√ Google Chromecast 4K with Google TV Snow Review: Good selection of apps

Chromecast with Google TV - 4K – Snow Review

Google's Chromecast with Google TV (2020) is a revelation-it fixes uncorrupted content and improves near-perfect technology in a tangible way. This is all thanks to the remote control and Google’s "new" software Google TV.

The combination of the two provides higher usability than the previous Chromecast, which requires you to use your phone or tablet to deliver content instead of interacting on the screen.

However, now that Google has added a dedicated TV interface that can be controlled via a remote control, you can instantly access most major streaming services, including Disney Plus, HBO Max and even the streaming application of its biggest competitor, Amazon Prime Video. . Most importantly, there are many applications inherited from Android TV, the predecessor of Google TV. These applications introduce games and productivity applications to streaming media.

Price analysis and release date

Available in the US on September 30
Costs $49.99 / £59.99 / AU$99
The new middle-child of Google’s Chromecast lineup

Chromecast with Google TV will be available in three colors (Snow White, Sunrise Peach and Sky Blue) in the United States starting September 30, 2020, and can be found in the Google Store in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and most countries Make a reservation for Continental Europe.

In terms of price, your price is $49/£59/AU$99, which is $20 higher than Chromecast (third generation) and $20 lower than Chromecast Ultra. In the UK or Australia, this is not a good deal, especially when you buy the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K for £49/AU$69 (the price will drop around Amazon Prime Day) – but the price is still lower , For example, the price of Nvidia Shield based on Android TV is almost three times that.

Well, the new Chromecast with Google TV is just right for the intermediate products in the Chromecast series: It can play 4K HDR through Dolby Vision, making it better than the basic Chromecast, but it can’t play games like Chromecast Ultra. Not having Stadia is unfortunate, but not breaking the deal.

Design

Ovular design akin to the original Chromecast
Comes with a remote!
Can be powered by some TVs, or from the wall

In the past three years, Google’s Chromecast device has maintained a hockey shape, and the same is true on Chromecast with Google TV. The latest design is slightly longer than the previous design, but overall, it is very similar to the previous design.

Once again, you will connect the Chromecast to the TV via a connected HDMI cable (thankfully, using the latest specification HDMI 2.1) and get power from a wall outlet or a USB port on the TV... if you are lucky.

We actually plugged the Chromecast into the back of the new Vizio V series TV and were told that we could not get enough power from the device's USB port. This can be frustrating for people who don’t have many free power outlets left near the entertainment center, but most people will not be bothered by plugging the Chromecast into the wall.

Unlike Chromecast Ultra, Chromecast with Google TV does not have an Ethernet jack, which means it can only be used over Wi-Fi. According to Google, you can buy a USB-C to Ethernet adapter for Chromecast with Google TV, but it is not in the box.

More positively, this newly improved Chromecast is indeed equipped with a Bluetooth/IR remote control. The plastic zipper is a bit fragile, but it is equipped with a circular keyboard, side volume keys and eight front buttons. If your TV supports HDMI-CEC, you can use the Chromecast remote to control the TV’s volume, and even turn off the TV and Chromecast after watching.

Because this is the first improved Google TV product, there is of course a Google Assistant button on its remote control, you can use it to summon the virtual assistant of the same name-we will discuss in detail in the next section.

Features

You’ll need a Google account to use it
Casting works with iOS and Android phones
Most streaming apps are here except Apple TV and Stadia

Just as you would expect a product with "Google TV" in the name, the new Chromecast can indeed meet the needs of the Android audience: you will use your Google account as the login name of the device, and then you can access Google Assistant, YouTube / YouTube TV (If you have an account), Play Store, Google Photos and Nest devices (if you have one).

Interestingly, this is not the first Android TV-based device with Google Assistant-Sony TV has been in use for many years, and even the new Nvidia Shield uses it-but it does feel good here. For those who care about privacy, Google Assistant will only open when you press a button on the remote control, and you can completely disable the service when you log in with your Google account at startup.

With your Google account, the main screen of the Chromecast user interface will also display relevant and recommended content. If you are familiar with Android TV, then you will all seem to be very familiar, but for those who are just starting to use it, this is indeed a true record of content compiled from different sources. For example, on our home screen, we have "Captain America: The First Avenger" (most likely because we ordered Marvel movies in turn) and "Parks and Entertainment", as well as other comedies and science fiction movies.

Scroll down a few more times from the recommended content line, and you will find that Netflix-style content lines are grouped by category, from YouTube recommended video lines, and finally trend analysis of shows and movies. Moving from the "Ready for You" tab, you will find separate areas for movies, TV shows, apps, and your own media library, which can be very poor unless you often buy movies from Google Play Movies & TV. There is also a "Live TV" section, but this section will only appear after you subscribe to YouTube TV. (Google does provide a free trial version in the box, but after the trial period ends, you still need to pay.)

When you choose something to watch, you can start watching it immediately, or you can add it to the Watch List so that you can find it again later. Google TV also uses a thumb-up/thumb-down system to help you improve its suggestions. Last but not least, it has a midway built-in search function that can show you several ways to stream a certain movie or TV show, but it is not as powerful as Roku's built-in search engine.

The interface is not revolutionary and can feel a bit basic, but this is actually our biggest complaint so far, otherwise Google TV seems easy to use and can get the job done.

When you choose something to watch, you can start watching it right away, or you can add it to the Watch List so you can find it again later. Google TV also uses a thumb-up/thumb-down system to help you improve suggestions. Last but not least, it has a built-in search function midway that can show you several ways to stream certain movies or TV shows, but it is not as powerful as Roku's built-in search engine.

The interface is not revolutionary, it feels somewhat basic, but this is actually our biggest complaint so far, otherwise Google TV seems easy to use and can get the job done.

Performance

Rock-steady streaming, even in low-bandwidth households
Small bit of noticeable pop-in upon setup
Support for 4K HDR (HDR10+, Dolby Vision) and Dolby Atmos

The performance of Chromecast equipped with Google TV is amazing and can rival the competition. Google has not yet clearly understood the internals of the system-level hardware, but no matter which SoC we choose to use, we rarely see Chromecast degrading performance-especially once we choose which content we want to watch.

In fact, the only real slowdown we noticed was at startup, when the Chromecast first filled the user interface for the first time-it took a few seconds, but it didn't take a lot of time. What impressed us is that the hardware seems to work near routers and places with weak signals, and it seems that the bandwidth is smaller. If you plan to watch 4K HDR content, we do not recommend you to try it.

It can be said that Chromecast with Google TV can be streamed in 1080p or 4K HDR and supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision formats-we recommend you to test them at some point because they look great. For audiophiles, the new Chromecast supports DTS, Dolby Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby Atmos formats, but like HDR formats, you need a compatible TV and/or sound system to actually hear them.

Watching Dolby Vision content and regular HD SDR streams on TV looks good, although you should not expect the stream to do any heavy lifting in terms of upgrades or post-processing. What you see is what you get.

In order to get the maximum resolution and high-end format of video streaming, we recommend that you use the remote control to use Chromecast’s native Google TV application, as this is where you are most likely to find it. However, if you just want to browse the content quickly, you can combine Chromecast with Google TV through a web browser, iOS or Android device, like regular Chromecast by Casting, which is very convenient.

The only practical limitation we encountered at the hardware level is that the Chromecast with Google TV does not yet support Stadia. For everyone, this may not break the deal, but for those looking for an all-sing, all-dance streaming player that can play the latest games, this is just a small warning.

Thank you

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