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Moments in Chromecast's history

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Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#101

Post by scarmig »

woodrowbarlow wrote: post #69
mbreese wrote: post #23

How much of this is an "end" to Chromecast and a rebranding of Chromecast to "Google TV Streamer"? It seems like the bare-bones experience of a Chromecast being tied to a phone (or browser) is getting replaced with an Apple TV like experience. If this is the case, it might be a (rare) example of a good branding shift from Google. I have had two Chromecasts (the original and an Ultra) and I feel like both were hampere…

the phone/browser lock-in is largely due to lack of a standardized and open protocol to stream content in this manner. in the wireless-display-sharing ecosystem the chromecast is unique in that, when possible, it streams content from the original provider on a local client rather than relying on mirroring your device's display. this gives a better user experience but required participation from each service provider.…

> amazon hasn't tried to create a standardized protocol

Amazon is pushing Matter Cast, which is in many ways superior to Google Cast, most of all by being open. Its biggest downside is that it's not supported by anyone else.

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#102

Post by deedub »

Waterluvian wrote: post #18

I’m incredibly anxious about this. Chromecast is core to how my family’s television usage works. I got a free Chromecast recently and it’s a much worse UX than the ones I got many years ago. What I wish for is for the ubiquitous Cast button found everywhere to be open and neutral and for there to be a whole market of devices that’ll work. It feels frustrating and kind of ugly that there’s an Apple version and a Googl…

I am taking a look at the Nvidia shield, which also uses the cast button. I have 3 Chromecasts that need to be replaced, but the cheapest Shield is $150!!

I guess each time Google kills something and I remove one more part of my life from their ecosystem they are doing me the real favor.

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#104

Post by lxgr »

rickdeckard wrote: post #92
lxgr wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the market moved on from simple wireless display dongles. Has it? Then it must have left me behind somewhere. My Chromecast does 4K, Dolby Vision, runs Android TV, has a usable remote. What needs to change? There's no newer A/V standard available anyway! I literally couldn't think of anything else I'd want it to do. (Google could, of course, and it's somehow "AI", even though that probably just runs in the cloud an…

> My Chromecast does 4K, Dolby Vision, runs Android TV, has a usable remote That's what Google calls "Google TV" now, a product which still exists. During the transition they called the dongles "Chromecast with Google TV". Now the "Chromecast" part of it is discontinued and its all "Google TV".

It still seems to be called that: https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_google_tv

So that's not going away? I really can't tell from TFA. The entire thing seems like a hot mess – the link I was hoping would explain why I'd want AI in my Chromecast successor is dead/404 as well in the "Google TV streamer" announcement (https://blog.google/products/google-nest/google-tv-streamer/).

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#106

Post by [deleted] »

woodrowbarlow wrote: post #69
mbreese wrote: post #23

How much of this is an "end" to Chromecast and a rebranding of Chromecast to "Google TV Streamer"? It seems like the bare-bones experience of a Chromecast being tied to a phone (or browser) is getting replaced with an Apple TV like experience. If this is the case, it might be a (rare) example of a good branding shift from Google. I have had two Chromecasts (the original and an Ultra) and I feel like both were hampere…

the phone/browser lock-in is largely due to lack of a standardized and open protocol to stream content in this manner. in the wireless-display-sharing ecosystem the chromecast is unique in that, when possible, it streams content from the original provider on a local client rather than relying on mirroring your device's display. this gives a better user experience but required participation from each service provider.…

[deleted]

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#107

Post by n4r9 »

catapart wrote: post #87

I'm suddenly reminded to ask this community whom I assume might know: Are there any good "dumb tv" solutions out there? I'm thinking 1-4 HDMI ports, and a maximum of RF tuning and input-switching on the firmware. Products would be preferred suggestions, but I'm even at the point of considering DIY solutions, if something looks lego-ish enough!

We looked into this when moving house a few years ago in the UK. There didn't seem to be any viable options, so we bought a secondhand TV. I've heard that there are ways to get hold of shop display monitors but didn't figure out how to do this.

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#108

Post by candiddevmike »

nightski wrote: post #86
candiddevmike wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roku is just as creepy if not worse than Google. They do sell your data AFAIK, not just use it to deliver ads...

But the thing is Roku has far less data on me than Google. They might have viewing history or whatever, but it's not tied to my entire identity on the web the way Google can do that. So not it's not as creepy or worse than Google, not by a long shot.

> But the thing is Roku has far less data on me than Google

Do they? They have your IP address, most likely email, user IDs for various streaming platforms, your location... All of that for sale to anyone that will pay Roku for it.

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#109

Post by ink_13 »

swamp_donkey wrote: post #19

Is there any substitute for chrome cast audio? I love being able to play in sync audio to the group of receivers I choose throughout the property, using any amplifier. I’m not even using the digital optical input and I love them

The awkwardly-named "WiiM Pro" is a device that claims to support Chromecast Audio (and a bunch of other stuff like Airplay and Spotify Connect). It's been getting good reviews but I haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Re: Moments in Chromecast's history

#110

Post by Lutger »

We had this coming. Over the years, the various chromecasts in our house are slowly getting worse. I had the sense they are cutting costs on the software and servers powering these devices.

Spend way too much on the chromecasts and home devices. I guess they will continue to work for a few years, hopefully.

After this, no more google devices for me.

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