New Chromecast

[Sammy 786]

I know it's been all over the place but what do you think? Will it work with FLIRC or is it only via HDMI CEC? How will it compare with MiBox s in playback of HEVC with bit rates over 40mbps?

https://screenrant.com/google-chromecast-home-depot-price-images-specs-leak/

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/09/24/retail-packaging-for-chromecast-with-google-tv-leaks-on-video/

https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/06/12/probable-specs-for-googles-upcoming-android-tv-dongle-leak/

Edited September 30, 2020 by Sammy

[arche 176]

Just got mine.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2020 by arche

[Armageus 70]

Is this likely to be a better option than say a Roku Premiere?

[OlishaDoon 0]

17 hours ago, arche said:

Just got mine.

 

 

I have a question.
Is it works with Google Stadia?

[BAlGaInTl 279]

49 minutes ago, OlishaDoon said:

I have a question.
Is it works with Google Stadia?

Not yet. It's supposed to get an update in '21 that will enable it I heard.

[ebr 15662]

Anyone put our app on it yet?

[BAlGaInTl 279]

8 minutes ago, ebr said:

Anyone put our app on it yet?

I'd be curious as well.

It's on my short list of devices to try.

[BAlGaInTl 279]

Here's an article that talks about Stadia support coming in '21.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/30/21492682/new-chromecast-google-tv-stadia-support-launch

[ebr 15662]

I have one on order but it is a 3 week backlog right now.

[speechles 2010]

8 minutes ago, ebr said:

I have one on order but it is a 3 week backlog right now.

What color did you get?

sky, snow, or sunrise? 3 week backlog most certainly isn't for snow is it?

Edited October 1, 2020 by speechles

[ebr 15662]

31 minutes ago, speechles said:

3 week backlog most certainly isn't for snow is it?

Yes, snow.

Edit:  Well, that was direct from Google.  I just canceled that and ordered from Best Buy and it is supposed to be here tomorrow.

[arche 176]

2 hours ago, ebr said:

Anyone put our app on it yet?

I did last night. So far, works really well. I especially like that it is direct playing HD Live TV without me setting the option in the settings. I will be testing it today with some other files and such to see what I can find. Let me know if there's anything specific I should test for or any info.

Just an FYI for everyone, I got mine at my local Target store as they had a few. None at Home Depot or Walmart.

[jhoff80 93]

The main problem is the new homescreen no longer works the way the old one did.  So apps installed on the device can't generate a menu for the homescreen.  It's all just Google's recommendations based on services Google connects to.  Honestly, give me the Shield's homescreen that I can customize to be what I want it to be over Google trying to advertise content to me any day.

 

Edit:  Just to further my point.  The top pivot suggests 5 things.  3 of the apps I don't have / subscribe to.  "Top picks for you" at least seems to only show Netflix and Amazon which are the two services I use.  Then it shows a list of my apps.  And then "Trending on Google" shows me another 4 things and 2 of them I don't subscribe to.  If you scroll to movies, the top pivot has 2 services out of 3 that I don't have.  Popular movies shows 4 out of 5 services I don't have.  The shows tab has 2 of 3 I don't have access to.  Popular shows has 3 of 5 I don't have access to.  The apps tab is basically the play store, so except for one row of my apps, it's all advertising new stuff to me.  And library shows the 3 movies and 1 episode I got for free on the Play Store forever ago.

On the other hand with my Shield it has my favorite apps, then my Emby/Kodi content in one row, then Netflix in one row, then Amazon in one row, then MLB, then YouTube, then Spotify.  All stuff I actually have access to.  All stuff I actually want to see there on my homescreen.

Edited October 2, 2020 by jhoff80

[Sammy 786]

26 minutes ago, jhoff80 said:

The main problem is the new homescreen no longer works the way the old one did.  So apps installed on the device can't generate a menu for the homescreen.  It's all just Google's recommendations based on services Google connects to.  Honestly, give me the Shield's homescreen that I can customize to be what I want it to be over Google trying to advertise content to me any day.  

My MiBox s added this menu strip at the top but the rest is the same as the ShieldTV. I was looking at the screenshots and noticed that the app layout was different but I figured that what you looking for was added to the tabs/ribbon at the top but maybe I'm wrong. Hopefully the MiBox s and the rest of the non-ShieldTV AndroidTV devices don't get "upgraded" to GoogleTV only to lose functionality in favor of more spam.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Sammy

[jhoff80 93]

Nope, see my edit.  The new homescreen is all Google pushing content and nothing to do with your apps.  No Emby possible on the homescreen, for example.

