is associated with the user account and updates across devices of a signed-in account when some content is added to it. Certain content from some streaming services cannot be added to watchlist. Content titles can be watched, removed or added on watchlist from a Google TV device, Google TV app, or from Google Search in a web browser.[11]

Recommendations and content preferences

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In agreement with partners, Google provides recommended content to users of the Google TV service with the app or dedicated Google TV devices. Google sets default ordering and selections for streaming services based on app popularity, installed apps, user saved services, and contractual agreements with Google's partners.[12]

A user can add streaming services by selecting from list of available services using Google TV app or a Google TV device in order to get more content recommendations from those services. These options aren't available for all shows and movies on every streaming service.[12] Streaming services can be linked or unlinked to a user's Google account.[13]

If a user is signed in with their Google Account and Web & App Activity is turned on, Google makes recommendations based on several factors which include:[14]

  • What is added to the watchlist
  • What is watched on Google Play, Google TV, and Android TV
  • Trailers watched on YouTube
  • Content purchased or rented on Google Play, YouTube, Google TV, and Android TV
  • Streaming services selected
  • Entertainment-related searches on Google Search or with the Google Assistant
  • Specific titles liked or disliked on Google Play, Google TV, or Google Search
  • Region

A user can set or update content preferences by rating the followed suggested titles. This feature is only available on a Google TV device.[12]

Parental controls

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Parental controls are available on some Google TV devices and regions.[15]

Interface

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Content distributed under Google TV service is made available for discovery on a user interface called Google TV as available on Google TV devices and Google TV mobile app as well as on new user interface called Android TV as available on Android TV devices.[15][3][5]

Platforms and devices

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Google TV can be accessed on different platforms and devices. However, not all features are available on every platform or device. User sign-in is required on each platform to access their content library.[16] This includes the following platforms and devices:[17]

Browsers

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  • YouTube website, where ads don't play when a signed in user watch purchased content
  • Google Search, where titles can be searched and removed from or added to watchlist[11]
  • Earlier, the content was available to access on Google Play website, where HD playback was not supported and content played in SD. HD playback for purchased eligible content was supported using Safari on Mac.[18][19] Offline download and watching was supported on Chromebook through the Google Chrome extension.[20]

Smartphones and tablets

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  • Google TV app, where the purchase feature is not available on iPhone and iPad[8]
  • YouTube app

Television sets

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Digital media players

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The service can be used with access to content through the YouTube app available on media players including the following:

Google TV devices

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Further information: List of Android TV devices

Select smart TVs and streaming devices have Google TV interface built-in. The Google TV interface has underlying Android TV operating system.[16]

The list of Google TV devices includes the following:

Google Play Movies & TV

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Google Play Movies & TV was an online video on demand service operated by Google and as part of Google Play product line, the service offered movies and television shows for purchase or rental, depending on availability.[21][22] As of May 2022, it was moved to Google TV.[23]

History

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The Google Movies service was launched in May 2011.[24] It was rebranded under Google Play in March 2012.[25]

Movies were introduced in Korea in September 2012,[26] with further rollouts of movies in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain in October 2012;[27] movies in Brazil and Russia in December 2012;[28][29] movies in India and Mexico in March 2013;[30] TV shows in the United Kingdom in July 2013;[31] and movies in Italy in November 2013.[32] A major expansion of movies was made in 13 new countries in December 2013,[33] and 38 new countries in March 2014.[34] Subsequent rollouts took place for movies in Belgium, Philippines, Switzerland, and Uganda in May 2014;[35] movies in Ireland in July 2014;[36] movies in Austria in September 2014;[37] movies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland, Macedonia, Malta, Slovenia, Taiwan, and Ukraine in November 2014;[38] movies in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in July 2015;[39] movies in Turkey in March 2016;[40] and movies in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam in November 2016.[41]

With several video titles available in HD,[42] Google added a 4K Ultra HD video option for select titles in December 2016,[43] and began offering content in 4K HDR quality in the United States and Canada in July 2017.[44][45]

In September 2020, the Google Play Movies & TV mobile app was renamed to Google TV[46] and related features were added to it,[16] coinciding with the announcement of Google TV interface available first on the new Chromecast.[47]

In March 2021, users were informed that the app used on several TVs would no longer be available in June 2021 and users should use the YouTube app instead.[48]

In April 2021, Google began to deprecate the Google Play Movies & TV app on[49] Roku, LG, Samsung, and Vizio smart TVs, the app to shut down on July 15, redirecting users on these platforms to the YouTube app.[50]

In March 2022, it was announced that Google Play Movies & TV was moving to Google TV and starting in May 2022, the Google TV app would be home for buying, renting, and watching movies and shows on Android mobile device or tablet.[23] It was also announced that Movies & TV would no longer be supported on the Google Play app and Google Play will continue to be store for apps, games, and books.[23]

In January 2024, it was announced that Google Play Movies & TV would be removed on Android TV and the Google Play website; the web version would move to YouTube.[51]

