Chromecast with Google TV - 4K - Snow

Chromecasts have long been something I've ignored because I don't like the idea of having to use my phone to cast to my TV for everything I watch. However, when Google announced their "Chromecast with Google TV" I was very intrigued at the mix of a streaming device with the ability to Chromecast. So far, I am quite happy with my purchase! SET-UP: - Unboxing and first impressions are always great with Google Products. They have a great way of making the unboxing process simple while providing a product that's uniquely Google. - I really go like the feel and look of the Chromecast and Remote. They are modern yet simple and feel very good in the hand, not too cheap at all. - Set-up was mainly simply but had a few hiccups. Google says you can use the "Google Home" app to do all your setup for you but I have largely found that the Google Home can be the most useful app I have while also being the most frustrating when setting up a new product. - I eventually ditched using the Google Home app and did the setup just via the remote and that was very simple and straight forward. After a little bit to download new firmware updates and download all my apps, I was ready to go! PROS: - I really like the interface! It's smooth, easy to maneuver, and when in doubt just ask Google where something is. - Speaking of which, the Google Assistant button is a fantastic addition. Use it for asking everyday questions or use it to find "movies that won Oscars in the 2000's" really whatever you need it to do! - The device uses your app subscriptions (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+...) to recommend TV and Movies you might want to watch. I really like how it does not push you to watch something you have no interest in or don't even have a subscription too. The whole add-less vibe feels nonintrusive and makes for a more personal experience. - If you have YouTube TV, this Chromecast is a must have! Google TV integrates Live TV right into the menu so you can quickly browse what's on air right now without having to open the YouTube TV app. I really like that because it makes the home menu screen your go to place to find anything you subscribe too. - The "Chromecast" feature of this Google TV device is also very easy to use! It syncs up with your Google Home Devices or phones so that if you are watching a video or streaming Spotify, you can just quickly cast it to your TV with the touch of a button. Or, simply say "Hey Google, play Netflix on my TV" and it can do that too without you even touching the remote. - Watching shows & movies on here is truly a great experience too! The 4K HDR is vibrant and crisp, it has Dolby Vision for movies/TV that it applies to, and Dolby Atmos for superior home theater sound quality. All three of those qualities are an absolute must for the best home theater experience and you are getting them all for only $50. CONS: - The one app that I wish this had is "Apple TV". I know Google/Apple don't usually get along, but I do with the Apple TV app was on here for those who want to stream "Apple TV+" - This isn't a con for me but although you don't need Google services (Like Google Smart Speakers, Android Phone, & YouTube TV) to enjoy this Chromecast, I would imagine that your experience would not be as great as mine without all those devices/services. - I think the "Library" section of the Home page is really lacking on 2 parts. First, if you have a large library of movies you digitally own, they will show in your library but its in one long scrollable line. Rather then a sortable area where you can view 20 movies at a time, its really just a long single line list where you can see 5 at a time. Second, Google TV is trying to push its "Watchlist" feature where from an Android phone you can easily add a Show/Movie to your watchlist and it will appear on your Google TV. But at the time of writing this, the Google TV app is not available on Android phones yet and hasn't even been announced on Apple phones yet. BOTTOM LINE: - If you are looking for a simple, easy to use streaming device but has all the high end specs you would want at a low price, the Chromecast with Google TV is an absolute no brainer. It is simple to use, has a great interface, and has all features you would want from a higher end streaming device (4K HDR, Dolby Vision/Atmos, Voice Commands). I really think Google TV is going to be a great solution for many home's entertainment needs!

Easily the best 50 bucks I've spent! All apps consolidated into one. You can open apps individually or search everything with voice. Controls tv volume and power!!!!! 1 remote for everything. And it looks sleek and elegant, as to be expected. ***Note: plug in directly to wall outlet; if plugged in to tv usb it will have to reboot each time, AND the tv power button won't work.

I really like the new Chromecast with the remote. I have had every version of the Google Chromecast. I’ve like it because it is very easy to travel with. I also like the fact that I can cast from a desktop or laptop. I didn’t like that it never came with a remote, and I always had to use my cellphone’s apps to use the Chromecast. I think this new model is perfect. It is very easy to set up with the Google home app. The remote has two quick buttons with my two favorite streaming services, YouTube and Netflix.

Pros: Easy to browse. Very nice interface. The remote is a nice thought, but we will get into the cons. Good value for cost. Nice to have a remote instead of my phone. 4K was clean and crisp. Cons: Setup was bonkers. The screen went crazy and turned all sorts of colors. The remote is cheap and too lightweight. The texture is slick, it doesn’t fit into my hand well. The volume buttons on the side is very awkward. Apple TV is far superior in the model that Google is copying. Hopefully Google can get into making this remote better. Than is my main complaint.

Over the years, I've bought so many streaming devices from roku, Amazon, and Google themselves. This is the best one yet. The interface is so easy to set up, the entire process took me five minutes including the software update. Everything syncs perfectly and the quality is great. This outputs 4k 60fps which beats what I had. You can easily tell the difference when you load up videos that support that high quality.

