One Tap Access To Camera Feed In Google TV

Google TV looks like it will get a one-tap shortcut that launches a live camera from the remote’s customizable star button for quicker peeks at your front door, baby’s room or backyard without menu-diving.

What the New Google TV Camera Shortcut Offers

That would allow users to map the star button to only one smart camera, rather than having to tap through the full smart home panel and place a video feed directly on top of what’s playing. It’s a small adjustment, but for me, it’s making a huge difference: One click; one feed; no cursoring around panels or tiles.

Strings referring to “select a camera feed” and “create shortcut” were found in the Google TV Ambient Mode app, so it seems like we’ll see a UI flow for choosing which default camera the button will open.

Hidden behind the scenes for now, it indicates a simple setup process that anyone who has mapped the star button to launch an app or inputs will recognize.

How It Compares to the Existing Smart Home Panel

Today, the star button on supported remote controls can open a smart home panel where you can view cameras and control devices. Useful, and maybe still a few steps when you’re hoping to get a fast peek at who’s at the door. That new option would combine those steps into a single transaction. If you want to still have the whole panel, it is now available by long pressing on Home (Quick Settings) and clicking on the home panel tile.

Devices Most in Line for Improvements and Updates

Some Google TV devices ship with a programmable star button, for example, the Google TV Streamer, Onn 4K Plus and Onn 4K Pro. Users of these devices have already employed the button for activities like launching apps or the input switcher, making a “camera feed” action a natural extension of that existing paradigm. Like most Google TV features, it could require an update and server-side switch to be made available.

Why a one-tap camera feed on Google TV should matter

Because the use case for Smart TVs is predominantly passive (you’re watching content, not actively interacting), interruptions tend to feel more jarring. It cuts cognitive load out of the camera experience: No voice commands to remember, no shuffling devices in rows or on their screens, no fumbling when you hear a thud outside. For homes that frequently check a Nest Cam (or similar device), even shaving off 5–10 seconds per check will add up over months or years—and can be the difference between witnessing a moment as it happens and seeing only its aftermath.

This is also consistent with broader smart home behavior; industry surveys of large screens indicate that the cameras and doorbells are some of the most utilized devices, including door checks and package confirmations as some of the top use cases. Making it easy to get to those tasks is low-drama, high-impact UX.

What the code tells us about when to launch

There’s a direct camera-open action reference in a recent build of the Google TV Ambient Mode app. Historically, Google frequently pushes feature strings weeks or months before flipping the switch. Some features never make the cut, but selection prompts and shortcut-creation text suggest that this was more than a quick experiment. Still, users shouldn’t be surprised if this is a gradual rollout or it comes to certain hardware first.

How it compares with rivals in the smart TV space

Amazon’s Fire TV already allows you to pull up camera feeds using your voice through Alexa, and the Alexa Voice Remote Pro features programmable buttons that some users map to smart home routines. Roku does support on-screen alerts for doorbells from certain camera brands, and its remotes have customizable shortcut buttons. One-tap camera feed from Google TV would be competitive with those — especially among users who like a nice tactile button over voice or pop-up tu-dums.

Privacy and practical considerations for quick camera views

If done as it seems to be, the feed is an overlay so you won’t need to context-switch whilst watching. The sensible defaults are going to be important: obvious highlighting of which camera is selected, fast dismissal and an “are you sure?” check on unintentional taps. As with other smart home integrations, device permissions and account-level controls would act as security gates for access; there’s no indication video would be stored locally to the TV, beyond whatever portion it normally buffers during playback.

Google TV users: the bottom line on a camera shortcut

A programmable star button that opens a predetermined camera view is the sort of thing that seems glaringly obvious in retrospect. It cuts friction where it’s most felt: when you need to check a live view. (Since the code breadcrumbs don’t promise release, though, they only suggest a functional upgrade that would make Google TV a more responsive element of the smart home, rather than just a screen for streaming.)