Arrives on the market and displaces a bit? all for how it has changed and above all for how fast it is. Let’s talk about the new Google Chromecast with Google TV which already from the name actually makes us understand the main change in this new generation: the accessory becomes a real alternative to Amazon’s Fire TV Stick also seen the more or less similar price. In this case, therefore, it is no longer a simple and “ poor ” dongle from which to transmit all the images or videos from the smartphone or tablet to the TV.

Here we have a remote control , we always have a small device ready to be joined to the TV via HDMI and we also have the Google Assistant which will help us, as we will see, in the search for content among the various streaming services and beyond. Yes, because the new generation Chromecast allows the installation of Android apps just like with the Google TVs on the market.

Basically we are faced with a real set top box with Google TV in great shape since the interface changes and characterizes that which will be the fulcrum of this device. In this case we have a complete system that we did not have before and which above all allows a more complete interaction with the user. As mentioned there is a new design (even if he will hide behind the TV), three new colors and above all the possibility of reproducing the contents in 4K HDR but also with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos . Potential that for a simple dongle from 21 ?? they are not just and that will allow you to transform a simple TV maybe 4K but from a few years ago into an efficient complete smart TV.

UNBOXING and OFFER

Chromecast with Google TV is offered to the public at a price of 69. 99 ?? and arrives in Italy in three different colors: Ice White, Peach and Sky Blue. E ?? this is the first real difference with the past generation which instead had been made in black without any design prerogative. Here Google has decided to customize it, making it more aesthetically acceptable even if then the dongle in most cases will almost always be placed on the back of the TV.

In the sales box we find everything. We clearly find the Chromecast dongle and we also find the remote control that we will see is very well done especially in size and buttons. They are both placed a small canvas bag which is actually the first time we see for a Google product and beyond. In addition to this we find a fairly long cable with double USB-C output and the classic small wall power supply.

DESIGN: the remote control is super convenient

The aesthetic change of the new Chromecast with Google TV is even if it is not exaggerated. The device flattens even more but above all it finds in the curves a sense of a design that is certainly more graceful than the first generation created by Google. The dimensions in particular are minimum with a slightly circular form factor with a small flattened cable joined directly to the central body. Below the cable has an HDMI port for direct connection with the TV while in the opposite lower part there is a USC-B port for power supply. Flat side and with very minimal thickness where a status LED is present and a reset button in case of problems.

Another novelty of the new Chromecast with Google TV concerns the presence of the remote control which makes the dongle a real TV box. Small and completely in matching polycarbonate with the actual Chromecast. IS?? really well done with a large ring very slippery for the finger and with a central button that allows interactions with the TV. There are also big buttons below the bezel. The one to go back, the one to activate Google Assistant, the one to immediately return to the Home and the one to mute the ??audio. Finally there are other two buttons concerning YouTube and Netflix and which therefore allow you to immediately enter the application of the two streaming services. Finally, at the bottom, smaller, the button for turning the Chromecast on and off and the button for the output ports. There is also a volume rocker on the side of the remote control that allows you to raise or lower the volume during playback.

On a technical level Chromecast with Google TV has a AMLogic S processor 905 X3 which is nothing but a Quad-Core processor that is assisted by 2GB of RAM and with one 8GB internal storage that from the settings we see that we do not have completely available indeed actually without installing non-default apps we are faced with 2.4GB of space remaining. Not much if we are going to install Android apps. The RAM is absolutely sufficient for run the interface quickly and therefore everything that entails without lag, delays or other anomalous situations. Everything moves smoothly and quickly as well as the start of the streaming contents which are replicated as soon as you start.

CONFIGURATION and USE: fast with Google Home

Let’s start first from the configuration of the Chromecast with Google TV which changes compared to the first and past generation. Here Google has concentrated in the last period to direct, rightly, all its devices in the Google Home hub. And here is that once the dongle is powered, it all mentions the need, to activate Chromecast, to go to the Google Home application on the smartphone.

L The installation wizard interface is immediate, simple and intuitive. Once you have opened the application on your smartphone, you will have to scan the QR Code with the relevant verification code, then answer some questions such as scanning the Wi-Fi network, activating the remote control, the volume and the power button. At this point the Chromecast will install the default applications and will turn on once everything is completely done.

You will then find a new graphic interface which somehow resembles that of Amazon’s Fire TV. A panel that sorts all the contents of the various streaming applications and more, because it distinguishes the sections based on movies, TV series or other. At the top we find the bar with the various sections: Search, Home, App and Collection.

