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This morning a couple of Android TV announcements came through. The big one was the launch of the EPIX app for Android TV. More specifically, the updating of the official app to work with Android TV devices. Now, those with an EPIX subscription can make use of the service on their big screen and enjoy a selection of live channels as well as video on demand. Well, on top of this news and EPIX announcing the app functionality, Google also took today to bring to attention the increased ability of Android TV to find the content that you want, when you want.
In an Android Developer post today, Google discusses how Android TV as a platform has improved since its release almost a year ago. Highlighting the point, is the ability to now search for media content in a much more effective or streamlined manner. Therefore, if you have a device that runs on Android TV like the NVIDIA SHIELD or the Nexus Player, then you can now make use of greater Android TV engagement. Now, when searching for a specific, program or movie, a wider selection of apps will be displayed in the search results if they offer content relative to the search term.
The post goes on to explain that the improved voice search and recommendation feature can offer developers the opportunity to attract more users to their apps. As the blog details, the recently announced EPIX app can also recommend NBA Game Times while the likes of the Washington Post can be found by using the voice search to look for video summaries of events happening in the world. As such, the increased usage of recommendations can further aid developers in drawing attention to their apps, beyond the more basic searches. From the end-user perspective, Android TV device owners can find a much broader range of content relative to what they are looking for. Therefore, taking advantage of the improved voice search functions and recommendations are beneficial to everyone involved. If you are a developer and interested in knowing more about how to make your apps more searchable using the voice feature, then click the source link below to read the Developer’s blog in full. If you are an Android TV end-user then why not give the new and improved voice feature a go and see what you can find.