Items tagged with Chromecast
When people want to watch a movie or TV show, most don't care where the show comes from as long as they can easily find the content they want. A rumor is going around that claims a big update is coming for Android TV that will focus on making the actual "discovery" process for movies and shows easier for users, while deemphasizing the current app-based experience. Currently, Android TV has rows of content that are sourced from apps that are marked on the left side of the screen. To browse content in-depth requires the user to interact with those third-party apps. After the redesign, Android TV will be similar to what Amazon offers on its Fire TV platform. Google is reportedly in talks with major...
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It may be hard to believe, but it's been six year since Google first released its Chromecast streaming dongle. With the device plugged into a spare HDMI port on the back of your TV, you can easily "cast" content like movies and TV shows wirelessly from your smartphone. However, six years is a long time -- especially for a Google product -- and quite frankly, we're surprised that Google has supported the device for so long. But now that support is shifting to a new phase, with Google announcing that the first-generation Chromecast will no longer receive major updates. 9to5Google was the first to notice Google's "pullback" on the original Chromecast, as the latest stable firmware build...
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Google and Amazon have long feuded when it comes to their streaming offerings, which means that users beholden to each respective platform have needlessly suffered. As a result of the tech giant squabbling, Fire TV users have been without the YouTube app since late 2017, while the Prime Video app has been missing from the Google Chromecast. However, the two companies today officially announced a truce. Google's YouTube app will now be available on Fire TV streaming devices and Fire TV Edition Smart TVs. Likewise, Amazon's Prime Video app will be accessible on Android TV, Chromecast and devices that have integrated Chromecast capabilities. But it doesn't end there. It has also been revealed...
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Amazon has apparently changed its mind about allowing Google to hawk its Chromecast streaming dongles on its marketplace. For the first time in three years, shoppers can head to Amazon and buy a Chromecast or Chromecast Ultra from Google, instead of buying it directly from Google through its own online store, or through retailers like Best Buy, Target and Walmart. Heck, even Macy's sells Google's streaming dongles, which is probably not the first place people think to shop for electronics. In contrast, Amazon is a popular online shopping destination, for electronics and everything else—in fact, it's the most popular online shopping portal in the world. So, what was the issue, and why the...
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The streaming market is booming, and everyone and their dog wants in on the action. Apple has of course been involved in streaming for a while, thanks both to its iTunes store and also its standalone Apple TV device. But as rumor has it, the company is going to begin taking things much more seriously over the next year. It's not difficult to find a streaming device that does the job you need it to for a reasonable price. Google has Chromecast, and then there's of course Amazon's Fire TV and also Roku. The problem for Apple with those devices is that they're inexpensive, and with a starting price tag of $149 for its Apple TV, that requires some serious commitment from those who pick one up. Well,...
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Google just can't seem to keep a handle on all the leaks surrounding its upcoming October 9thhardware event. The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL have leaked so much that about the only thing that remains a mastery are the flagship Android Pie phones' price tags. Likewise, the third-generation Chromecast made an early appearance last week when a Best Buy employee sold the unreleased product to a customer (who of course posted about it online). Now, another retailer worker has leaked the next-generation Google Smart TV Kit. The bundle includes both a Google Home Mini and the third-generation Chromecast that we've already seen. Given that there is already a Smart TV Kit on sale as a Walmart-exclusive,...
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Best Buy isn’t exactly careful when it comes to putting out products or advertisements for new gear before it's time for an official release. Best Buy did this recently when it tossed up advertisements for new GoPro cameras well before the cameras launched. The electronics retailer has now done something similar with a fresh Chromecast device presumably set to launch next week at Google's event. A Redditor user named GroveStreetHomie went into a Best Buy store to pick up a Chromecast device for a new TV. However, the Redditor noticed that the device's packaging was different. Assuming it was a simple package update, the Chromecast was taken up front to buy. The problem came when...
