[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Google Chromecast worth it? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 10/5/2014 6:35:53 PM EDT
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We currently pay for Netflix and hulu and have an HD antenna.
Wife wants to be able to stream on the big screen in the living room. Thoughts? Rulez: 
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Isn't it like $35... I got mine as a stocking stuffer for Christmas.
It's pretty awesome, I don't use it nearly as much as I should. To be honest I forget I have it 
It makes Netflix much more enjoyable and allows me to surf my laptop while casting to the TV. Win. Win. |
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No worries in the living room Quoted:
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if your home theater includes an amp, I don't believe the audio will work. No worries in the living room I've got my Chromecast plugged directly into one of the HDMI ports on the receiver, so I get audio and video. -We always use the amp/tv, and Chromecast auto-switches the input on the receiver when we start to cast. |
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. So chrome cast is controlled via a computer and what you have on the screen is what appears on the TV? |
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So chrome cast is controlled via a computer and what you have on the screen is what appears on the TV? Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. So chrome cast is controlled via a computer and what you have on the screen is what appears on the TV? I use mine with my S4. Very easy. YouTube is literally one button and it changes your TV input and plays what you tell it to. |
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) |
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So chrome cast is controlled via a computer and what you have on the screen is what appears on the TV? Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. So chrome cast is controlled via a computer and what you have on the screen is what appears on the TV? Yes. |
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Yes. Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. So chrome cast is controlled via a computer and what you have on the screen is what appears on the TV? Yes. and just to confirm, all I need from my TV is a spare HDMI port? |
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I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) The Roku HDMI stick retails for like $49.99 |
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The Roku HDMI stick retails for like $49.99 Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) The Roku HDMI stick retails for like $49.99 well hmmm, so gimme the rundown on on the Roku. Plug it in and the little remote does it all? |
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well hmmm, so gimme the rundown on on the Roku. Plug it in and the little remote does it all? Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) The Roku HDMI stick retails for like $49.99 well hmmm, so gimme the rundown on on the Roku. Plug it in and the little remote does it all? Yep. There is a micro-usb power adapter that you can plug into the supplied wall wart. I have mine plugged into the USB port on the back of my tele. I have 30 channels or "apps". Some tie into your cable tv subscription, others do not. I subscribe to Netflix and it works well. The other thing I use a lot is the YouTube app, as I follow several vlogs. There is a bunch of free content on there too. Just gotta figure out what you want to watch. 
Oh, and yes, everything is run by the remote. No computer required, although I do use my wifi to access content. eta: I was having issues with my POS consumer grade router last week and ran Roku off my smart phone wifi hotspot. |
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One really nice thing with the Chromecast is screen mirroring of an Android device. This lets you full-screen and stream any mobile video that might not support a dedicated stream program.
This is also great for quickly swiping through pics and videos that are on your phone\tablet vs using a cloud service to get them on the big screen. |
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Quoted: I haven't gotten to play with it yet, but my mom just got a Fire TV and loves it for Netflicks. It has voice recognition for easy navigation that she said was pretty responsive/accurate. It is about 3x the price tho... No thanks.
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i just got one free with a tv.
so far to be honest i am not very impressed. streaming perfomance isn't that great. picture quality is good but you are VERY limited to what you can stream. net flix works but sevrel other popular service don't. i have had zero luck getting my iphone to work at all and none of my tablets work as it requires 4.1.4 android. i have had better luck just connecting my tv to my display port on my laptop. i also found out it's not recommended to power it via USB from the tv due to it needing a higher amperage so you will need to use the ac USB adapter |
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I use mine when we stay in motels. i think it was worth the $35 That's why I bought mine, but it doesn't actually work in hotels unless you pack a router with you. Most hotels block the protocols it uses to communicate via wifi with your streaming device and the hotels router. Pretty useless, and since I had my roku anyway I just set up my router and used it instead. |
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That's why I bought mine, but it doesn't actually work in hotels unless you pack a router with you. Most hotels block the protocols it uses to communicate via wifi with your streqming device and the hotels router. Pretty useless, and since I had my roku anyway I just set up my router and used it instead. Quoted:
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I use mine when we stay in motels. i think it was worth the $35 That's why I bought mine, but it doesn't actually work in hotels unless you pack a router with you. Most hotels block the protocols it uses to communicate via wifi with your streqming device and the hotels router. Pretty useless, and since I had my roku anyway I just set up my router and used it instead. My phone is rooted so I use it for the internet and cast from my wife's phone |
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well hmmm, so gimme the rundown on on the Roku. Plug it in and the little remote does it all? Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) The Roku HDMI stick retails for like $49.99 well hmmm, so gimme the rundown on on the Roku. Plug it in and the little remote does it all? Get the Roku. More versatile. IF you have Amazon prime, hulu, Netflix. Chromecast just doesn't have any benefit over Roku. |
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So, a box in your house that is plugged into the internet and can understand what is being said? No thanks. Quoted:
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I haven't gotten to play with it yet, but my mom just got a Fire TV and loves it for Netflicks. It has voice recognition for easy navigation that she said was pretty responsive/accurate. It is about 3x the price tho... No thanks. What could possibly go wrong? 
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Get the Roku. More versatile. IF you have Amazon prime, hulu, Netflix. Chromecast just doesn't have any benefit over Roku. Quoted:
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I bought one. Used it only a few times. A Roku is more convenient as you can control it with a hand held remote. Chromecast needs a computer/tablet etc. to use as a controller. I think that is the tipping point. If you are cool with using your computer to screencast to the television, you can get by for $35. Next step up is the dedicated Roku 3, $99. (You can still get the 1 and 2, but the 3 is so much faster, it is very fluid.) I own one and have no regrets about the convenience. Great interface for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. (ETA: And Pandora. Can't forget Pandora.) The Roku HDMI stick retails for like $49.99 well hmmm, so gimme the rundown on on the Roku. Plug it in and the little remote does it all? Get the Roku. More versatile. IF you have Amazon prime, hulu, Netflix. Chromecast just doesn't have any benefit over Roku. Roku will "cast" youtube feeds from your tablet/phone just like chromecast does, with Plex you can stream media to it from nearly any device. |
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Quoted: if your home theater includes an amp, I don't believe the audio will work. |
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Mk808b
Android mini TV box is far superior to Google Chromecast or Roku. The newest RK3288 chips wipe the floor with any TV box out there for under $130. With the mk808 you can also use it as a console emulator. (psx, n64, snes, dreamcast, sega genesis) |
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Quoted: i just got one free with a tv. so far to be honest i am not very impressed. streaming perfomance isn't that great. picture quality is good but you are VERY limited to what you can stream. net flix works but sevrel other popular service don't. i have had zero luck getting my iphone to work at all and none of my tablets work as it requires 4.1.4 android. i have had better luck just connecting my tv to my display port on my laptop. i also found out it's not recommended to power it via USB from the tv due to it needing a higher amperage so you will need to use the ac USB adapter You would enjoy Apple TV. Airplay from tablet or iPhone. I love mine. Much better than my roku. |
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I stream all the time from plex, youtube, and netflix on my Chromecasts. Very happy with that. This Roku stick, is that the same plus amazon prime? That would be worth the upgrade. Yes, plus it has a remote and a shitload of channels exclusive to roku. |
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I've looked at it, but it doesn't seem to do a whole lot that my PS3 doesn't already do, one way or another. And I've also got my laptop already hooked up via HDMI to the TV most of the time.
But it is only $35; that's way cheaper than most of the competitors. I've never thought that any of them have any real advantages UNLESS you're entirely bought into a specific Brand. |