No 4k is rather surprising since that was the second most obvious upgrade (after wifi) and a given. The Audio is hugely overpriced considering the market it must address but ,honestly , even the Chromecast feels overpriced at 35$ now when little boards and sticks that are more capable are way cheaper.
Chromecast fills a few niches that many other streaming devices don't or cant. The ability to cast tabs, especially when streaming live video from the many sources that don't have a Roku/Apple TV app, is a daily use case in my house. That combined with the ability to stream local content effortlessly via Videostream has made me a believer.
Yes, you can airplay Safari tabs or install Plex on a Roku, but neither are as simple and quick as the Chromecast. It's a bargain for $35 and I just picked up one of the new ones as the previous version was the last vestige of 2.4ghz networking in my house.
I have an Apple TV, and AirPlay's compatibility with some live streams isn't great, especially when trying to fullscreen. Also it's support for local content streaming is the worst of the bunch. Also my Apple TV cost $99, the TWO Chromecasts I've purchased add up to $70.
I haven't tried the new Apple TV yet, but it doesn't seem to address those issues.
4K would have required a Tegra X1 and I don't think the Chromecast has the space, power or cooling for such an SoC. A shame really, because not only can the X1 decode 4K in hardware, it also supports hardware decoding of H.265 and VP9.
Some of the Qualcomm chips also support hardware decoding of 4K HEVC steams, actually... and not just in the 8xx series. The more-affordable 620 and 618 also are capable - and space, heat, and power won't be an issue when you're talking about a smartphone SoC. :P There are other options out there too.
Price was why they went with an el-cheapo SoC. If you want 4K you can get Amazon's Fire TV for $100. Oh, and Ryan? The Fire TV has had predictive pre-loading (they call it ASAP) long before Google. The voice search is a nice added bonus. Plus it's so easy even grandma could do it. Really if Roku wants to stay in the game their Roku 4 should be 4K HEVC capable and undercut Amazon by $20 or so.
Just to clarify, predictive buffering has indeed been available for about 1.5 years with the last-gen Fire TV, which is why I said they had it long before Google. As was voice search. But 4K UHD HEVC support is exclusive to the new 2015 model Fire TV which releases in a few days. So if you want a 4K steaming box to go with your new display, that's the one to get.
I think it's UNDERpriced given the capabilities. Being able to cast my android screen to it in less than 3 seconds or playing full HD Netflix or YouTube instantly is a huge win. I can even cast my laptop browser to it at 720P with no issues and my laptop is a POS Pentium Dual Core from 2009 with single band wireless. What is cheaper than this that has the capabilities this has?
I disagreed, though. Instead, I found it strange that they charge the same price for the Chromecast Audio -- I think Google should lower the price of it so that people would just buy a couple of them and hook it up to their speakers around the house. If it's under $20, I would immediately buy 3 of them, and I would never unplug them. If I don't unplug them, it doesn't matter if the Chromecast Audio has video out or not -- I wouldn't need it anyway.
This isn't meant for audio snobs... Who would probably say Google Play Music doesn't accurately reproduce the musical tones and flavor right and would never own this anyways
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23 Comments
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jjj - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
No 4k is rather surprising since that was the second most obvious upgrade (after wifi) and a given.The Audio is hugely overpriced considering the market it must address but ,honestly , even the Chromecast feels overpriced at 35$ now when little boards and sticks that are more capable are way cheaper.
Cygni - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
Chromecast fills a few niches that many other streaming devices don't or cant. The ability to cast tabs, especially when streaming live video from the many sources that don't have a Roku/Apple TV app, is a daily use case in my house. That combined with the ability to stream local content effortlessly via Videostream has made me a believer.Yes, you can airplay Safari tabs or install Plex on a Roku, but neither are as simple and quick as the Chromecast. It's a bargain for $35 and I just picked up one of the new ones as the previous version was the last vestige of 2.4ghz networking in my house.
WinterCharm - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
If you have an Apple TV any other set top box is useless thanks to AirPlay audio/video.Cygni - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
I have an Apple TV, and AirPlay's compatibility with some live streams isn't great, especially when trying to fullscreen. Also it's support for local content streaming is the worst of the bunch. Also my Apple TV cost $99, the TWO Chromecasts I've purchased add up to $70.I haven't tried the new Apple TV yet, but it doesn't seem to address those issues.
r3loaded - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
4K would have required a Tegra X1 and I don't think the Chromecast has the space, power or cooling for such an SoC. A shame really, because not only can the X1 decode 4K in hardware, it also supports hardware decoding of H.265 and VP9.Alexvrb - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Some of the Qualcomm chips also support hardware decoding of 4K HEVC steams, actually... and not just in the 8xx series. The more-affordable 620 and 618 also are capable - and space, heat, and power won't be an issue when you're talking about a smartphone SoC. :P There are other options out there too.Price was why they went with an el-cheapo SoC. If you want 4K you can get Amazon's Fire TV for $100. Oh, and Ryan? The Fire TV has had predictive pre-loading (they call it ASAP) long before Google. The voice search is a nice added bonus. Plus it's so easy even grandma could do it. Really if Roku wants to stay in the game their Roku 4 should be 4K HEVC capable and undercut Amazon by $20 or so.
Alexvrb - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Just to clarify, predictive buffering has indeed been available for about 1.5 years with the last-gen Fire TV, which is why I said they had it long before Google. As was voice search. But 4K UHD HEVC support is exclusive to the new 2015 model Fire TV which releases in a few days. So if you want a 4K steaming box to go with your new display, that's the one to get.quiksilvr - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
I think it's UNDERpriced given the capabilities. Being able to cast my android screen to it in less than 3 seconds or playing full HD Netflix or YouTube instantly is a huge win. I can even cast my laptop browser to it at 720P with no issues and my laptop is a POS Pentium Dual Core from 2009 with single band wireless. What is cheaper than this that has the capabilities this has?HideOut - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
hopefully router compatibility is better. Ive bought 3 and had 4 different routers. Never worked consistantly for me.cfenton - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
It seems strange that these are two separate products. Couldn't they just add a 3.5mm output to the regular Chromecast?nwrigley - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
Was thinking the same thing.pixelslave - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
I disagreed, though. Instead, I found it strange that they charge the same price for the Chromecast Audio -- I think Google should lower the price of it so that people would just buy a couple of them and hook it up to their speakers around the house. If it's under $20, I would immediately buy 3 of them, and I would never unplug them. If I don't unplug them, it doesn't matter if the Chromecast Audio has video out or not -- I wouldn't need it anyway.Nathan-NL - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Maybe it would be too big and/or expensive.aakash_sin - Tuesday, September 29, 2015 - link
+1Morawka - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
what about optical out? audio philes love that opticalm0sfett - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
What about it? Having optical out is the only reason I am even considering buying the Chromecast audio.SunLord - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
This isn't meant for audio snobs... Who would probably say Google Play Music doesn't accurately reproduce the musical tones and flavor right and would never own this anywayskae - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
It does have Optical and RCA out.Optical through Mini-TOSLINK and RCA through a 3.5 to RCA, so it works even for audiophiles.
Zoomer - Thursday, October 1, 2015 - link
Who are you kidding; RCA is not sufficient for many of these guys. Not to mention the source material.nandnandnand - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Looks like Beats by Google.jimjamjamie - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Yep, thought they were Beats headphones. Awkward. I wonder if Apple will get mad.extide - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Except they aren't even headphones.Morawka - Wednesday, September 30, 2015 - link
Asking for 4K video streaming device for $35 is ridiculous.. Get the Nvidia Shield TV if you want a good 4k player.