OnLive

Consumer electronics manufacturer Vizio announced the launch of its new digital-media receiver today, the Co-Star. Similar in concept to the Apple TV Smart TV platform, the Co-Star is the receiver for Google TV. But why is this relevant to gamers? Because Co-Star also comes with  OnLive, the cloud-streaming digital games service.

OnLive allows players to stream games from remote servers. This means that the hardware requirements of the machine you’re playing on (in this case, the Vizio Co-Star) are irrelevant, since the actual processing and rendering are being done elsewhere.

“Our focus to deliver the best consumer experience continues with today’s announcement of the Co-Star, which delivers a superior Smart TV interface that anyone can add to their existing HDTV,” says Matt McRae, Vizio’s chief technology officer. “We combined the powerful features of Google TV with an intuitive and easy to use interface, giving users the power to enjoy an entire world of entertainment.”

Preorders for the Co-Star begin in July for $99.