Over the last few years we have been acquiring items at home to “smarten” things up – from Google’s Home Minis (now rebranded as Nest Mini) to smart bulbs and power outlets.
Yesterday our worn out delivery guy dropped off the newest item – the new Chromecast with Google TV (in Sky – i.e. it’s blue). After the usual round of getting it setup – it is never quite as simple as Google suggest – we spent some time checking it out.
So why would I be interested in a Chromecast with Google TV you ask? Well, it’s new – isn’t that reason enough? The main reason I had was that it has the functionality to consolidate your current streaming services into a single search and single watchlist.
Here we go….
The interface is a huge improvement over the current Android TV, it looks clean and modern with a touch of the Netflix look. Apart from the look and feel of the interface, the addition of a remote with voice control with Google Assistant, and organising the content from (almost) all of your streaming services are 2 great features.
Voice control search for movies or TV shows (across your subscribed services) works really well with a listing of the services where you can watch for free, or rent or buy. You can also use the voice control search for “everyday” stuff – weather, news and so on – and you don’t need to say “Hey Google” – which in our case would wake up one of the several Home (Nest) Minis – you just hold down the Google Assistant button on the remote and make your request.
I will have more to say about the Chromecast with Google TV (or the GTV as it is known in our house) once we have spent some more time with it; however, so far, so good!
If you have a new Chromecast with Google TV, let us know what you think about it in the Comments section.
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Until next time,
Andrew (and Gillian)