- Yeah, we're making a video about our Chromecast,
but we have a good reason.
This isn't just a Chromecast,
not anymore.
It's got a remote.
Okay, sure yeah, it's still plays content
that is casted from your device
and I'm pretty sure it's chrome-plated,
but it also supports 4K, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
It can stream games locally and from the cloud,
it can read external storage and use ethernet
and it can even make video calls.
Wait, that's just an Nvidia Shield.
How much is this thing?
- [Riley] 50 bucks.
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Since the first one launched for 35 bucks in 2013,
Chromecasts have been an inexpensive way to throw content
from your phone or your Chrome browser up on the big screen.
And the low price made sense
because it was essentially a wireless display adaptor
more than it was a home entertainment device.
Updates over the years enabled casting
and a plethora of Android apps and added support
for features like 4K resolution and 60 FPS.
But the Chrome cast itself has remained an enigmatic
inaccessible dongle.
Like what mysteries lie beneath our plastic shell?
Well, we don't have to wonder anymore,
because the Chromecast with Google TV
still does all of that stuff
but also has an actual user interface called Google TV.
And here's the awesome thing.
It is not the same Google TV
that Google killed back in 2014.
Thank goodness.
Google TV is just a skin on top of Android TV.
Sort of like the custom Android folks
the companies like Samsung pre-install on their phones.
Google TV is also an Android app
which will eventually replace Google Play Movies
and Play TV.
But it also seems like Google TV
will eventually just be what everyone calls Android TV.
You know, the whole thing is getting pretty convoluted.
The point is, this thing runs Android TV
and is therefore capable of some of those awesome things
we mentioned before because of the Android app ecosystem.
Of course, this is all nothing new.
There are a ton of Android TV boxes out there.
It's just that most of them
come with significant compromises.
Amazon's fire devices are inexpensive
but they don't natively support casting or dongles.
And you're stuck with Alexa
and Amazon's Fire OS version of Android.
There are tons of Chinese made Android boxes
that look amazing,
but ended up having junky software
and well, good luck sorting out any returns or repairs.
There's the two Nvidia Shield TV models
which are freaking amazing with their AI upscaling
and low latency game streaming but (laughs sarcastically)
they start at $150 US.
And Hey, what's this?
Ah, yes, the TiVo Stream 4K,
which is basically the same device as the Chromecast
with Google TV, but with an older processor
uglier remote and a worse interface.
Now the experience is very similar
to alternatives from Apple, Amazon, and Roku.
It presents movies and TV shows
from across all your streaming services
allowing you to browse content by type
and jump right into the app where you can watch it.
You can search by voice with Google assistant
through the remote, add to your watch list for later viewing
and like titles to teach Google's algorithm
about your preference.
Look, I already told you if Gadarenes isn't it
I don't want to say it.
And of course you can also directly open streaming apps
to use their interfaces or fire up any other apps
that you might have sideloaded.
Playing Halo on this thing, is just,
well, let's not get carried away yet.
The dongle uses this the same floppy pebble design
as its direct predecessors,
but now it looks as slick as you will,
with a new shirt ilttstore.com.
It comes in three colors
and feels real nice in the hand,
which doesn't matter.
But hey, when you imagine it back there
you'll be like, nice.
There's the HDMI output just like before
but the micro USB port has finally been upgraded
to USB-C and this one isn't just for charging.
That's right, you can plug anything in there,
like the official $20 Chromecast ethernet adapter,
or even a random generic USB C dongle with ethernet,
SD card slot, and extra USB ports.
Whoo!
Just make sure that you choose a dongle
that has another USB C port on it to pass through power
and that you use a greater than seven and a half watt
power adapter since that adapter now has to power anything
connected to the hub, as well as the Chromecast.
With the hub, you can do things like play video files
directly off of external storage devices
with a file manager app,
you can connect USB peripherals like mice,
keyboards, and controllers
if you don't have wireless ones on hand,
you can plug in a webcam for big screen video calls,
although apps other than Google Duo
seem to require some tinkering.
And you can take advantage of a wired internet connection.
Although I should point out that our speed test results
going from wireless to ethernet
were weird to say the least.
We doubled our upload speed
but then decreased our download speed.
I guess such inconsistencies aren't that surprising
given the Amlogic S905D3 processor
and its four pinner ARM Cortex-A55 course.
And fortunately it didn't affect our ability to stream
even high bit rate Blu-ray rips from Plex.
But though I do wonder if there's some work
that could be done to smooth that out.
Now it's time to get into why we wanted to take a look
at this thing in the first place.
It's a good casting and Android TV stick
but who didn't see that coming?
What I wanted to know was for just $50,
how does it measure up to something like the Nvidia Shield?
Can the Chrome cast with Google TV game?
The answer is yes.
Like don't get me wrong,
3D Android games aren't gonna run the smoothest,
assuming you can even clear enough space to install them
on the Chromecasts four gigs of usable storage,
but they do run.
And as for game streaming,
well, you can do it both in-home and from the cloud.
Android TV optimized versions of apps
like Steam Link, Moonlight, and even GeForce Now
are directly available from the Play Store.
And performances, well,
it's as good as your network connection.
Here at the office, we experienced virtually no lags
streaming games from a local PC, even on Wi-Fi
and just a little bit more playing cloud games
via GeForce Now.
But that's because our networking set up here
is balls to the wall.
At home however, Riley noticed significant lags
streaming both from his gaming PC
and from the cloud.
And strangely, ,both over Wi-Fi and a wired connection.
Now, maybe it's not that strange.
We did note in his tech upgrade video
that his home router's pretty awful.
Riley, really though, your home router is awful.
You gotta upgrade that.
- [Riley] I know.
- Who uses the one from their ISP?
- [Riley] Now I know.
- If you do have decent internet,
you could even try out some cloud gaming apps
that you're not supposed to.
Android TV doesn't have support for xCloud or Stadia yet
but you can sideload them and play games just fine.
If by just fine, you mean with significant lag,
because gaming on these apps
wasn't great even here in the office
and I can see why they're not officially available yet.
Interestingly though, there was significantly less lag
in all of those games streaming apps on the Shield TV Pro
which Riley also took home for comparison.
So there you have it.
If you want a super optimized game streaming experience,
the Shield TV might actually be worth the extra $100.
For anyone else though,
this is basically the only streaming sticky, floppy, doodle
that matters.
Unless of course, you're one of the dozens of you
who are paying Stadia members,
in which case, support is coming next year.
So I expect between now and then Google will either A:
Do some optimization magic to make the experience real nice
on the Chromecast with Google TV,
or B: Just straight up cancel Stadia
like they do with everything.
It's basically inevitable. (snaps fingers)
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If you guys enjoyed this video,
maybe check out our full review of the Nvidia Shield TV.
It really is fantastic,
if you've got an extra 100 to $250 to spend.