Vizio VAP430 Co-Star Streming Media Client (Black)

UPDATE 12/12/12: I LOVE the Google Play Movie/TV store and the integration. HD movies and Television shows play in HD, the prices are competitive if not better than Amazon and Apple's stores. Also did I mention HD content actually plays back in HD through the Google Play Store. LOVE IT. Also, the YouTube integration is incredibly cool, I have a Nexus S phone and I can play videos from YouTube from my phone. I'm sold now that I know using Google's Play Store and services fetches the best video quality and results. Also when playing movies from the Google Play Store, the control buttons (play, pause, etc) control the player. Great integration.Original Review:After reading so many negative reviews I had my reservations about getting the Visio Co-Star but after setting up and using it I don't regret it at all. It's really neat and works great for me as I don't have a game console or dvd player with smart features. It is true the setup is a bit much and updates took about 30 minutes but it is marrying a lot of technology together. The steps are pretty much straight forward and walks you through it is shown on screen. If you have set up your computer, smartphone, or other devices you can do it, it just takes time.To set up smoothly have ready your:(if you're connecting wireless via WIFI) your WIFI security key if it's secured.Your TV and TV model number.Your cable box model and model number.Google Account information (if you don't have one it will guide you in setting one up).Firstly, I was able to connect via WIFI during the initial setup after my TV and cable box. Once I had gone through the initial setup above, it goes through a first reboot. Once it reboots, it says there's an update available. It took about 10 minutes to download and install. Then it reboots again and I had to download and install the second update which took about 5 minutes.Initially my television signal wasn't coming through but after the 2nd update it started working (awesome!)I now have my Samsung 46" UN46EH600 LED TV, Time Warner (Motorola) cable box, and Sony DVD player all working through the Co-Star remote control. It puts everything together pretty smoothly into a single remote control and works great even if the remote is a bit chunky to handle. Learning to use remote control is a bit like learning to use a smartphone, so there's that. The track pad works, instructions are in the short manual. The keyboard works too and while the remote is not ergonomically perfect it's functional.Also, this is essentially an Android device and because I have a Android phone things are easy to learn to use. There is access to the Google Play store to download apps, buy movies, music, and get widgets. There's also the Chrome browser and other apps pre-installed but you can pretty much get all the apps you want from the Google Play store, the free and non-free ones, just like on an Android phone.I watched some Amazon Prime free movies and this works pretty nicely. It is essentially through the Amazon Movie site via the Amazon app but everything seems to play well over my wireless connection to my wireless router about 40ft away. (impressed! that it works and it's neat to play movies from Amazon Prime on my TV, only small thing is that it's not in the Amazon Compatible Devices list so you can't get a code to play HD movies on Amazon, but the standard definition looks ok). I like the picture in picture ability when surfing, using apps, etc. and impressed with the amount of picture, color, and audio adjustments.The only minor thing is using the clunky remote control and keyboard and that it's not able to Amazon HD movies yet as it's not on Amazon's Compatible Devices list.. It's not terrible. For me at this price range and the features using Apps, Netflix, and Amazon Prime movies as well as making my television into an internet device meets all the things I would want to do from my TV.This is my first smart Google TV and internet device and it works great for me. I had an Xbox 360 but didn't like the fact I had to turn it on to access the apps and pay for Microsoft Live to get Netflix. Now I have access to all sorts of cool apps, content providers, and internet access from my couch. I'm not experiencing any of the pain or issues reported by others, things are working well so far.

So far I love my Co-Star. First thing I did after plugging it in was apply all the updates (firmware and app updates). After going through the initial setup, now I have all my devices running off this one remote. I am able to play my Google music and movies through this, Netflix, Amazon. I love the media browse function, it's so much better than the cable box guide. It will show all the movies TV programs currently playing, listed in a thumbnail type layout which is so much easier (for me at least) than scrolling through the cable guide line by line. Once I find something I want to watch, highlight it and hit Ok and boom! It automatically changed my cable box channel to that program.I signed up for Onlive and set that up though haven't got a chance to play any games through this device so I can't honestly say how good that works. Installed other Android apps like FB and Gmail and now can check all that stuff from the comfort of my couch. I setup an FTP server on my computer that is mapped to my external HD with all my music/movies and BAM! Now I have it all available and on hand right here on my TV. Installed the Google TV Remote app on my phone and tablet and connected paired them with the Co-Star and now I can use them if I misplace my remote. All in all this device is awesome. So far it works flawlessly and hasn't crashed. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a media steaming device and who would like a smart TV without shelling out the money for a new smart TV. Best $100 bucks I ever spent.FYI: I do believe a majority of the problems people are experiencing are due to several things. 1. People using wireless. Wireless is subject to interference from other wireless devices such as a phone. It is also subject to distance (the further away the Co-Star is from your wireless router the weaker the signal gets). 2. People using older HDMI cables (should be using the newest version, 1.4). I would recommend using the wired Ethernet connection (if at all possible) and also making sure to purchase the newest version HDMI cables (v1.4, available here. AmazonBasics HDMI Cable, v1.4, 6.5 foot, $5.49 each).UPDATE: Concerning Onlive and the Vizio Costar. Originally, Onlive had stated the Costar and other Google TV remotes could be used with their game service through the Onlive Android app as a game controller to play games on their service. After attempting to try and use my Costar remote, I found there was no option to add in the Onlive settings. Onlive only gave the option to add it's own controller. After posting to Onlives Facebook page about this, they came out and confirmed that this has changed and they are no longer allowing any third party controllers. Due to my inquiry into this, and my Facebook posting, they have also removed that blog post made by their team that made this original statement. So while you can use their game controller with the Costar, it will require you to pay an additional $50 for the controller, so heads up. For me I will be foregoing the Onlive service as I already play games on my computer and console. I really have no need to pay for additional peripherals for a game service I most likely wouldn't use that much anyways.UPDATE2: I received the latest update today (02/19/2013) and now have the Amazon Instant Video app which so far works great. The update also made changes to the PrimeTime app which you can now setup to display when you tap the Guide button (instead of the STB/Cable guide) on the remote, which I prefer. It also updated M-Go and added Vudu. Supposedly it also added compatibility fixes for Youtube. As well as voice search. The latter confused me as the Costar doesn't have a mic. I verified that the voice search is done through an Android phone or tablet with the Google TV Remote app installed and paired with the Costar. You tap the Voice Search (Mic) button from within the Google TV Remote app on your Android device and once you say what you are looking for it prompts you to look it up on the device or send the search to the Costar. It will then pop up on the TV screen.