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Google TV Streamer Announced as Chromecast Replacement and Rival to Apple TV 4K
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It’s only 22% faster than the previous Chromecast 4K, which was slow when it was released years ago. The AppleTV 4K is definitely going to be quicker.
I had only ever used AirPlay on Apple TV and it was always perfect, speedy, and hassle-free... Until one day I tried to use it at a friend's house on a Roku device and as a LG TV app: laggy, inconsistent experience (the Roku only worked when video was 720p and showed a black screen when trying to AirPlay 1080p content), and failed to hold a connection or to work at all most of the time. What a disappointment.
You can switch to app mode on Google devices and all you’ll see are the apps.
Waited years for a worthy Apple TV competitor and Google have indeed created a ‘Steamer’! Only a small increase in performance over the previous model famous for being laggy and underpowered, yet now more than double the price?!
Waiting to see if Apple announces the new one in the next month or so, think Google’s is going to be DOA unless heavily discounted.
Waiting to see if Apple announces the new one in the next month or so, think Google’s is going to be DOA unless heavily discounted.
Might upgrade for the thread support, but have to see if it can still support players with SponsorBlock.
Otherwise a pretty meh upgrade for a product which was already great.
Otherwise a pretty meh upgrade for a product which was already great.
YET…..
Eventually the feature that made Chromecast work via casting will likely be phased out rendering all older Chromecast that has casting only completely useless.
You haven’t been getting ads in the bottom left corner of the home screen like I have? Also they’ll occasionally add new list items on the left, even though I had previously hidden them all. Also, the Roku City screensaver (I don’t remember the exact name of the screensaver) is now regularly themed after a certain ad. Though, in the case of the screensaver, it’s done so well that it gets a pass from me.
So they’ve really been pushing harder with the ads compared to a few years ago.
Also, I want to ask for your opinion: you don’t think the Roku is janky? I compare the same apps that I use on Roku vs on Fire TV (Android under the hood) and the Fire TV is so much smoother and usually launches apps faster, too. One particularly bad app is Peacock, though YouTube also is janky as well.
I was actually referring to ads on the home screen of the UI, not within the Apple TV app itself. But, since you bring it up, I can see what you’re saying happening too. I mean they already have ads in the App Store.
Yeah, given that everyone else has done it, I would be surprised if Apple didn’t do it too at some point.
That wouldn't be advisable because on Roku and Google streaming devices you can turn off the ads on the Home Screen. My Chromecast 4K just displays the apps and they look similar in size and shape as they do on my ATV4 gen.
I just get the adverts on the right-hand side and that is it, maybe it depends on what country you live in or it is because I have a Roku TV and not a Roku streaming stick.
The U.S.A love their adverts and seems to push them so much more than in the U.K. Saying that YouTube in the U.K. is getting unusable these days due to adverts
Most apps come up pretty quickly on my Roku TV, I suppose it depends on the CPU and amount of memory that is used. the only one that seems a bit slow is the new Tubi that have been launched, not that it will bother me as I can't see myself using it.
A few years ago I used to have a box based on Roku, for a service called Now TV, which is an offshoot of Sky TV, now that was slow, very slow.
I have not really had much to do with Firestick/Fire TV, my brother had one, and I found it full of adverts and really slow, so he returned it and got himself a Hisense, has something called Vidda built in, seems ok.
I am not planning on buying anew TV for a while, so what i got is what I got, not that IO watch normal TV, in the U.K we need a TV licence to watch live broadcast TV and I refuse to pay for the BBC, so the tuner have only been used for around 5 minutes to make sure the tuner worked on my TV when I got it. I stream everything or watch DVD/Blu-rays. So I suppose I could get a streaming box, but I don't have any issues with Roku. Also, it is more private than Google and their silly AI rubbish
Yes, a Surface Pro is a lot of money to spend out if you are only using it for that reason.
I did think a few years agao of making myself a small low powered computer to go behind the TV, but then could not be bothered and i doubt it would have had a good UI.
I have a small android box, which I use for some things, but it is very slow., but it was very cheap.
Why? You can get a used SP3 easily for about the same price as what Google is selling this for, certainly less than an Apple TV 4k. I can't begin to even tell you how much better it is having a full fledged PC instead of a neutered media device. There are also lots of NUCs and small form factor PCs, heck even an old laptop would be fine.
Maybe, but it is just too much hassle, mucking around with computers by my TV and to be honest, my Roku TV does most of what I need, I don't see the need to add anything else. The Blu-ray player is used now and again, but not as often as it used to be, I must change that as Blue-ray is still better quality than streaming.
Yeah, the chromecast was cheap. Paying $99 or what ever it will be in £, will put a lot of people off. Also, with so many TV sets having built in Apps, there is little reason to have something like the streamer.
Very true. My current TV is a 1920x1080p 42” LCD panel without any smart tv functionality, but I have a digibox from my cable provider which does apps. So no immediate need for a Streamer-like box. These kind of legacy tvs from people who don’t update their TVs often would seem to be the market.
My old plasma did not have any apps, but i used my Blu-ray player for the apps I needed at the time., but now it would not be any good as there is not all the apps I use on it. If I did not buy the Roku TV and carried on with the Plasma, I would got a Roku stick. My chromecast, while it is good for some things, it is only a Chromecast, no apps, so it would only be able to stream stuff from my phone.
My original idea to replace the plasma was to buy a large monitor, but the prices were too high. One of the reasons i wanted a monitor was so if I was visited by the TV licensing, I could have shown them in and said, look, not tuner
. The other reason was because I don't need a tuner and my thought was I am paying for something I don't use. But it turned out it was cheaper to get a TV, just don't tune the thing in.If I had gone for the monitor, I would have certainly gone for a Roku stick. I like roku, they are pretty simple to use and don't try to be anything else. No silly AI, no trying to get you to watch this and watch that. No account, well not on my TV unless i want to watch the Roku channels.
People keep their TV sets for a long time as long as it is doing what they want, but for the last 10 years, most have had some sort of apps, and if they don't do what people want, then they have by now sorted out a streaming stick/box, what ever. I really don't see that this streaming box is going to take off, but I may be surprised. It may do better in the U.S than in the U.K.
weird vaguely related note.
The Apple TV has been in limited stock recently here in the UK, we have been trying to get one for work and it seems to be out of stock with a few of the major retailers.
Currys have it listed, albeit unavailable to buy, at new pricing. Possible placeholders for a new cheaper model that was rumoured?
These prices represent a £10 drop on both models.
The Apple TV has been in limited stock recently here in the UK, we have been trying to get one for work and it seems to be out of stock with a few of the major retailers.
Currys have it listed, albeit unavailable to buy, at new pricing. Possible placeholders for a new cheaper model that was rumoured?
These prices represent a £10 drop on both models.
While a small discount doesn’t necessarily indicate a new model is imminent, what should be noted is that just like the iPad’s, Mac Mini’s and ATV’s, they seem to be on a 2 year release cycle. The last ATV release was in 2022 and prior to that they were updated in 2020.