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If you have any money left over from Steam's recent sales bonanza, you can head over to the Google Store and grab a variety of electronics at a discount. Google is having a summer sale of its own, which runs until next or while supplies last. During that time, you will find marked down prices on some of Google's most popular products. Do you need a new smartphone? Google is currently offering the Pixel 2 XL for $100 off its list price. The discount drops the price of the 128GB model to $849, and the 64GB model to $749. While nearly a year old at this point, the Pixel 2 XL still holds up well—it has a 6-inch QHD+ display powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM. It also...
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We've all been there, binging one of our favorite shows on Netflix and you have to sit through the show's intro over and over unless you hit that skip button. All you really want is to find the episode of The Walking Dead where you hope Carl gets his face eaten off by a walker (maybe that's just me) and you just want to skip the intro and speed the process up. Netflix added the ability to skip those intros last year, but if you were watching on a Chromecast device, throwing Netflix up to your TV, you were doomed to watch all of that intro, no matter way. Fortunately, that is now changing even with Chromecast, and all users will be getting the magical intro skip capability. The...
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The FCC is often a good place to get a glimpse of a new gadget before it gets official. This is exactly what has happened with an alleged new Google-branded device that looks like a beefed-up Chromecast that has landed on the FCC for testing. What we know of the device thanks to the FCC is that it runs Android TV and comes with a remote control. The manufacturer of the device is listed as Shenzhen SEI Robotics Co. Ltd. and the model number printed on the materials is SN5B6AD. We know the device will support 4K resolution thanks to the identifier the FCC uses "4K ATV Stick." The helpful Google Assistant is built into the device. The manual for the device calls out a quad-core Amlogic S905X SoC...
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As we've previously reported, Amazon takes a pretty lackadaisical approach to counterfeiting on its marketplace. Legitimate manufacturers that sell their products via Amazon are find that their creations are being reverse engineered and counterfeited by Chinese companies. To make matters worse, these Chinese companies are marketing these products as the original -- even though they are of inferior quality -- and undercutting the originators. It's a truly despicable business model that Amazon is seemingly complicit with. However, it isn't just small companies, like ElevationLab in the example above, that are being ripped off via cheap knockoffs on Amazon. Huge companies are also the victims of...
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Google apparently wants a nice share of the pie when it comes to the booming global gaming market according to a new report. The online giant is reportedly working on a game streaming service codenamed Yeti, which would be somewhat comparable to existing solutions like NVIDIA's GeForce Now or Sony's PlayStation Now. Google is already a dominant force in video streaming thanks to YouTube, so stepping into the game streaming fray could be a lucrative venture for the company. Yeti would require subscribers to pay a monthly fee for access to a broad library of games. But how will Google pull it off? According to The Information (paywall), one solution would be to use existing Chromecast hardware...
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Over the past few weeks, complaints have been pouring into Google's support communities and reddit concerning Google Home and Chromecast devices flooding home Wi-Fi networks with packets of data, causing their internet speeds to slow to crawl. Thankfully, Google has responded late this week with a fix to address these slowdowns. "In certain situations, a bug in the Cast software on Android phones may incorrectly send a large amount of network traffic which can slow down or temporarily impact Wi-Fi networks," wrote Google. "The specific impact to the network will vary depending on the router." As per our previous reporting, customers with ASUS, Linksys, Netgear, TP-Link, and Synology wireless...
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Technology is awesome when it works as intended, and maddeningly frustrating when it glitches. Unfortunately for some owners of Google's Chromecast dongles and Home smart speakers, they are experiencing the latter with unexpected Wi-Fi dropouts and router reboots. The issue affects several different router models and seems to be related to the way Google's devices cast content. The complaints have been piling up at Reddit. Those suffering from wonky wireless issues report the problem with Chromecast and Google Home devices on ASUS, Linksys, Netgear, TP-Link, and Synology routers. TP-Link acknowledge the issue, saying many users of its Archer C1200 have been experiencing issues with network connectivity,...
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It looks as though Amazon was the first company to blink with regards to its ongoing feud with Google. Back in 2015, Amazon removed devices like the Chromecast and the Google Nexus Player from its massive online marketplace. Amazon’s reasoning at the time was that the devices, which lacked support for Amazon Video, could confuse customers and lead them to possibly return the devices after the couldn't access Amazon's streaming media services. "Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime," Amazon said at the time. "It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion." Competing...
