Google TV Streamer evaluate: Chromecast’s awkward pre-teen period Leave a comment

There all the time some one thing about Chromecast with Google TV that simply didn’t fairly really feel proper. Underpowered. Awkward distant management. Wi-Fi-only. That’s to not say it wasn’t sufficient as a streaming system. It was. Succesful, even.

However with the brand new (if oddly named) Google TV Streamer, it actually feels as if Google has rectified the sins of the previous in a tool that prices twice as a lot as its predecessor. What it did earlier than it now does higher. And it has new options that ought to soften the blow to your pockets, even when it nonetheless is available in at a worth beneath Apple TV 4K, which we nonetheless take into account to be the very best streaming system you should buy.

A few of these new options really feel unfinished, nevertheless. Others really feel like an answer seeking an issue. And that solely exacerbates my continued criticism about Google TV as a platform — it simply has too darn a lot happening at anyone time.

So what’s new within the Google TV Streamer? Is it price an improve? And does it rise up towards the shock 2024 hit that was Walmart’s Onn 4K Professional? Let’s dig in.

About this evaluate

As we publish this evaluate, I’ve solely had the Google TV Streamer for about 5 days. That’s admittedly not a variety of time for a evaluate. I’m no stranger to Google TV, nevertheless. Or Android TV earlier than that. (Go all the best way again to the Logitech Revue Google TV field, if we should.) And I’m definitely no stranger to all of the companies we use with this form of factor. Whereas there’s bit new across the edges of the Google TV Streamer, the core expertise stays the identical.

Google had us load three beta variations of apps for pre-release testing: the Google TV Ambient Mode app, Google TV Dwelling app, and the Google app for Android TV.

If one thing surprising pops up in our additional testing, we’ll replace this evaluate.

The brand new appear and feel

Maybe the largest change with the Google TV Streamer is that this now not is a dongle that can dangle behind your tv. It’s meant to be out within the open. That doubtlessly may very well be problematic relying on how you have got issues mounted, I suppose. Nevertheless it’s additionally most likely nothing you couldn’t repair with some Command Strips if it involves that.

The change has as a lot to do with two new options because it does another clarification, equivalent to giving engineers extra space during which to work. The Google TV Streamer now has Ethernet — that requires an even bigger physique — and it now helps Matter and Thread for smart-home options. I’ll get to these bits in a minute.

There’s actually not a complete lot to have a look at right here. The design language doesn’t actually depart from Chromecast With Google TV. Nonetheless fairly flat. Nonetheless fairly skinny, although the surfboard-shaped prime (possibly extra skateboard-like?) belies the precise thickness of the system.

Any actual enterprise is being down within the again. There’s a USB-C port for energy (and no matter bizarre dongle/adapter state of affairs you may need to check out, do you have to want exterior storage or something), the gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI port (Google says to make use of a HDMI 2.1 cable, which you’ll have to offer your self), and a small button that very properly takes us to …

The brand new distant management

The opposite apparent — although I wouldn’t name it monumental — change is the distant management. It’s slightly greater, for a greater really feel within the hand, Google says. I agree. It nonetheless has the identical form of matte plastic that the Chromecast distant sports activities, and this new distant has already picked up a number of odd streaks and specs from fundamental use. It’s nonetheless powered by a pair of AAA batteries. And whereas I don’t suppose I’d name it my favourite distant management out of the dozen or so I’ve at house (I actually ought to do one thing about that), it’s undoubtedly improved.

An important change is that the amount buttons have moved from their awkward positioning on the aspect to a correctly sized two-button format on the face of the distant. And the Dwelling button is now the place the Google Assistant button as soon as lived. Whether or not you maintain the distant in your left hand or your proper, that places the Dwelling button in a greater place, and makes the amount buttons extra accessible. Good adjustments, each.

You additionally now get a programmable button, which really made its debut earlier this yr on the distant management for the Onn 4K Professional. Generally known as the “Magic Button” — which I shall not be calling it — the Google TV Streamer lets you select considered one of three capabilities for that button, as a substitute of the 2 on the Onn 4K Professional. You’ll be able to nonetheless set it to launch a selected app, or to let you change inputs in your TV. Or you possibly can have it launch the brand new Google Dwelling part of Google TV. (Once more, you’re going to have to attend slightly extra on this half. We’re attending to it, I promise.)

The 2 branded buttons — YouTube and Netflix — nonetheless work as earlier than. The YouTube button nonetheless allows you to select whether or not you need YouTube correct, YouTube TV, or YouTube Music to be the default motion. (When you’ve got the app put in, that’s.)

