I thought for years that the idea of spending the money on an AppleTV was not going to be worth it and used Chromecast for years. I was a dedicated Android user for something like 8 or 9 years. I made the switch to iPhone and the AppleTV along with it at one point when I rebuilt my entertainment center and love how it gets the fuck out of your way. Not to mention their UI has absolutely nothing going on. Just your app, a way to find your video, and playback controls.
This isn’t an ad for the AppleTV, but rather just pointing out that having a dedicated device with a simple remote not flooded with 17 layers of UI and ads makes for a great user experience. Google just doesn’t seem to get this and I’d probably still be a dedicated user if they got their act together. Too late now.
Not sure how you had your Chromecast set up but I have the 4K version on one TV and the Nvidia Shield on another. The apps I want are favorited and sit right in the center of the screen. I turn it on with my remote and select the app to launch it. I'm not sure it could be any simpler.
You're describing the Chromecast with Google TV. The vanilla Chromecast dongle has no app support; all you can do is cast your media from your phone and hope it works out.
It was novel when it came out, but they stopped making any serious improvements years ago, to the point now where YouTube casting is hot garbage that drives you insane if you want to view more than a couple videos in a row. I have constant problems with all of my cast devices with maintaining connection to the dongle, with media playback, you name it.
That because Google gives you a tease of their New technology and then lock it behind proprietary Software and Hardware for it actually to function.
I got my Chromecast like 10 years ago and have the same issue with YouTube casting. Netflix is also pretty terrible and only connects 50% of the time, but once it's connected it's good. It wouldn't be so bad if it just let me cast my whole screen and not open some dumb app like with every other website.
The dumb thing is I can watch shows in HD issue free from a free streaming site on my pc but the second I cast it my internet goes to shit and I have to leave it on 720 or it buffers endlessly. I should just switch to the HDMI cable route but I don't want a cord hanging across the floor, too many dogs.
One of the biggest differences for me was that all the apps under the AppleTV are built on the same SDK. There are just a couple services out there that don’t use it, and they stand out like a sore thumb. I found Android space to be way more disjointed overall.
I found Amazon just won't stream full quality on Linux browsers for some reason, I forget why exactly but it's very annoying.
Because of Widevine, i.e. Google DRM. The DRM "Level" determines the quality a device can stream, Linux desktops can only stream 720p content, for the most part.
I feel completely opposite. I love chromecast and was so disappointed to find that they shifted to the Google TV crap and added a remote like the Fire stick, Roku, etc. IMO those remotes and the accompanying interfaces are what get in the way. Having one remote (ie my phone) feels great to me. I have a number of casting sources around the house and it's great.
That said, AppleTV as mentioned elsewhere is a really nice responsive interface.
I love my Apple TV and have had no desire to use a different streaming box for as long as I’ve had one. It works best when you’re neck deep in the Apple ecosystem, of course, but even if you’re not it’s still very capable and easy to use.
Casting is buggy, I pay for youtube premium on my phone but still get ads when casting to my tv
Nono, that's a feature. They still make money off those ads while you're paying not to see them.
God I want to do that but for some reason Prime Video on my laptop is locked to like 480p on "highest quality" but when I cast to my TV on my phone it's full HD. Like what gives??
Do they hate that I'm on Linux using Firefox or something?? I tried Chrome and had the same issue.
Tried searching for the answer but all the Reddit posts say "it's just your slow ass Internet"!! Nah man I'm on fibre.
(Edit: though I do use my HDMI for videos I have on my hard drive ofc, but sometimes I don't want to bother looking for alternative sources....)
It's a Linux thing. I have the same problem and when I looked it up I believe I found Amazon just won't stream full quality on Linux browsers for some reason, I forget why exactly but it's very annoying.
Edit: Found this which says if not on Windows or Mac it restricts you to standard definition. Amazon.com
sometimes I don't want to bother looking for alternative sources....
Tho yes, that does push me to do it more often.
Oh, yeah, I should have said that; these are for rips, not for streaming. I loathe streaming with a passion, hence I rip everything.
Yeah me either and when I do it seems it's more the app that's casting that's having an issue
Mine works. Don't know what you're bitching about. Get a friggin' Pixel phone, wanker.
