Google TV Streamer 4K – Fast Streaming Entertainment on Your TV with Voice Search Remote – Watch Movies, Shows, Live TV, and Netflix in 4K HDR – Smart Home Control – 32 GB of… by Google

Product is really good and fits my needs.

I’m honestly not as impressed with this product as I thought I would be. Being dubbed THE ‘OFFICIAL unofficial Google Guy’ on my social accounts and well known for my insane affinity towards Google and Google products, including participation as a trusted tester, developer, Cloud innovator, Local guide and level 8 reviewer, Google Business & Workspace partner as well as diehard Pixel Superfan and Certified Devices Expert… Let’s just say I should be loving this. When in reality I’m ambivalent.

First, let me say that I don’t technically need the streamer because I do have a smart television in my LG TV, which, in my opinion holds the greatest webos over any company offering a streaming plug-in device comparing the overall UI/UX, overall ability, performance, etc.

Previously I had a Chromecast with Google TV Second generation dongle plugged in where I now have my Google Streamer. I still have another Chromecast with Google TV dongle in my bedroom television and in my office television I have an original third generation Chromecast. These devices I am holding on to like their gold because while not many people may realize this, Google is no longer going to produce the Chromecast in any shapewear form even in its most recent incarnation as the “with Google TV” dongle and has in fact replaced the entire line with this single device we have in the Google TV Streamer.

I have to say it is a bold move to make considering the device retails for $100 and rarely goes on sale and now Google is is pushing themselves out of a Market space by offering only one expensive option when ONN (Walmart) offers these identical technology in an Android TV Streamer retailing for only $50 and continues to produce the 4K and HD plug-in versions of there streaming devices equipped with Google cast and fully integratable in Google home. Naturally there’s also Roku, Amazon Fire and even Tivo. If you’re feeling extra curious and want to fiddle around with complicated, inconsistent connectivity and performance severely lacking, you could also opt for the more recent Xumo TV box, offered through various home internet providers as a streaming alternative to their cable packages. Xumo is also a webos independent of streaming devices and comes equipped in various smart TVs including the one I recently purchased for my office and thoroughly regret. Xumo TV makes it difficult to cast from external devices to the TV, the overall interface is confusing and ridiculous, starting with a fact of that will begin your journey. Are you with every single application available already pre-installed for you to use?. There is no need to install uninstall. However, I find their app, library and availability very lacking compared to others such as Google TV, Fire TV or Roku.

The big seller for the Google TV streamer is the fact that you can plug in an ethernet connection for Maximum speeds and highest quality streaming. In theory, this is somewhat rationally argued. However, if your streamer is not connected to your Wi-Fi via the same connection you would utilize on your phone or other devices, then you don’t have the ability to control the streamer or use the Google cast capabilities available and less you switch from the hardwired connection to the Wi-Fi. This begs the question why would you switch back and forth especially when Google is pushing. Hard to integrate Google home into Google TV and currently has a dedicated panel available for use in viewing any cameras, lights, environment devices like your thermostat, and the various smart speakers and other devices you have attached into Google home. These don’t communicate in the same way utilizing the ethernet as it does the Wi-Fi. In fact, one of my favorite features in my Pixel 8 Pro quick settings menu is the ability to quickly drop down and hit TV remote, thereby allowing me to increase or decrease volume on the TV change channels. Do anything I can do with the remote itself but on my phone.

So currently I have mine hooked up but I am not using the ethernet. I have mine connected to my whole home mesh Wi-Fi system that I have everything else attached to so that it’ll communicate nicely and as it should. Overall the visual and audio quality is advertised to be greater and more crisp and clear than the previous generation Google TV devices, however, I don’t notice a difference in the quality whatsoever. Granted I have a wonderful entertainment system with a smart TV. Big screen that comes standard with Dolby vision and is equipped with Dolby Atmos in the native internal speakers themselves but I also have a 3.1 channel. LG soundbar with subwoofer attached via HDMI ARC for added enhanced sound quality. Couple that with the fact that I have two Google Nest audio speakers mounted on the wall of the TV and to Google Nest audio speakers behind the boundary of the living room entering into our dining area – all speakers naturally connected in Google home for speaker pairs to act as 360° fully immersive Dolby Atmos level surround sound easily available through the speaker group functionality in the Google home app and you could say I’m a little spoiled on my tastes for audio as it is already.

The streamer itself has not taken away any quality whatsoever and if anything I feel it does work a little faster which makes sense being it as an extra gig of RAM to its system specs. I will say that I enjoy this remote way more than the previous generation remotes. The previous generations were small and clumsy in your hand. Utilized a volume up and down button on the side of the remote which to this day still confuses me. The new remote has a simple interface with a home button back button. A button dedicated for speaking to assistant/gemini a mute button, two dedicated buttons for channel. Quick launching of YouTube or Netflix. This remote offers the volume up down buttons on the front of the remote interface and ends at the bottom with the power button and alternately from its previous generations instead of including a button for toggling between sources attached to your system they’re simply a star. This being your personal button you can utilize for anything you choose, you can program it to a specific streaming service. You can program it to a specific task. Currently I have my button set so when I push it, my Google TV immediately pulls up the live feed from my front Google video doorbell. Not necessarily pressing necessity for the usage of this button considering I also have the option to allow the live feed to pop-up automatically whenever anyone pushes the doorbell, but I’m enjoying it because in my case, for some reason since I’ve moved to my current location, people don’t seem to use the doorbell. If they acknowledge anything they may but it seems rare that people push the doorbell here, so it’s nice to be able to quickly look out And see what’s going on.