Recall that button on the again of the Google TV Streamer? That’s a one-touch toggle to activate the Discover My Distant function. Hit it, and the distant begins chirping by way of a (new!) speaker on its underside. You can also activate that function from inside the Google Dwelling app on a cellphone, or use your voice with Google Assistant on another voice-capable system. Hitting the button on the again of the Google TV Streamer is straightforward sufficient, although.

Sensible house management

As promised, right here comes the sensible house a part of the Google TV Streamer. I’m going to interrupt it down into two elements: There’s the stuff you possibly can really see and use, and the stuff that does issues within the background that you just’ll form of by no means really see.

The Dwelling panel

Google Dwelling has come to Google TV Streamer. Not that it hasn’t been previously. You could possibly all the time use your voice to view a digital camera — “Hey, Google, present me the pool digital camera,” as an illustration. However that was on-demand stuff. Now, beginning with the Google TV Streamer, Google Dwelling has a correct, erm, house in Google TV.

The Dwelling Panel, because it’s additionally known as, lives within the aspect menu of the Google TV consumer interface. Google TV Streamer is the primary system on which it seems, and Google wouldn’t inform me if or after we’d see it on different Google TV units. (I wouldn’t guess towards it.)

The best method to get the Dwelling Panel is to carry down the Dwelling button on the distant. Or you possibly can go as far to the proper as you possibly can on the house display. (Simply maintain down the Dwelling button, although.) You’ll click on via to begin the setup course of — I used to be requested to confirm my account, which is an efficient factor — after which I acquired the choice to truly allow the Dwelling panel, and whether or not I wished doorbell notifications to seem on the display.

Blessedly, this was all of the setup I needed to do. (Sensible house setup could be notoriously messy.) Instantly I noticed choices for all my cameras, lights, and “local weather,” which in my case means the fourth-generation Nest Thermostat and its exterior temperature sensor. It even arrange favourite units for me, with the Nest Thermostat and cameras now on the prepared. It’s all actually intuitive and largely effectively accomplished. I can see a stay view of my cameras, and click on in if I need to see them in a bigger view. I can alter the temperature on the Nest Thermostat — simply choose it, then use the left or proper buttons on the directional pad on the distant. Very cool. Google says all of the Nest Thermostats that may be managed from the Google Dwelling app ought to seem right here.

I did run into a number of minor points. Should you attempt to click on into the thermostat such as you may the digital camera, you get slightly message on the backside of the display that reads “Further actions will not be supported on TV.” That’s type of robotic and clunky, however OK.

Viewing cameras is nice, however that’s all I may do. I couldn’t really management any of them. If a digital camera was off, it stayed off. If it was on, I couldn’t flip it off. Saying “activate the pool digital camera” to the distant management brings up associated movies on YouTube. Not useful within the slightest. So that you’ll nonetheless want one other system to take care of that, if needed. And if a digital camera is off, why present it in any respect within the favorites? Google tells me that’s by design. As a result of the TV distant is a communal system — theoretically anybody can decide it up and do no matter with it — Google doesn’t need any random particular person to have the ability to flip cameras off or on. I’d wish to see that be an possibility, although, provided that these are usually units that might be utilized in houses.

And whilst you can hear what’s happening in entrance of the digital camera simply nice, you possibly can’t reply to anybody like you possibly can from a cellphone. That’d be a pleasant function to have, provided that the Google TV Streamer distant has a microphone.

And maybe it’s a small factor, however the notifications for the latest-generation of Nest Doorbells wrestle a bit. The most recent fashions file video in a vertical 4:3 facet ratio, which then will get squeezed to inside an inch of its now horizontal life within the notification that pops up when somebody rings the bell. Add to that the seven-second or so delay I skilled — plus the truth that you get extra of a time-lapse preview and never real-time video — and it’s a reasonably nugatory expertise. I’ll simply stand up and look out the window as a substitute.

A minimum of if you go into the Dwelling Panel the stay view from the assorted Nest cameras will seem of their correct facet ratios. The doorbell is a vertical 4:3, whereas different cameras have a lot smaller 16:9 horizontal home windows.

Matter and Thread

I hate speaking about sensible house protocols. They’re the form of factor that ordinary shoppers — a nice human being equivalent to your self — actually shouldn’t have to know. Both a product works with one thing, or it doesn’t. Matter is a protocol that enables units from competing corporations really play properly collectively. And Google TV Streamer helps Matter.

Which means an adjunct — say, a lightweight or a lock or a digital camera — that helps Matter will certainly work with Google TV Streamer and may use it as a method to change into part of Google Dwelling. Very cool. Most of my sensible house equipment already labored simply nice with Google Dwelling, but it surely’s good to know help is lastly changing into extra common.

