Business Editor
There are so many ways to watch your favourite TV shows, movies and sport these
days.
From smart TVs, to streaming services on laptops and tablets and boxes, sticks
and other gadgets that are attached to your TV.
Google was one of the first into this space a number of years ago with
Chromecast â a device that is plugged into your TV that enables you to stream
to it from a mobile device.
Now Chromecast has had an overhaul, with the addition of new functionality and
a remote control to help you navigate it all.
DESIGN
In looks terms the Chromecast with Google TV looks a lot like it did before.
The main brains is the dongle â a fairly compact, oval shaped device that
plugs into the TV's HDMI port.
It comes in three colours â snow, sunrise and sky â and is modern in design
and appearance.
But in reality it is probably going to be at the back of your TV, so the look
doesnât really matter.
It comes with a power cable and adapter, but it can also be powered from a USB
port on some TV's if they give out enough juice.
The new addition is the voice remote â a small handheld remote control with
buttons and voice control built in that uses IR and Bluetooth to communicate
with the Chromecast.
It looks and feels a little plasticky and cheap, but it does plenty and that
makes up for it.
On certain TVs you may also be able to configure it to operate the TVâs
volume and power it down after use.
PERFORMANCE
Set up is reasonably straightforward and is done via the Google Home app on
your smartphone or tablet.
You will probably have to wait for the usual firmware updates and for various
bits and bobs to talk back and forward to one another, which can be a little
frustrating.
But the process is pretty intuitive and easy to carry out.
You need a Google account to get setup obviously, but that will bring its
benefits in terms of integration with other services like YouTube for example.
Streaming is at a resolution of up to 4K HDR at 60fps. So the picture quality
at its best (depending on what kinds of TV you have obviously) can be pretty
ace.
To help, there is support for Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HDR10+ where available.
Googleâs spec sheet doesnât go into detail on what is inside the box. But
fair to say, the device isnât underpowered.
There is a little lag getting onto the interface for the first time on startup,
but after that the navigation is smooth and pretty fast.
Connectivity is good too â despite being a distance from the router in
testing, it held up nicely.
There is no ethernet port on the Chromecast device itself, so the Wifi
performance is important.
FEATURES
When you first open up the Google TV interface, you are met by a fairly
familiar site and layout like you get on many other streaming services.
At the top is a list of tabs â Search, Home, Apps and Library â all fairly
self explanatory.
The Home screen offers a mixture of Top Picks, as well as a horizontal list of
your installed apps.
There is also a list of trending movies, new films and shows, recommended
videos and popular films and TV shows.
In the apps menu there is a horizontal list of your installed apps, and below
that again is a list of grouped app categories, like for example Entertainment,
Music & Audio and Video Player and Editors.
The next row has apps from your other devices â hereâs where the
integration with your Google account comes in.
And then thereâs a row of recommended apps, featured apps, movies and TV
apps, games, etc.
The Search function is powered by either an on-screen keyboard, or
alternatively by using Google Assistant through the remote.
This works reasonably well, but not all the time, and unless you are
particularly lazy, you will probably find clicking the remote a more efficient
way of getting around.
If you don't like using Assistant for privacy reasons, then you can disable it.
There's thousands of apps available on the Google TV platform - including the
most popular ones that you'd expect, like Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+,
Spotify, YouTube Music and many more.
You won't be able to access Google's gaming service Stadia however.
And Apple TV+ isn't there either, which is a pity.
As you are logged in to your Google account the menus are personalised to that
account, so you will be served up the kinds of apps you have used and videos
you have watched in the past.
CONCLUSION
From Apple TV , to Now TV and Fire TV to Roku, there's any number of ways of
streaming on TVs these days.
Google Chromecast with Google TV is just one more - but it is a good option.
It is simple to use, has a pleasant interface, a decent remote control and lots
of app and content options.
It is missing Apple TV+ and Stadia though, and is a little slow to set up.
But you'd forgive it those few things for the very competitive price of â¬69.
In fact for that, it is pretty good value and certainly likely to give the
other options a run for their money.
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