While it may seem like an obvious integration, it has been a long time coming – the latest YouTube Android app update automatically pairs your Android devices and Google TV on the same WiFi network.
So, when you find a video, click the TV icon and the video will play instantly on Google TV.
This is much like AirPlay for iOS devices, and acts as a remote control that lets you pause, scroll and navigate to the next video as it plays on the TV. You can also find another video to watch or browse the Web on your device, while the video plays.
Companies such as TVersity already offer similar functionality to this, and it recently launched AirFlinger as an “open alternative to AirPlay”, built on open standards and not restricted to any particular mobile OS or TV connected device. It’s worth noting that AirFlinger isn’t an app, and you can’t download it to your mobile phone – it’s shipping as an SDK for pay TV operators and video publishers to integrate with their existing mobile apps.
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Interestingly, the YouTube/Google TV integration allows multiple devices to be connected to the TV, so friends can add to a playlist. While it’s Android only for now (the update presumably will be landing on Google Play shortly), the feature will be arriving on more devices in the near future.
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