I got three systems going, tivo 4k stream, fire tv cube and the chromecast with Google tv. I updated the tivo to google tv so you know I love it. For live tv, the fire tv cube and recast dvr has the edge but google tv with the emphasis on shows rather than apps is the future of streaming.

First the bad: Small remote! hurts to hold the remote for a small period of time (hand cramps).  Especially when watching Live Tv which most people tend to hold remote longer.  I wish it had the Roku Ultra remote but only for its size and feel.   Another issue is lack of connectivity with google phone to type passwords.  Using the remote sucks and it's time consuming. This totally takes away from the experience. Especially when the apps do not have an alternative login or if your logins are long. Overall it was a great experience once apps where installed and logged in; although it had some glitches with some of the apps. I'm sure the glitches will get addressed in future updates. However I see the possibilities as endless and a lot of fun.  Voice control was great! 

I've used many other streaming devices and none of them was perfect. I was hoping the new chromecast with google tv (terrible name by the way) would solve all of the issues I've had with other boxes, but it's not quite there yet. On paper the googletv sounds great. 4k 60fps Dolby Vision w/ Atmos? Fantastic. Unfortunately there are plenty of bugs that prevents this from being the perfect streaming device, and frankly the main bug is almost a deal breaker. See that 4k 60fps? Yeah you can't actually get that in any app other than youtube. Why? Because the highest the googletv will allow you to set your display is at 4k 30fps. That's just the highest setting for some reason. And unfortunately when set this as your resolution it locks the frame rate to 30fps. Even if you're watching sports streaming at 60fps, or a youtube video, or a twitch stream - it doesn't matter. The google tv locks you to that 30fps for some reason. The workaround, such as it is, involves you setting your resolution to 1080p @60fps. This will correctly display everything at the correct framerate. 24p content plays at 24p, 30 fps at 30, 50 at 50, and 60 at 60. The youtube app will, funnily enough, correctly display 4k at 60fps while set to 1080. I'm assuming this has something to do with the way youtube handles resolution since there are so many on the platform. But all of the other apps are limited to 1080p unless you change it back. So what does all this mean? If you're big into sports/esports or plan on streaming games through steam link or other means, you will have to choose between high resolution (4k) or high framerate (60fps). Outside of youtube you can't have both. To make matters worse it's not enough to just change your settings either. Let's say you're on 1080p so you can get the high frame rate. Then you want to watch a 4k movie on netflix, so you change the settings to 4k 30. When you go back to netflix it will still only stream at 1080p. You have to manually restart the google tv in order for the new resolution to take effect. And when you want your high framerate back? Same thing. Requires a restart. This is completely ridiculous and google needs to fix it fast. Aside from the framerate issues there are other problems as well. CEC is often broken and there's no rhyme or reason to it. CEC is what allows you to control all of your connected AV devices with a single remote. It's great when it works, but for whatever reason when I power off my home theater my tv stays on. This wasn't the case for the first two days of using my google tv. It shut everything down correctly when I hit the power button, but not anymore. For two days now I have to reach for the TV remote to manually shut it off because CEC decided it needed a break. This is another very annoying bug, mostly because I hate remote clutter, and the promise of using a single remote to control all of my devices without dropping a ton of money on a harmony hub or something similar seemed like a no brainer. But CEC is just a mess right now. Not entirely google's fault as CEC hasn't ever been perfect due to the ever changing HDMI standards. Still, you should know. Other cons? There are apps missing you might not expect. There's no AT&T TV app natively supported for android tv devices, though you can sideload one if you know what you're about. Still annoying. Same with other networks. Annoying. So what's good about it? Everything else as it turns out. The google tv switches very quickly between different dynamic ranges - whether SDR, HDR 10, or DV the switch is practically instantaneous. This is a huge problem on other streaming devices, but simply not an issue here. Streams at 1080p and above look outstanding, particularly 4k DV content, and the google tv also supports a wide range of audio formats, including ATMOS. Can confirm that 4k DV w/ ATMOS is working flawlessly on this device. That's a big win. Unfortunately many apps don't yet support DV or ATMOS outside of netflix. Even when these same apps (Disney+) support Dolby Vision and ATMOS on other platforms (ATV, Roku) they won't necessarily here. It's strange. So in conclusion? The chromecast with google tv (seriously GOOGS just call it google tv instead of this clunky name) has a lot of promise, but a lot of those promises remain unfulfilled. No framerate switching makes watching content the "correct" way a chore, a limited app library might mean you miss some programming that you're paying for, and CEC control is all over the shop. The google tv does allow sideloading of apps which is a nice bonus if you have the know-how and/or are comfortable following online tutorials. I do love the level of control you have over the device, it's infinitely customizable, right down to the default launcher. Still these shortcomings would make this one tough to recommend to someone with a diverse media diet looking for a simple plug and play device. If you watch content at different framerates (sports/esports/youtube) and care about them displaying correctly, you should pass. if you only really watch tv/movies? This is probably ok. As a 1080p streamer this is easily the best solution out there, as long as it has all of the apps you want. But for all-around use? I want to love the google tv, but I don't. Not yet. Hopefully the platform matures a bit in the coming months