![]() Nice.Īs is the case with most streaming devices, the Co-Star features a simple and intuitive wizard when you first connect it. Secondly, the in-line location of the Co-Star allows its modest and attractive user interface to be inserted on top of the satellite/cable signal without interrupting whatever it is you're watching. This configuration provides two unique benefits: first, it means you won't require an additional HDMI input on your display - a big deal if you're using a modestly-priced display with only two ports, which are probably already occupied by your cable/satellite box and a Blu-ray Disc player or game console. This is because the Co-Star is designed to sit between your cable/satellite receiver and your display, thus acting as a pass-thru device. Unlike the Apple TV, Roku 3, and just about every other non-Google TV streaming device, the Co-Star features both an HDMI input and output. Where things get interesting is the Co-Star's HDMI input. Also out back you'll find connections for power and USB as well an HDMI output for connection to your display. For those of you without convenient access to hard wire, the Co-Star also features built-in 802.11n/g/b Wi-Fi. On its tiny rear panel you'll find an ethernet port for making a hard-wire connection to your home network. Like the Apple TV and Roku 3, the Co-Star is a small device measuring roughly four inches square. However, the one thing it has that neither Apple nor Roku can claim is Google's innovative and promising Google TV platform. And like those primary competitors, VIZIO's Co-Star has its share of pros and cons. The two most popular leaders in this space are Apple, with their Apple TV, and Roku, with their bevy of boxes led by the recently-introduced Roku 3. The Co-Star joins a crowded marketplace with new streaming devices appearing on what seems a monthly basis. ![]() (Did you really expect a straightforward declaration this early in the review?) Now that I've spent some time with it, I can tell you that the news is both good and bad, though thankfully not ugly. You may recall that the little black box made quite an impression on me, and I was eager to get the unit home to spend some quality time with it. When last we saw VIZIO's Google TV-powered streaming device, the Co-Star, we were touring the company's product suite at the International CES in Las Vegas.
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