All in all, I do not have a lot of complaints for the Google TV streamer. It has great functionality. The interface is easy to understand and navigate and I feel anyone could easily adapt to it coming from a different branded streaming device or webos. It offers high speeds 4K Dolby Vision resolution with Dolby Atmos and DTX capabilities – all naturally falling into place with your televisions actual capability. For instance, if your television does not allow 4K resolution? Or if the best level of audio would simply be basic stereo you shouldn’t expect to plug this in and receive the advanced innovative technology behind the picture and sound because your hardware is incapable of receiving it. So if you’re looking for a boost overall, it may be time to look for a upgrade on your television – personally, I am a huge fan of LG and recommend them wholeheartedly for television and sound in general. You can look through any third party consumer reports or research in comparing various brands TVs 4. Picture quality and sound quality and time and again you will see the same results – fact is LG is King when it comes to sound! That’s not an opinion. That is space statement and a fact. Equally crystal clear is the resolution visually output from their variety of television specific lines, and budget based decision.

I have a 55-in LG ThinQ That’s currently almost 3 years old and still looks sounds and operates like it’s right out the package. I recommend a ThinkQ enabled set for numerous reasons but a big one being the smart remote you receive which is insanely useful beyond a belief. But also the companion app for your smartphone allows further customization and currently LG has adjusted their home screen to include a Smart Home Hub that can be controlled right on your television screen. I will say it’s false functionality works better than Google’s. However, Gemini’s capability will be dropping this fall to all Google home devices and it’s then when we’ll see the best experience from Google for a complete seamlessly integrated experience.

All this said I do recommend the streamer simply because I am a fan of Google and I believe in the quality of their products as well as the function and longevity behind them. The only thing that bothered me in purchasing this streamer was the packaging. Am a packaging geek which stems from my background in PR and marketing. But I love the packaging in Google products. It’s high quality durable. It’s in experience to open a Google package and be presented with your product. This time it was very cheaply done and it bothered me greatly that they do not include an HDMI cable with the streamer. Now since the dawn of time and the very first device released from Google, they solidified their reputation as being the the brand for plug and Play functionality. You can see this easily echoed in the Chromecast or Chromecast with Google TV that easily plugs into your television on its own or with any of their products. But here we have $100 streamer and they failed to include an HDMI cord- this piece hardware being the most important in being able to actually use the streamer and see the communication from it to the television. So this streamer is not plug& Play in my opinion and the way I see it. I almost feel like they’ve abandoned the Chromecast and simply rushed this product to the market as an easy replacement. As I said, I recommend it because it’s Google, but I’m still very ambivalent about this device and the only reason I actually purchased it was because my previous Chromecast with Google TV went on the fritz and stopped working after years of use. And although they display The Chromecast in the Google store it’s conveniently out of stock. Google has officially stated this streamer will take the place of previous Google TV and Chromecast devices. Personally, after a couple weeks of use I think that they’re making a big mistake and I just might look for a Chromecast from a third party seller. But time will tell. I hope this helps in some way for someone out there that’s unsure. I would offer the advice of checking out the ONN streamer that retails for half the price of the Google version to see if you vibe well with the interface and functionality. The only thing I will say about ONN is I have a ONN Android TV box that’s only a couple years old that I decided to try in my own testing comparison and it’s immediately obvious that ONN devices are essentially Google devices manufactured through Walmart and simply rebranded. They’re that close in every way possible. That said, the only place I ran into trouble with my ONN streaming device was in being able to properly utilize the speaker groups in Google home app. This is an ability where you can combine devices in Google home such as your TV and whatever smart speakers you may have or streaming device to create a speaker group- As I mentioned, I have a speaker group that connects my living room TV with separate Nest audio speakers for a surround sound Insanity. That works really well and can even be utilized on certain gaming consoles if you know what you’re doing connection wise…

But on ONN I wasn’t able to connect the streaming device to a speaker group or speaker pair at all. This is something that may have been fixed. I don’t know. I’m just simply putting it out there. But if you’re like me and planning to upgrade your pixel phone to the new 10 Pro XL, you can do so in the Google store where you’ll get $300 in credit To spend in store as well as trade-in value if you have one. I mentioned this because while I love the Google store, it’s not somewhere you shop everyday. So for them to offer store credit as a deal is a little annoying to me but I get it. Personally I could use a new thermostat so not mad about it. But right there you could get one for basically free. Just a thought. I look forward to reading others reviews here too to see what your thoughts are on this device.

I waited way too long to upgrade. I’ve been using the same apple tv since 2018. I never got something new because that still worked for what I was using it for.

I should have bought this sooner. First-I switched from an iPhone to a Pixel ProFold 9 last year. This streamer COULD NOT WORK MORE FLWAWLESSLY with my phone.

Signing in to every streaming service was so simple. Setting up the Google Photos screensaver was easy. It comes with everything in the box–Including rubber pads for the bottom of the streamer so that it doesn’t slide on smooth surfaces.

The remote is fantastic. Compared to the old Apple TV touch remote, this is miles ahead. Having physical buttons to navigate is the exact analog, clicky, old school remote feeling that you want.

I don’t know if the experience is as flawless on an iPhone because I didn’t try it–But as far as setting it up on my ProFold 9–I cannot stress how easy it was.

Picture quality is fantastic, and it is incredibly fast to load.

I honestly can’t think of a single complaint. If you have an older device for streaming, you should upgrade. It’s worth it, and I would recommend this over any Apple TV product 100% of the time.

We have a Nvidia Shield Pro and this is setup as a second player, and we alternate between it and the main olayer. It works great, providing good quality and a decent amount of storage (32gb)

جهاز سلس وسهل الإستخدام ودقته خرافية ماشاءالله ولكن لازم شاشتك تدعم الـ4K عشان تستمتع