Sony internet player with Google TV review

Media streaming set-top boxes are nothing new, but Sony’s latest device takes a huge leap from the norm, being the first we’ve seen to use the Google TV operating system, which is a big-screen version of the Android OS found on smartphones. Available in the US for over a year, this is the first time Google TV has gone on sale in the UK.

At its heart is a heavily modified version of Android 3.2 Honeycomb, which behaves in a similar fashion to a smartphone albeit with more TV-friendly tweaks. A quick-launch bar displays your most frequently used apps and shortcuts along the bottom of the screen, and a picture-in-picture mode lets you browse the web while watching TV.

The app drawer feels very similar to Android and obscures your currently playing program

In addition to the usual Android apps, which include a web browser, image viewer, music player and YouTube player, the NSZ-GS7 also includes Google Play store access. However, it’s a limited version filled only with Google TV-compatible apps, so many popular apps are missing. As this is primarily a streaming box, it should come as no surprise that Netflix is installed as standard, but BBC iPlayer is missing. Instead, you must use the web browser. Because it supports Flash, you have a wider choice of services than you would on a smart TV, but it isn’t as slick as having individual apps for each channel or content provider. Sony’s SEN video services are also present should you not find anything to watch elsewhere.

The shortcut menu is much more useful, appearing as an overlay rather than taking up the whole screen

When it comes to playing your own content, file format support is mixed. We were able to play Full HD WMV and MP4 videos, but couldn’t get native DivX files or MKVs to work. You can search for third-party video players on the Play Store, but we couldn’t find one that would play our files at the time of writing.

If you’ve yet to upgrade to a smart TV or watch broadcasts through a set-top box, you’ll love how the system sits on top of your existing video stream, courtesy of HDMI in and outputs on the back of the box. They’re version 1.4 compliant, so you’ll be able to watch 3D content if you have a compatible TV.

The box itself is fairly small, so you should have no trouble finding a place for it in your A/V rack, and it looks sleek too, although the textured finish is made from plastic rather than metal. It’s devoid of ports from the front and sides, but around the back you get a healthy selection of inputs, including the HDMI in and outputs required to overlay the interface over your set-top box. As well as Ethernet, it also supports 802.11n Wi-Fi, so you won’t need to run a cable from your router to your TV just to get online if you’ve already set up a wireless network.

Because Google TV’s much more reliant on mouse and keyboard interaction, Sony has sensibly redesigned its remote control to make it easier to navigate through the OS. From the front, it’s dominated by a large touchpad, along with cursor and shortcut keys that control playback. The volume and channel select buttons are on the side of the remote, but it’s on the reverse that it becomes most useful.

Turn it over and you’ll find a full QWERTY keyboard built into the remote, meaning there’s no need to use a cumbersome onscreen keyboard. The buttons are very small, so it can be a struggle to type smoothly if you have large hands, and unlike a smartphone touchpad you have to hold the Shift key to insert capital letters, but it’s still an improvement over the average Smart TV. It has a built-in accelerometer that disables whichever side is facing downwards, so you can’t accidentally turn off the system by squeezing too tightly.

As much as we liked Sony’s remote, we can’t help but think Google has missed a trick by not creating a dedicated app so you can use your smartphone instead. There are several unofficial ones on the Play Store, but it would have been nice to have an official one.

Our main concern with Google TV is that it’s not quite as slick or smooth as other Smart TV systems. It lags in certain menus, is slow to respond when loading certain applications and it doesn’t have the same file format support as competing media players. Sony has done a great job with the hardware, but the NSZ-GS7 is let down by its operating system. If you want to watch most of your video content through a web browser, we can see the appeal of Google TV. It’s got one of the best browsers we’ve seen on a Smart TV or set-top box. For everyone else, a Smart TV or Blu-ray player looks like a better investment.