Goodbye Chromecast, Hello Google TV Streamer!

Having a smart TV is a must nowadays as streaming content becomes a vital alternative to the reality TV dross and cultural cringe-fest served up by free-to-air networks. But what should a geek do if they’re stuck with an old-school dumb TV?

Google’s answer to this has long been the Chromecast, more recently followed by the Chromecast with Google TV. Now Google has killed off their confusing Chromecast lineup, replacing it with just a single widget, the Google TV Streamer.

Where Google’s Chromecast lineup consisted of smallish HDMI-connected dongles tucked away out of sight behind your TV, the Google TV Streamer is bigger and designed to sit beside or in front of the TV. It’s a rounded, sloping white widget slightly larger than a slab-style smartphone. The white-on-white finish and almost organic design make it discreet, which given its size is no bad thing.

Google has solved several issues that have plagued Chromecast with Google TV owners. The first thing is more processing power under the hood. With the Chromecast with Google TV, slow and sluggish was the order of the day. Not so with the Google TV Streamer. YouTube and other apps snapped to attention and clicking through options using the bundled remote was free of lag. The other issue resolved is storage. The Google TV Streamer comes with 4GB of RAM, a bump up from the paltry 2GB with the Chromecast with Google TV, as well as a generous 32GB of storage vs the 8GB with the Chromecast with Google TV.

The other big improvement is the addition of a much-needed Ethernet port, which makes for smoother UHD streaming for those in congested Wi-Fi environments. Bizarrely, while Google was focused on improving wired connectivity, they must have fallen asleep when it came to wireless. With super-fast Wi-Fi 6E now widely available and Wi-Fi 7 beginning to surface, it seems a tad odd that their latest streaming widget only supports Wi-Fi 5.

Wireless grizzles aside, the Google TV Streamer supports all the latest video standards, such as Dolby Vision, HDR 10+ and Atmos. A nice twist for the handful of Kiwis that own them is support for spatial audio via Google’s Pixel Buds Pro wireless earbuds. Alas, Google’s NZ unfriendly hardware strategy sees nearly anything pixel-branded being unavailable here (why Google, why?). All told, the video I streamed from YouTube, Netflix, Prime, and TVNZ+ looked fabulous on my Panasonic Z95A OLED telly. The other improvement is the bundled remote. While it has the same lozenge shape, it is slightly longer, and the awkward side-mounted volume control of the earlier version has been moved to sit on its front below the home button.

Getting the Google TV Streamer up and running proved easy. Using the Google Home App on my Galaxy Fold, I followed some simple, plain English steps and was up and running in mere minutes. After enabling developer mode, I was good to go. I sideloaded SmartTube (which handily blocks those super-annoying YouTube adverts) and Kodi (perhaps the best media player app in the known universe).

Google earns some serious brownie points by providing an apps-only mode, which declutters the home screen to display only installed apps. For me personally, it’s a real boon. I know what I want to watch, even if the AI-curated recommendations are actually pretty much on the money.

Google’s voice search works like a champ. Planning a holiday to Australia, I tapped the mic button on the remote and asked for “things to do in Adelaide” and was rewarded with a hefty pile of relevant YouTube clips. For finding shows of a specific genre, with specific actors, or even just asking simple queries, the voice search function has already proved insanely useful.

Like many a crusty old git, misplacing things is my superpower. Some superheroes wear undies on the outside and fight baddies, but I lose stuff with startling regularity. This is where Google steps in, as they’ve added a Find Your Remote button on the back of the Google TV Streamer. Tapping the remote emits a piercing tone that’ll allow you effortlessly to locate it. Lost remotes can also be found using the Google Home app or a Google Nest smart speaker. Handy!

Being a smart homeowner, I was also pleased to note that the Google TV Streamer supports Matter and Thread, which are both shaping up to be the big smart home standards that’ll let smart home gear from different manufacturers play nicely together. Also baked in is a Home menu that gives an at-a-glance view of connected smart devices, transforming the streamer into a smart home hub.

The Google TV streamer is liberally seasoned with AI, and all movie/show descriptions are done using Google’s excellent Gamini AI. Speaking of which, AI is also baked into screensaver settings, with the streamer able to use AI to customise screensavers. It’s not an earth-shattering feature, but it is fun.

If your 4K Chromecast with Google TV is starting to show its age and running out of storage or slowing down, then the wedge-shaped Google TV Streamer is definitely a worthy contender. Ethernet support, smoother performance, the ability to hold more apps and support for smart homes make the Google TV Streamer a must-buy for anyone who is a Google TV fan.

https://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/google-tv-streamer-4k-porcelain/39178865