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Google is not about to let Amazon steal the spotlight with its upcoming Prime Day sales event. While Google is countering with a site wide sale of its own, the Mountain View company is offering a hefty discount on its Home smart speaker and Chromecast streaming gadget bundle. The two devices are being offered up through Google's eBay account for just a Benjamin ($100).That is a 39 percent savings over the cost of buying them individually, which would set you back $164. Free shipping is part of the promotion, too. According to the eBay listing, Google is offering up a "limited quantity" of its Home speaker and second generation Chromecast bundle, though it is not clear exactly how many it has...
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Mark October 4th on your calendars. Google will reportedly be hosting an event that focuses on hardware on that date. Announcements should include Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, a 4K Chromecast, Google Home, and a Daydream VR viewer device. Google’s next flagship phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL, have been referred to previously as Marlin and Sailfish. Pixel will be the name for Google's 5-inch Sailfish device and Pixel XL for its 5.5-inch Marlin handset. The larger of the phones is expected to boast a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a USB Type-C port, 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, and Android 7.0 Nougat. There is no word yet on whether Marlin...
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Streaming devices for HDTVs are a hot item these days, and the price of entry for many of the top-selling devices is extremely attractive for folks that want an easy to way to stream Netflix, Hulu or even Amazon Video content. Stepping into the streaming market can come as cheaply as $35 for the Google Chromecast, while similar devices like the Amazon Fire TV Stick and Roku Streaming Stick will run you just $5 and $15 more respectively. According to the latest analysis from IHS, it looks as though Google’s incredibly attractive pricing on the Chromecast has resulted in some pretty impressive sales numbers. IHS is reporting that Google shipped 3.2 million of the devices during...
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Google is making it easier for those using its Google Fiber TV service to turn any TV in your house into a Smart TV. The company announced today that those who own a Google Fiber TV box will soon be able to take advantage of Google Cast support. So no longer will customers need to purchase a separate Chromecast dongle to access popular apps like Netflix, HBO Now, Hulu, Sling TV, Disney Channel, Pandora, Spotify and of course Google Play (where you can access thousands of movies and TV shows). Best of all, you won’t even need to swap out your existing settop box to enable Google Cast; it will be pushed to your device via a software update “over the coming weeks.” “Casting is easy. Just...
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Struggling for ideas for stocking stuffers? With only 10 days until Christmas, it's understandable if you're feeling the stress of the holiday season, though Google's offering to do you a solid if you pick up a second generation Chromecast dongle. If you make your purchase by January 2, 2016, you'll receive a $20 Google Play credit.The second generation Chromecast dongle normally runs $35, though Google has it marked down to $30 for the moment. You can save another $5 if you buy a two-pack, which Google is selling for $55. However, the $20 Google Play credit is limited to "one offer redemption per Google Payment account."It's still a good deal, but like an infomercial, wait there's more! You...
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The gloves are about to come off in the streaming devices market, and it looks as though Amazon is bringing out its “Fire” branding by taking a blowtorch to Apple and Google. The online retail giant markets streaming devices like the Fire TV and the Fire TV stick, both of which serve as vehicles for its Prime Video streaming platform. The Apple TV and Google Chromecast don’t play nicely with Amazon Prime Video. While a somewhat neutered Prime Video app is available for iOS devices (Amazon doesn’t want to give Apple a cut of purchases, so only content that you have already purchased or content freely available to Prime subscribers is available via the app), there isn’t a Prime Video app available...
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There were few surprises today at Google’s hardware event. We saw the reveal of the Nexus 5X and 6P along with the Pixel C tablet — all of which have been leaked in the lead-up today’s announcement. The same goes for the next two devices that Google officially revealed today: the second generation Chromecast and Chromecast Audio. As we saw earlier this month, the new $35 Chromecast takes on a more rounded shape, which is available in black, yellow and red. We don’t quite understand the need to offer colorful options when it will be plugged in, out of sight, into the back of a TV. With that said, Google says that the new Chromecast should be easier to plug into a free HDMI port thanks to a long,...
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