However Matter help goes each methods. It means Google TV Streamer might be seen to different units that help Matter. That’s the place issues get slightly messy, although I’ll caveat this subsequent bit by saying in the event you’re solely within the Google ecosystem there’s likelihood none of this can apply, and you’ll skip on right down to the subsequent part. Should you’re a sensible house (idiot) buff and love the messy form of nature of the enterprise, although, learn on.

I’ve a bunch of Apple stuff at house, along with all my Google gear. That features Apple TV 4K, which additionally helps Matter. (I think about this form of situation would apply to Samsung’s Sensible Issues, too.) As I used to be doing the preliminary setup of Google TV Streamer, I used to be requested if I wished to “Add system to iOS community.” To be clear, this was an possibility within the Google Dwelling app setup course of. I stated “sure,” and now Google TV Streamer reveals up as a HomeKit accent. Intriguing.

I used to be actually curious what I may probably management on the Google TV Streamer by way of HomeKit. Seems it identifies as some form of toggle swap, with energy, play/pause, play/cease, and mute listed as actions. Solely, none of them really appeared to work. They present up as switches. I can toggle them. And so they do nothing.

Was this in any respect helpful? No. Was it fascinating? Barely.

One huge query I do have is how effectively it really works with issues like non-Google cameras. Since I don’t have any right here, I don’t know. But when the mixing with my Philips Hue lights is any indication, it ought to be OK.

By the best way, I haven’t talked about Thread, which Google TV Streamer additionally helps. It’s much more of an invisible protocol (on which Matter is constructed) and mainly lets units that use it discuss to one another instantly, on the far reaches of your house Wi-Fi community and with out another hub. That’s all it’s essential to know.

Ambient mode and screensavers

Screensavers stay a reasonably essential function on this form of system, as they provide you a method to flip a big, in any other case unused TV (if you’re not watching something) right into a method to showcase art work of assorted kinds.

Google’s has gotten fairly good over time. Should you’re utilizing Google Photographs, it’s easy to have it show a selected album, or you possibly can have it curate images for you. And, as all the time, there’s a pre-selected Artwork Gallery possibility, which can be good. However new this time round is customized AI artwork, very a lot in the identical vein as what Amazon is doing on Hearth TV.

You’ll discover this within the Ambient Show choices. Google has a number of pattern AI photos that you may go forward and use if you’d like, but it surely’s actually hoping you’ll make your personal by way of a voice immediate.

A few of the preinstalled samples look extra actual than others. The New York-style avenue scene may idiot of us. Identical for the flowers. The woodland nymph or underwater scenes? Most likely not.

It was enjoyable for a couple of minutes to attempt to create my very own. Nevertheless it additionally began to really feel like work. Possibly I’m simply not good at arising with prompts. Possibly my mind simply isn’t inventive like that. However I simply didn’t really feel like anybody wanted my customized immediate to give you a reasonably generic seashore scene. However Google has a solution for that, too, with recommend prompts like “airbrushed,” “translucent,” “panorama,” and “imaginary” — as if this wasn’t all imaginary. You undergo a form of Mad Libs workflow and find yourself with one thing that appears fairly cool. Or appears to be like like generic AI-generated artwork. Or you possibly can simply hit “encourage me” and it’ll simply make one thing random.

That is all a tiny little bit of enjoyable. It’s nice. Nevertheless it’s additionally the form of factor that you just’re going to must be actually into in the event you’re going to need to spend any time on it. I a lot favor the thought of choosing and selecting some preloaded stuff — or utilizing the gallery of images that I really took — somewhat than spending the mind cycles to give you my very own not-actually-art.

I’ve additionally been accused of not being enjoyable, although. Should you’re into AI artwork, this ought to be enjoyable.

What it’s like to make use of

Let’s return to the start. I haven’t talked in regards to the setup course of or Google TV itself as a result of apart from the Google Dwelling panel and AI-generated ambient artwork, there’s actually nothing new within the grand scheme of issues. It’s mainly precisely such as you’ve come to know and love (or tolerate) on Chromecast with Google TV, or the Onn 4K Professional, or any of the quite a few TVs that use Google TV as their working system.

So I’m not going to re-litigate Google TV itself as a platform, apart from to say there’s nonetheless a ton happening with the house display. An excessive amount of, actually. Too many suggestions. An excessive amount of attempting to steer you towards a selected app or service or present, all within the title of serving to you discover what you need to watch. The Dwell tab might be probably the most helpful, bringing collectively the likes of YouTube TV’s channels (assuming you’re a subscriber) with varied free streaming companies which have partnered with Google to have their advertising-supported channels included. (Professional tip: Give the extraordinarily buried “apps solely mode” a attempt. It’s a lot simpler than utilizing a customized launcher on Google TV.)

