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    May 03, 2021

    Android TV Funny times

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    Posted: 02 May 2021 08:43 AM PDT

    What I'd have liked to know before switching from Roku to Chromecast w/ GoogleTV

    Posted: 03 May 2021 08:27 AM PDT

    I recently switched from a Roku Ultra to a Google Chromecast with Google TV, and thought I'd put together a review of the experience for anyone considering the same change. I did a fair amount of googling and asking around before the switch, but still had some questions going into it. This is the post I wish I'd found.

    I don't do anything special with the device like streaming from a media server or side loading anything. I don't block ads, I don't have an interest in streaming from my phone, but it's nice to know I can. I don't play games on it. I watch Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Discovery+, and FuboTV for live and DVR.

    I really like the Roku and it's layout. I only left because 3 months after the warranty expired it started skipping like a scratched CD every now and then. Support argued with me for a week, asked for speed test results, reset the device to factory defaults, said it was internet, etc. I argued my case, they said "You're right, it's defective. Your warranty is up, here's a link to our only store". In short, I was irritated, but what'cha gonna do. Warranty is what it is, so I figured it'd be a good reason to see what else is out there.

    This is the only Google device I own at present, so I can't really speak to their inter-operability. All of my other devices are Amazon or Samsung, but they can still be configured to talk to each other, with the right apps.

    I'm not going to get into specs or anything... I will say, it's running great at 4k 60Mhz on my Samsung smart tv. I do not have a sound system.

    Pros

    • It came with 6 months of Netflix. That was a promotion, and it was more expensive than just getting the device, but I was going to pay for Netflix during those 6 months anyway, so it worked out well in my opinion.
    • It's fast! Switching from apps to home screen there's next to no wait. Fast forwarding, there's less than half the buffering time there is on the Roku.
    • I like how the suggested content is platform-independent. That is, it'll suggest shows from Hulu, Netflix, Prime, etc.
    • The Android TV Remote mobile app works with it, and was idiot-proof to setup. I love that I can use it to type things into my phone, like my email or password when signing into apps, or titles while searching for content, instead of navigating a digital keyboard with up/down, left/right and "ok".
    • I don't need to add a memory card
    • I don't need an additional account, (like I do for Roku), I already have a Google account.
    • I really like the Google Watchlist. It'll give me notifications on my phone, I can add to it from my phone or web browser with my google account, etc...
    • I can turn on other app notifications on the Chromecast, like my calendar.
    • The Voice-activated google assistant gives good results!
    • The "ScreenSaver" can be set to display albums from your Google Photos. You can set up a new album by selecting people in your google photos you want to include, etc. Can all be done from the device.
    • There's an input button on the remote. This is great because it was kind of the only reason I needed the actual TV remote available before, to switch between my Chromecast, Xbox, PS4.
    • While I did say I don't side-load anything, I do like the idea that I could if I wanted to. I recall having to do it on a Fire stick to get Vudu on there years ago. I was glad for that capability.
    • "Library" tab is really cool.
      • Shows New movies I've bought (Which so far, I've only bought through Vudu, so that's all that's listed - Don't know if I buy a movie on google play or something else if it would show there, or what. I imagine it would though.
      • Shows my watchlist next, which is convenient, because it's not app-specific, it's my google watch list... so I can click a show, and the info page will show me all the different ways I can watch this. I know other devices do that, but THIS part of the Layout is put together conveniently.

    Cons

    • There's no DiscoveryGo app. There's travel channel, history channel, No SciGo, no Discoverygo. I'm assuming that's because Discovery+ is there, but there's still content that's on SciGo and DiscoveryGo that's not yet available on Discovery+. I'm hoping as licenses expire or what have you, the content will eventually move to Discovery+, but I haven't yet looked into it. This is actually a big bummer for me. At least I believe I can watch on my phone and stream it.
    • I don't care for the content layout. I feel like there's too much, and it's mostly trying to sell me things. The Roku home page was like... "Here's your apps, and one big ad", while this one is (like the Amazon fire devices", "Here's a bunch of content, some of it's free, some of it's not, here's a few ads, and oh, your apps (some of them) are listed on the second line, and they're smaller than everything else." I just feel like the tone is "Yeah, you've got some stuff, but look at all this OTHER STUFF YOU COULD HAVE!" My dad always said, "People won't remember what you say, but they'll always remember how you made them feel." This makes me feel like I'm being fed Lucky Charms with a shovel, but what I want is the Marshmallows so I gotta go picking through each shovel load. A little dramatic, I know... Sue me. Anyway, it just feels more geared toward selling content than serving what you already own. Which isn't the end of the world, but... I find it irksome.
    • It took a little while to set up. This is a little nit-picky... The setup walk-through was fine; it had a feature where it presented you with a number of content providers you could chose, like Netflix, Prime, etc... There were a number of them that I use that weren't available at that screen, but I was able to add them later. However, I was surprised how long it took to download and install all these apps. The Roku is like, 10 seconds to install apps, it took this device about 12 minutes to install around 8 apps. I've installed a few since the setup and they didn't seem like they took long, so maybe it was just because it was the initial device setup... I just found it surprising. I know, 12 minutes, #FirstWorldProblems. Again, not huge, just longer than I'd expect.
      • It wasn't my internet. I have Gig speed with Verizon FiOS, It's usually above 800Mbps for download and upload.
    • I don't like the remote. The layout of buttons is fine, but the profile on it is low, and with the rounded bottom, I just feel like my ham-hands are going to drop it or I'm going to mash buttons with my sausage fingers. So far, I have not done either, so maybe I just need more faith in my clicker abilities.
    • I miss the headphone jack on the remote. I have Bluetooth headphones, and can connect to the TV with them of course, but frankly, I just like the wired headphones. I don't have to charge them, or pair them, troubleshoot anything, etc. They just plug in and work... It's a little thing, but I'll miss it for sure
    • I don't care much for the color choices. White, Red or Blue. But not like, Red or Blue, more like it's the white version that got dipped only once, and not for long enough, in Easter egg colors. I won't get white, because it looks too much like an apple product. The blue color reminds me of those blue baby-booger baster things... aspirator, I think? The red looks like sun-bleached lawn-mower gas can.
    • When fast forwarding, the Roku would show you a thumbnail of where you were in the content, so you'd know you'd passed the commercials. The Chromecast just tells you how many seconds you've moved through, and you have to guess. Fortunately, like I say above, it's fast. Not a big deal to jump back a little, if you over-shoot.