References

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  1. ^ "Google TV". Google Play. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  2. ^ "Google TV 4.39.2590.678247678.4". APKMirror. September 26, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Google TV: Entertainment you love, with help from Google". Google. September 30, 2020. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Our best Chromecast yet, now with Google TV". Google. September 30, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Bohn, Dieter (September 30, 2020). "Google Play Movies & TV is now Google TV but it's not the same Google TV that runs on Android TV on the new Chromecast, it's an app". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  6. ^ Welch, Chris (June 1, 2022). "Google TV app launches on iOS as another hub for your streaming services". The Verge. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Country availability for apps & digital content". Google Play Help. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d "Buy or rent movies & shows with Google TV - Android - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  9. ^ "Introducing Shop tab on Android TV - Android TV Community". support.google.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Download videos to your mobile device to watch offline - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Save movies & shows to watch later - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Get recommendations that are relevant to you - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  13. ^ "Watch movies & shows from streaming services - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  14. ^ "Understand recommendations on Google TV - Computer - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "How Google TV and Android TV work - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Google TV". Google TV. September 30, 2020. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "Where you can watch your movies & shows - Google TV Help". support.google.com. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  18. ^ "Watch HD, 4K UHD and HDR videos". Google Play Help. Google Inc. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "Where you can watch your movies & shows - Google Play Help".
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  22. ^ "Movies & TV moving".
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  25. ^ Ruddock, David (March 6, 2012). "The Android Market Is Now Google Play - Integrating Apps, Games, Books, Music, And Movies". Android Police. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  26. ^ Spradlin, Liam (September 28, 2012). "Google Play Movies Come To Korea – Enjoy Hundreds Of Titles From Korea And Hollywood". Android Police. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  27. ^ Ravenscraft, Eric (October 29, 2012). "Now You Can Purchase Movies From Google Play In Canada, The UK, France, Spain, And Australia". Android Police. Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  28. ^ Spradlin, Liam (December 5, 2012). "Google Now Offering Up Play Books And Movies In Brazil". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  29. ^ Ravenscraft, Eric (December 11, 2012). "Have You Heard? Play Books And Movies Are Out In St. Petersburg (And The Rest Of Russia)". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  30. ^ Ravenscraft, Eric (March 27, 2013). "Play Movies App Updated With In-Depth 'Info Cards', Service Launches In India & Mexico". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  31. ^ Rice, Jeremiah (July 31, 2013). "Google Play TV Shows Now Available In The United Kingdom: UK Residents Can Watch As Much Honey Boo Boo As They Want". Android Police. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  32. ^ Rice, Jeremiah (November 12, 2013). "Google Play Movies Are Now Available In Italy On Android Devices And The Web". Android Police. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  33. ^ Crider, Michael (December 27, 2013). "Google Play Movies Expands To 13 New Territories, Including Hong Kong And New Zealand". Android Police. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  34. ^ Whitwam, Ryan (March 27, 2014). "Google Play Movies & TV Expands Into Chile, Sweden, Denmark, And 35 More Countries [Update]". Android Police. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  35. ^ Whitwam, Ryan (May 22, 2014). "Google Play Movies Goes Live In Belgium, Philippines, Switzerland, And Uganda". Android Police. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  36. ^ King, Bertel Jr. (July 9, 2014). "Play Movies Now Showing In Ireland". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  37. ^ King, Bertel Jr. (September 17, 2014). "Play Movies Is Now Ready To Stream To Devices In Austria". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  38. ^ King, Bertel Jr. (November 4, 2014). "Play Movies Is Now Ready To Stream Motion Pictures In Hungary, Macedonia, Ukraine, And 6 More Countries". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  39. ^ King, Bertel Jr. (July 30, 2015). "[Update: And Singapore] Google Play Movies Now Shows Flicks In Indonesia And Malaysia". Android Police. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  40. ^ King, Bertel Jr. (March 30, 2016). "Google Play Movies Launches In Turkey". Android Police. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  41. ^ El Khoury, Rita (November 17, 2016). "Google Play Movies rolls out in 10 new Middle Eastern countries and Vietnam". Android Police. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  42. ^ "HD movie & TV show availability". Google Play Help. Google Inc. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  43. ^ Whitwam, Ryan (December 6, 2016). "Google makes 4K video official in Google Play, but only for the US and Canada right now". Android Police. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  44. ^ Welch, Chris (July 12, 2017). "Google Play Movies adds 4K HDR streaming in US and Canada". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  45. ^ Perez, Sarah (July 12, 2017). "Google Play Movies & TV rolls out support for HDR video on Chromecast Ultra". TechCrunch. AOL. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  46. ^ "Google TV: Entertainment you love, with help from Google". Google. September 30, 2020. Archived from the original on December 17, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  47. ^ "Movies & TV Help topics". Movies & TV - Google Support.
  48. ^ "Changes to Google Play Movies & TV on certain smart TVS - Google Play Community". Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  49. ^ "Watch Google Play videos on your TV". Google Play Help. Google Inc. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2017.
  50. ^ Clark, Mitchell (April 12, 2021). "Google is removing its Play Movies and TV app from every Roku and most smart TVs". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  51. ^ Peters, Jay (December 11, 2023). "Google is finally saying goodbye to Google Play Movies & TV". The Verge. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
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