After you have every part up and operating (and I nonetheless extremely advocate utilizing a cellphone to set all of it up), there are some things price mentioning.

First is that Google TV Streamer is already operating Android 14, with the August 1, 2024, safety patch. Neither Chromecast nor the Onn 4K Professional are that updated but. I didn’t see any actual seen distinction utilizing the beta apps listed on the prime of this evaluate, apart from so as to add the AI-generation Ambient Show screensavers as an possibility in settings.

Second is that whereas this can be a system with 32GB of on-board storage, I solely had 23GB accessible after first boot, and that’s out of 26GB which can be really left over for any form of use. That included all of the streaming apps I had it go forward and obtain as a part of the setup course of. For what it’s price, that’s the identical as what I’ve with the Onn 4K Professional. It’s simply a part of the best way Android-based units work.

You may additionally have to determine if you wish to solely use Wi-Fi, or in the event you’ll use Ethernet. I’ve a gigabit fiber connection at house, going via an . Utilizing the Analiti pace check app, I used to be simply seeing wired downstream speeds at not less than 600Mbps to 700Mbps, and round half that (possibly rather less) on Wi-Fi. Google TV Streamer helps Wi-Fi 6 (which is 802.11ax, for these of us who detest the brand new naming conference). As long as you don’t have any bottlenecks, both ought to be greater than sufficient to mainly stream something you need. When you’ve got the choice to plug in with Ethernet, I’d achieve this, simply because. (And particularly in the event you’re going to be watching film recordsdata on an area server that you just undoubtedly acquired legally.) However for most people? As long as your ISP’s web pace is respectable and your router helps it? Wi-Fi ought to be loads quick.

Doing the standard Google TV-type issues went simply because it all the time has. I watched a smattering of issues, from stay stuff on Google TV, to 4K content material on Netflix and Disney+, plus a wholesome dose of YouTube correct. Issues switched from SDR to HDR and HLG and Dolby Imaginative and prescient with out my having to fret about it. Audio in Dolby Atmos was acknowledged by my soundbar. In different phrases, similar because it ever was.

The competitors

I discussed earlier than that the general expertise of utilizing the Google TV Streamer actually isn’t in contrast to different present units. Should you’ve used Google TV at everywhere in the previous few years, you already know what to anticipate.

The variations actually are on the edges. For instance: The Onn 4K Professional has an accessible always-listening microphone so you possibly can shout voice instructions at it without having the distant management. Google TV Streamer doesn’t. Nevertheless it does, nevertheless, have gigabit Ethernet, whereas Onn 4K Professional tops out at 10/100 speeds. If a sooner wired connection issues to you, go along with the costlier Google TV Streamer.

Chromecast is missing in virtually each means, besides one — it’s smaller. I’ve already written that I’m going to hold a Chromecast in my journey bag for resort use as a result of it’s smaller and extra moveable. (And since I have already got it.) I’m possibly not going to defend that take fairly as strongly as I assumed I’d. Sure, Google TV Streamer is an efficient bit greater than a Chromecast. Nevertheless it’s not so huge that I’d have to depart one thing else at house. That stated, Google has been fairly clear that Google TV Streamer is changing Chromecast. (Regardless that each can be found as of this writing.)

Do you have to purchase it?

I’ve completely no motive to not advocate Google TV Streamer. If that possibly doesn’t sound like a full-throated advice, it’s not fairly how you need to take it. Thus far, in my early use, it’s undoubtedly been smoother and bit sooner than Chromecast with Google TV. It’s not less than marginally higher than the Onn 4K Professional, which prices half as a lot.

For my cash, I’d purchase Google TV Streamer as a result of it’s new. As a result of it’s seemingly going to maintain the eye of Google longer than an older system. I’d purchase it for Matter and Thread and the brand new Google Dwelling options. (And as a reminder, we don’t but know in the event that they’ll be accessible on different units anytime quickly.) And I’d purchase it as a result of it’s Google, and I’m a model snob like that.

I’d additionally purchase it as a result of it’s the subsequent technology of sensible streaming system for the Android crowd, although it definitely isn’t solely meant for them. (I set mine up with an iPhone.) However I’d additionally purchase it realizing that Google TV itself continues to be attempting to do means an excessive amount of without delay, bludgeoning customers with choices — that now embrace prompting your personal AI-generated display savers — as a substitute of simply giving them a easy method to watch the issues they need to watch, whether or not it’s a film or a present or a safety digital camera or doorbell.

And, certain, I’d purchase Google TV Streamer as a result of within the busy world of streaming TV platforms, Google TV completely nonetheless holds its personal among the many 4 main choices.