    Neutral

    • The sound quality is decent, though there's an equalization that I haven't really played with yet. Not even sure if I can... The Roku had some sound leveling features, and this one seems to be normalization the sound, but I haven't found a place I can control that yet. There may not be one, for all I know. There's a "Surround sound" feature, which I just realized is on. I've turned it off, let's see how that goes.
    • There's nowhere to say "Captions are always on". I always use captions, and on the Roku, I could set them to always on.
    • The remote has a button for Netflix, and one for YouTube. I never cared much for the static provider buttons. The Roku had four, Hulu, Netflix, Sling, and ESPN. I didn't use ESPN, or Sling, so it seemed like a waste. Why not give us some programable buttons, and let us link them to the apps we want them linked to?
    • There's a row of tiles for "Continue Watching", but it only seems to include 2 shows, and both are on Netflix. I have watched other things on Netflix since these two, one of which I have never watched on this device, so it must have got it from my Netflix "continue" listing... But I don't know why things I've watched since aren't there, or if it's supposed to be listing my "continue watching" content from other apps like Hulu or Prime, etc... I'll have to play more with it, and do some googling. (If you know, feel free to enlighten me).

    I'll probably stick with this device a while, so if I come up with anything else, I'll add it. I think if I'd known everything above, I'd have still switched. So far, so good.

    submitted by /u/RetiredDarthVader
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    Can you sideload apps not available on the Xiaomi Mi Box S?

    Posted: 03 May 2021 08:06 AM PDT

    iPhone Chromecast?

    Posted: 03 May 2021 07:17 AM PDT

    My Bravia has Chromecast and wondering if I can connect my iPhone to it somehow. Not sure how it works.

    submitted by /u/smdifansmfjsmsnd
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    I just watched some free episodes/interviews from each and they now annoyingly appear in my TV Shows Library like I purchased them, any way to delete them?

    Posted: 03 May 2021 01:07 AM PDT

    Update my smart TVs OS now it's broken

    Posted: 03 May 2021 04:45 AM PDT

    Hi. I tried to updated the OS my 50in Coocaa smart now it doesn't have display but the led indicator indicates that it still have power. Do you have any idea?? And it is out of warranty so repairing it would cost money nearly when buying a new one.

    submitted by /u/Forsaken_Quail_864
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    Does Chromecast with Goolge TV share the same "App Store" as Android TV?

    Posted: 03 May 2021 03:57 AM PDT

    Android Box for local media viewing, portable hard drive advice?

    Posted: 02 May 2021 06:16 PM PDT

    In need of a portable hard drive that will permanently be dedicated to an android box for media playing, to locally play movies.

    Is it best to plug and play an external portable hard drive or should i get something special if its daily use for up to a year?

    submitted by /u/DarkJester89
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    Questions about Xiaomi Mi Tv stick

    Posted: 02 May 2021 04:03 PM PDT

    Is the Xiaomi Mi Tv stick fast for browsing the internet? will it play local mkv files from a usb stick if i use a dongle? does it support keyboard and mouse input if i use them from a dongle?

    submitted by /u/Its_D4rks1d3r
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    I own a Sony 4K tv and on the android system of Hulu it does not show 5.1 icon . It only shows 4K icon. But on my TCL tv is Roku system it shows the 5.1 icon along with 4K icon. Is this usually a thing ? I almost was positive 5.1 icon is shown on Hulu via android . I have a 5.1 set up .

    Posted: 02 May 2021 12:33 PM PDT

    SHIELD vs Chromecast

    Posted: 02 May 2021 10:29 PM PDT

    Bluetooth setting shortcut

    Posted: 02 May 2021 11:35 AM PDT

    The "google tv" home screen update (for Bravia x900f) added extra tabs to the top of the screen making it even longer to get to the settings tab to connect my Bluetooth headphones. It now takes over 10 steps to get my headphones connected. Is there any shortcut to get to Bluetooth settings faster that I don't know about? Or to auto connect once I turn on my Bluetooth headphones Thanks

    submitted by /u/hpsims
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    AT&T TV apk no longer working

    Posted: 02 May 2021 02:56 PM PDT

    TVs with AndroidTV 11 available

    Posted: 02 May 2021 02:08 PM PDT

    Which TVs are currently supported or come with AndroidTV 11? Thx 4 help

    submitted by /u/Theshield10
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    Is there no one offering the Bally RSNs on Google TV devices?

    Posted: 02 May 2021 10:06 AM PDT

    I have a Mi Box S and a Chromecast with Google TV (currently using Youtube TV).

    It seems like the only company with the Bally Regional Sports Networks is AT&T TV, but unbelievably they don't seem to have an app for the Android TV or Google TV.

    Is there something I missed?

    submitted by /u/pixelstuff
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