• Search for: allows users to search all types of multimedia content in the Chromecast with Google TV. Here are suggestions for activating voice search using ad hoc phrases. But there are also some banners that allow you to identify themed films such as romantics, thrillers or documentaries and more.

• Home: is the real home of the Chromecast. Here we find everything, from the applications we have decided to install, to the suggestions that Google machine learning will offer us for multimedia content between the various applications. Not only because we will also find more themed suggestions.
  
  Here the first sore point because just on the suggestions we find only movies and TV series concerning Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime and Disney +. No other service is offered in the suggestions and therefore we will not find Rai Play or even Infinity content. A shame because it is clear that such a comfortable incomplete function does not allow you to get the most from the Chromecast. It may take some time for Google to implement the other applications as well.

• App: is the section that allows you to group all the applications that are available to be installed or that are have already been installed. A kind of Android app drawer which also sees suggestions by type of app or other. Here we really find everything and the assortment is really complete with gaming apps that can be installed (if there is storage space left) and played without problems thanks to the connection via Bluetooth with any controller.
• Collection: is the last section of the Chromecast where all the content that has been purchased by the user. They can be easily selected and therefore also easily viewed.

In the Home therefore it is possible to find any type of multimedia content. In this case, among those suggested it is possible to easily see from the preview the streaming service in which the content is present (so if Netflix or other), the percentage of reliability with your tastes and above all whether the content is free or paid. In the event that the content is paid and therefore to be rented or purchased for viewing, a padlock will appear next to the streaming service and by entering the card the cost will be displayed and you can still proceed with the purchase.

Settings are well divided into sections and also very full of options. In this case the user can find:

• Network and Internet: where it will have all the information regarding the network and internet connection.
• Account and access: will contain all the data regarding the account with which the access was made and here it is also possible to add an additional account.
• Privacy: section dedicated to user privacy. There are here the various sections of the geolocation but also the use and diagnostics then the ads and the privacy regarding the Google assistant.
• Display and audio: is perhaps the most important section because it allows you to discover that the Chromecast allows advanced display settings with the ability to allow game mode and push content up to 4K in HDR with 60 Hz . Too bad the absence of Google Stadia which could somehow be a very winning weapon. At the audio level it is possible to manually choose the formats with Dolby Atmos in Dolby Digital Plus, AAC and also Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus.

• App: complete view of all applications installed with their weight and their permissions.
• System: all the information on the Chromecast system with accessibility, Date and Time but also the language, keyboard and memory. Here you can also choose what to replicate during the so-called Ambient Mode, that is, if during standby the Chromecast starts Google Photos with the playback of the uploaded photos, Art Gallery with images of works of art selected by Google or even Experimental with new ones contents.
• Remote controls and accessories: And here who knows that Google will not add access to Google Stadia in the future.

The operation of the Chromecast with Google TV is always very fluid in the steps between an application and the Home. We have never had a problem opening applications but we have not had problems with sudden delays or crashes of services either. The processor used obviously allows you to play 4K and HDR without problems, where for HDR it clearly means Dolby Vision and HDR 10. Streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are replicated in 4K Dolby Vision as well as Youtube which comes out in 4K HDR.

You can also use Google As sistant with voice control even if this, at least in this first phase, fails to understand us at 100% always and above all not manages to completely cover the results on all applications present. Normal given that such a machine learning job still requires an important programmatic effort. In fact it is possible to ask Google for everything , from time information to more with a response from the TV. Clearly the most interesting part concerns the requests for films or TV series. You can ask for the title of a movie, the reproduction of a TV series or even by genre such as an action movie or even be suggested by artificial intelligence.

It is also possible to download music applications and therefore with the voice it is also possible to ask to play music of all kinds. And then there is the Google Assistant ecosystem: the Chromecast allows you to set the temperature of a heating or cooling system with this type of support, or turn down or raise the lights of a room or create reminders. Google Assistant will respond to everything as the other devices of the Google Home ecosystem do.

CONCLUSIONS

The Chromecast with Google TV is all of this. It changes considerably from what we have seen up to now. It changes because there is now a remote control and because above all there is Google TV with its own precise graphic interface, in step with the times and capable of making itself useful and comfortable especially as an aggregator of apps and services. There is then the Google Assistant that allows you to have voice control of the commands and that