You Can Control Google Home Devices From Your Google TV
Google Home integration for Google TV devices was announced last September, and it’s now becoming more widespread: If you haven’t seen the feature on your Google TV Streamer , Google TV, or Chromecast with Google TV before, you may find it now if you check again.
In essence, this is exactly how it should be: devices connected to the Google Home app on Android or iOS will be accessible through the Google TV interface, automatically linking and syncing with each other through your Google account. Setup is minimal, and it should work.
While you might initially wonder why you would want smart home control buttons on your TV, it makes perfect sense. For example, you can quickly dim the lights to watch a movie or check your rearview camera without having to take your phone out of your pocket. You’ll even get an on-screen notification if someone rings your smart doorbell.
To make this work, make sure you have the latest version of Google TV. This feature may not be available to everyone yet, but you have a better chance of seeing it if your software is up to date. From the home screen, tap the gear icon (upper right corner) and select All settings > System > About > System update .
After that, go back to the settings panel by clicking on the gear icon and select Google Home from the tiles. You will see a confirmation screen describing the feature and asking if you want to enable it. To add the feature, click the Save button. Depending on your Google account settings, you may need to confirm the connection with a request on another device, such as your phone.
Smart Home Device Management
Google hasn’t provided an exact list of Google Home devices that will show up on Google TV, but it appears many are supported, including smart lights, smart cameras, and smart thermostats. The options available depend on the device and how integrated it is into the Google Home ecosystem.
For example, with Google’s Nest cameras, you can open the Cameras panel to see a live preview of all the cameras connected to your network. Select any of the thumbnails to expand the video to full screen, muting any other streaming apps that are running. To go back, press the Back button on your remote.
As for smart lights, they will be grouped under the Lighting section. This will open a panel where you can turn all connected lights on and off, as well as control each one individually. Additional options depend on the type of light: with Philips Hue lights, for example, you can control the brightness of each light via Google TV, but not the color.
To change settings for connected devices, you’ll need to open the Google Home app on your phone. There’s no way to add or remove devices from the Google TV interface, though that functionality will likely expand as the Google Home dashboard (and hopefully new Nest products) are updated.
On the Google Home dashboard of your Google TV, you’ll see a Favorites section that matches the Favorites section in the mobile app. This is where you can add the smart devices you most often want to access. In the Google Home app, open the Favorites tab and tap Edit to make changes. These will also sync to your Google TV.