Voice control update for Google TV arrives
updated 10:48 am EST, Wed November 14, 2012
Google TV hardware to get PrimeTime app, voice control feature in coming weeks
Google has detailed a software update that begins arriving on LG-made Google TV hardware this week that will bring a number of key new features to the platform. This includes the voice control feature leaked last month and a collection of movies and TV shows in a section called PrimeTime. The voice search feature seems to be especially neat, as a video demo (embedded below) shows users can find shows by title, content, or genre, as well as change channels, and initiate YouTube video searches by speaking into the Magic Remote or an Android phone running the Google TV app.
PrimeTime, formerly known as the TV & Movies app, is a guide that assists with finding the right content from the more than 100,000 movies and TV shows available.
The YouTube app was updated for Google TV, automatically pairing to mobile devices and letting users throw up the video onto their HDTVs with one button.
Google TV lets users access content from YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and Google's Play store.
Owners of Google TV gear from makers other than LG can expect to get the update later, perhaps needing to wait months for it. First-generation hardware won't get the voice control feature, but just the PrimeTime guide and YouTube updates.
