TWO MONTHS with the Chromecast with Google TV: The BEST Streaming Stick?

The chromecast was dirt cheap. And provided the feature of taking whatever is on your phone’s display and pushing it to your TV screen. And this is the next evolution of that. The Google Chromecast with Google TV, which takes that feature, and combines it with all the features that normally comes in a TV that has the Android TV OS. Is this thing worth $50? Let’s find out with a little review.

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
0:25 Specs and Physical Features
1:54 Software Features
2:26 Personal User Experience
6:07 Standout Feature
6:57 Quick Comparison to other Streaming Devices
8:20 Conclusion


When you open the box you’ll find the Chromecast, a remote, 2 AAA batteries, a usb c to usb a power cable, and a usb power brick. The remote has a power button and TV input button on the bottom and also has a YouTube, Netflix, Home, Mute, Back, and Google Assistant Button.

It has 4.5GB of usable storage available to you, Wifi, bluetooth and support for resolutions of up to 4K60 FPS with HDR. The Chromecast with Google TV has all of the features of old chromecasts but now you get all the features that used to come with Android TV. For people unfamiliar with Android TV OS, it’s basically a modified version of what runs on Android smartphones but tweaked and tuned for a Television screen. Which means you can download many of the apps you normally find on android.

The UI is snappy, but I found that sometimes it does get a bit stuttery if you go around it too fast, or when the chromecast has to load too many things off the internet at once. Apps do take a sec or two to load up but I never felt it was too slow. Performance in each app varies, and the google assistant behaves how it does on other devices, and you can even get it to play certain shows or even YouTube channels. But you have to make sure that those apps support being opened by the Google assistant. If you download a web browser, like Puffin Browser, you can even surf the internet on your TV. If you have a YouTube TV subscription, the channel listing appears under the “Live” tab. And you can quickly view what’s on TV that way. The “For You” tab is basically a summary of all your streaming applications. From here you can resume your live TV sessions, shows and movies if they’re from supported apps, sorry Crunchyroll, see your recommended shows, and even open specific shows from their respective apps. For example, Since I have a netflix subscription. If I click on this show in the Google TV interface, it will automatically open Netflix and the show’s screen to let me pick an episode. The other tabs are kind of self explanatory, Movies has the currently popular movies, and from here you can open one from a streaming app you have, or purchase it. Same goes for Shows. Apps is where each of your individual apps lives as well as a place to view new apps you might want to download. Library is where your purchased collection of entertainment would go. But mine is empty.

Because this is running Android TV and has a usb type C port. This opens doors to tinkerers and some tech savvy users. With a usb type c dongle and a higher wattage power brick, you can plug in external devices. It’s basically a $50 android dongle. It can also emulate some old school games like from the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, PS1, and PSP with not too many issues.

How does it compare to other streaming devices? The standout features that separates the Chromecast with Google TV are its massive app library, versatile software and value for your money. When you look at android TV devices, popular ones are the Xiaomi MiBox S and Nvidia Shield. And this undercuts both of those devices while touting better hardware and features than the MiBox S, while the Shield costs 3x as much for a better gaming experience.

My conclusion of the Google Chromecast with Google TV is that it’s a fantastic little streaming dongle. I can’t find much to complain about because it does so much for $50. It would be a fantastic option to make your dumb TV smart, easily take all your entertainment with you on trips, and replace your aging smart TV’s operating system with a fresh one. Or replace your current TV’s OS with Android TV. Regardless of what you’re trying to accomplish, this is a great streaming dongle that covers the majority of people’s needs. So, if I were looking for a streaming stick, this is the first thing I’d look at.