chromecast w/ google tv Chromecast w/ Google TV: the good, the annoying, and the WTF.

[Tannah]

Not sure exactly which form this belongs in.

 

I picked up a Google Chromecast with Google TV.

I previously used a Amazon Firestick HD on my personal TV (no cable). I have found the Chromecast w/ Google TV is an all around better experience to work with. I found it much more usable than the HD Firestick, to be honest the HD Firestick feels neutered in comparison. Its not that the HD Firestick is bad, far from it, but the Chromecast w/ Google TV so far is just that much nicer to work with. Especially with the the Apps only option that take away all the clutter and much of the superfluous advertising. I found my network attached storage, worked great for streaming content, something that I found hard to do with the HD Firestick.

 

Now as I'm sure some of you have read its possible to add a USB-C Hub with Power pass though to the Chromecast w/ Google TV, I picked up a Belkin USB-C Media Hub with 60w pass though power, It works great. The Chromecast w/ Google TV picks up storage devices formatted the Fat 32. You can also expand your storage and app storage by adding external storage devices. The Ethernet port on the hub also works great (so if you have bad WiFi there is a way around that). This hub also comes with a HDMI port which I did not test, it also comes with a SD card reader which I did not test but I expect to work the same as the USB Sticks. Now as to USB peripherals I've tried: the generic USB Keyboard and mice work, Webcams will work for video, the mic on the Webcam works for recording audio.

 

Now there are a few caveats and requirements to hooking up a USB-C Hub, You need a better external USB-C power Brick, the 15w one that comes with the Chromecast w/ Google TV will not work properly. I picked up a 45w power brick and it works. Now the more power hungry devices you hook to the USB-C Hub the stronger the powersupply needs to be.

 

The Bluetooth connectivity works pretty decently, but your mileage may vary some things may connect, but not function correctly. Bluetooth Keyboard and mice work great.

 

Now its not all sunshine and lollipops, there are issues. Many Bluetooth devices do not work properly. Some Soundbar's will not work currently. Google has curated its app list so you will find that you can not load a great many apps directly onto the Chromecast w/ Google TV. The Google Play store for downloading apps on the Chromecast w/ Google TV is straight up trash, I found its much easier to use the browser web-interface from a computer to load apps onto the Chromecast w/ Google TV. Side Loading is pretty easy, first off you have to get into dev mode, and flip on usb debugging. This is done the same as any android device I've used. To load the APK's I used X-plore File Manager to locate the APK files that I had downloaded with my PC, there are many different ways to do this. While Many programs work fine, google will not add them to the GUI menu if you install them, you have to go to the apps list in the settings, or install Sideload Launcher - Android TV to access them. Be aware some Apps just will not work.

Now another problem is the IR blaster in the Chromecast w/ Google TV is somewhat anemic, so you may find it does not work well.

 

 

Now one really Odd issue I found: You may have noticed I mentioned that the Webcam will work to send video, and that you can record audio with the Webcam. I've only tried 2 Webcams so this is not a exhaustive list. One was a Logitech C920s Pro HD, the other a (inexpensive) Angetube webcam. Both of these web Cams had the same results.

I side Loaded the latest Zoom onto the Chromecast w/ Google TV,  I found a bluetooth mouse and keyboard were necessary to use Zoom. Now the oddity I found was while the Video looks fine, the audio would only work for 2 seconds after connecting the to Zoom meeting then mute, with no way to unmute. But but I side loaded a stand alone audio recording app and it recorded audio fine. I have tried a few other communication apps with no change in the result.

So I'm at a loss, Video works, and Audio works, but not together?