this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023

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Should I upgrade my Chromecast? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

26 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have a second generation Chromecast on an old TV that only does 1080p. I'm fine with that, I don't care about the resolution. Someone told me that I might like the new one with Google TV, but I don't know much about it. I pretty much just cast from apps on my phone, so I'm not sure if there's any reason to upgrade. The only thing I don't like is sometimes the Chromecast icon doesn't show up and I have to restart the app, but I doubt that's on the Chromecast end.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with what I have, but I've been looking at comparison websites and they aren't really telling me what I need to know, which is if I'm missing something good I shouldn't be missing.

Also, this is not really important, but I'm on Chrome and Google thinks "Chromecast" is a misspelling.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I find the dedicated remote the Google TV ones have quite handy, and it makes it a bit more of a tv-like experience when I'm binge watching stuff.

As for extra features, the remote has a microphone so you can access the Google assistant. They're also full Android devices so you can install apps directly onto them such as games and use the remote as a controller, though I'm not sure how many are supported since I haven't tried that yet. Perhaps more usefully if you have a suitable USB hub and webcam you can use it for video calls, or plug in a harddrive and watch videos from that. Other than that if you're happy with second generation one, I don't think you're really missing out on much.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Thanks, that's the sort of thing I wanted to read about!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There is no should.

You can use it with a remote to browse apps and get suggestions, or cast from a phone. You have to decide if you want that or not, no comparison website will do it for you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I get that, but if I spend the money for no good reason, I'll feel foolish, so I wanted to get opinions before I did.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I prefer the remote and the suggestions are often pretty good. I rarely ever cast anything.

If you’ve ever thought a Roku, fire stick, Nvidia Shield or another streaming box looked interesting then there’s not much reason not to. If you’re planning to cast from the phone I wouldn’t bother upgrading.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I had a Roku many years ago when it was still super slow and I did like it, but the speed is terrible. We have another TV, a "smart" TV, which is also glacially slow, but it's fairly old now too. I hope Google TV is faster than that!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There can sometimes be lag especially when you first return to the Home Screen or wake it up, but it is not terrible. I typically use an Apple TV which is overpowered and switching to the Chromecast is a noticeable difference but not enough that it annoys me. If it’s all I used I probably wouldn’t notice.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Good to know! Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My old Chromecast died and I bought the new one. It actually lets me turn off my old TV remotely without the actual remote. I can turn it off on my phone. That's worth getting a new one for me.

I still have another old Chromecast, but that one is connected to a newer LG TV that I can turn off using the LG app, so it doesn't matter to me.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The old Chromecast does hdmi-cec for controlling the TV as well

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Not the old one I have.

Device features > Ambient mode / Video / Audio
Video > Use 50Hz / Video smoothness / Automatically turn on game mode

The new one I bought recently can download apps and comes with a remote. It also has a remote in Google Home. The old one has no physical remote or in Google Home.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Sure, but it still does cec. Specifically if you cast to it the TV turns on. I've only ever used my Google home to turn off the TV via "hey Google turn off the TV" but the functionality is there, there's just no remote control to make it self sufficient

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I went from generation 1 to 2 only when apps refused to work.

The 3. Generation doesn't do any features different for me.

I've had some issues with temperature shutdowns and unreachability on all of them, maybe not so much on 3. genenation. It may be the cause of your issue, but I'm not sure.

I mostly had that issue on gen.2 but I've also swapped phones and moved my WiFi in between so I'm not sure. When I had gen.2 on our primary TV, it would fall out after many (8+) hours, at which point the dongle would be smoking hot. I could usually fix it by cooling it (waving it out the window 😃 )but eventually I upgraded to gen.3 and haven't had that issue since then.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I've never had a temperature issue. Not that I know of anyway.

[–] OpenPassageways 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I loved my first gen Chromecast, but I can't recommend the newer ones. I got the 4k model. Aside from the fact that it draws enough power I can't plug it into the TV's USB... it just isn't capable of streaming 4k without frame skips. And no, it's not my fiber internet, the router, or the streaming service. I have a Sony TV with Android TV and it streams 4k just fine. The Chromecast was unwatchable for me, probably downgrading to 1080p would fix it, but then I didn't need to pay extra for the 4k model, and I could have just plugged the standard model into the TV.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I decided to go ahead and get the Google TV version. It was only like $30, I figured if I hate it, I can switch back.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have a chromecast ultra. I never made the hop to Google tv because I wanted to hardwire my ethernet cord, and Google tv requires an adapter.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's the one that you use if you want to use Stadia, right? I'm good without ethernet and I don't use Stadia, so that one is probably not for me.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just FYI google axed Stadia a bit ago. The ultra handles high definition video better than a regular Chromecast assuming you have a 4k tv and a using streaming apps that support that at the tier you pay for (or don't). That's the main difference between the third gen Chromecast and the ultra. The ultra doesn't come with a remote though. The newest version Chromecast does though. That one comes in high definition and 4k versions. So depends on how much you want to spend if you do that. I'd be worried a lot about the longevity of the original Chromecast or even a second gen because of the age and the number of heat and cool cycles for such a small dongle (depending on how much you use it).

I keep thinking about picking up the hd version with the remote but I don't need to trade up from the third gen so I haven't.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

I did away with everything and networked my 65inch display and I stream everything from VLC. I'm done with casting and Google/apple branded things. Too many ads

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm curious about the next gen chromecast as well. I heard/read that it could manage h265 content as well as it having google tv which you can use for IPtv.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Handling h265 is certainly a plus, although I don't usually get videos that are h265. But IPtv sounds more interesting... if I don't have to pay extra for it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

IPtv here is subscription based. Biggest advantage for me would be a cheaper TV provider then the terrible one that comes with the ftth line.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Essentially all chromecasts do 265, some even do the better AV1 but it's very inconsistent at the moment

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Wourdn't bother unless you want advertisements or AV1 support (not available on 4k model)

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The newest Chromecast with "Google TV" has a remote and runs Android TV.

I find the UX of a remote and an TV interface much better than casting things from my phone. But you can still cast with it, of course.