[arche 176]

9 hours ago, jhoff80 said:

Nope, see my edit.  The new homescreen is all Google pushing content and nothing to do with your apps.  No Emby possible on the homescreen, for example.

I do agree that Google is pushing alot of there things on the homescreen, but I do have the apps on I want on the homescreen including Emby.

 

[arche 176]

Just for info, here is Live TV HD (MLB Channel) playback info and some other settings.

 

[BAlGaInTl 279]

11 hours ago, jhoff80 said:

The main problem is the new homescreen no longer works the way the old one did.  So apps installed on the device can't generate a menu for the homescreen.  It's all just Google's recommendations based on services Google connects to.  Honestly, give me the Shield's homescreen that I can customize to be what I want it to be over Google trying to advertise content to me any day.

 

Edit:  Just to further my point.  The top pivot suggests 5 things.  3 of the apps I don't have / subscribe to.  "Top picks for you" at least seems to only show Netflix and Amazon which are the two services I use.  Then it shows a list of my apps.  And then "Trending on Google" shows me another 4 things and 2 of them I don't subscribe to.  If you scroll to movies, the top pivot has 2 services out of 3 that I don't have.  Popular movies shows 4 out of 5 services I don't have.  The shows tab has 2 of 3 I don't have access to.  Popular shows has 3 of 5 I don't have access to.  The apps tab is basically the play store, so except for one row of my apps, it's all advertising new stuff to me.  And library shows the 3 movies and 1 episode I got for free on the Play Store forever ago.

On the other hand with my Shield it has my favorite apps, then my Emby/Kodi content in one row, then Netflix in one row, then Amazon in one row, then MLB, then YouTube, then Spotify.  All stuff I actually have access to.  All stuff I actually want to see there on my homescreen.

I'll agree, the Shield is by far the best device for streaming right now.

With that said, even at full retail, this device is 1/3 the cost.  I'm sure that it will be on sale in the next two months for $40, making it even more attractive. It could become my go-to streaming device that I recommend to OTHERS. 

[Sammy 786]

They'll probably do some discounts during Prime Days next week but not on Amazon..

[BAlGaInTl 279]

8 minutes ago, Sammy said:

They'll probably do some discounts during Prime Days next week but not on Amazon..

The sales may come that early, but I know there will be a good discount for Black Friday or whatever those sales look like this year.

[Sammy 786]

With all that add space on the top I'll probably pass, especially since it appears there all the other strips in the current implementation of AndroidTV are not there it seems. I don't think the ShieldTV will ever do this but I'm a bit concerned about my MiBox s' doing this. If that happens, I'll be looking to get ShieldTV's again. I replaced 6 ShieldTV's with MiBox s' last Spring and cleared about $800 on the change-over, selling my ShieldTV's on ebay and picking up Mi Box s' on ebay at the same time. MiBox did just add the ads on the top but nothing like this!

[jhoff80 93]

3 hours ago, arche said:

I do agree that Google is pushing alot of there things on the homescreen, but I do have the apps on I want on the homescreen including Emby.

 

Right, there's an app shortcut, but what I was referring to was showing the content inside your apps, like a regular Android TV device can do.  Such as below from the Emby blog post.

 

[jhoff80 93]

2 hours ago, BAlGaInTl said:

I'll agree, the Shield is by far the best device for streaming right now.

With that said, even at full retail, this device is 1/3 the cost.  I'm sure that it will be on sale in the next two months for $40, making it even more attractive. It could become my go-to streaming device that I recommend to OTHERS. 

True, but there's other devices just as cheap that currently have a standard Android TV launcher instead of this.  The Mi Stick, for example.

And this interface will be great for some.  Just as someone who primarily uses Emby and other content that Google hasn't partnered with for home screen support, the new UI doesn't work for me at all.

[troyhough 60]

4 hours ago, arche said:

Just for info, here is Live TV HD (MLB Channel) playback info and some other settings.

 

Are you using a HDHomerun?

[troyhough 60]

Will this Direct Play HEVC files? Appears MPEGTS works...