this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2024
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Why is this being framed this way.
Rebranding the next gen of your product isn't "killing" it, people are so fucking clickbaitable.
It's the same product, just next gen with better specs abd they're going with a new simpler brand name than "Chromecast with Google TV" (yes that's the actual product name before) and instead the next gen is named "Google TV Streamer"
It's the exact same thing, and all existing hardware will keep working.
Chromecasts are standalone and effectively just running a modified version of Android. They can't really be "killed" as they work over local network. Theoretically any chromecast will last forever as it's functionality is based off a specified open source protocol, so as long as you have a device that can output it (cast), you can cast to your chromecast.
So it's impossible to "kill". I have a gen 1 chromecast that still 100% works fine today.
Newer ~~Chromecasts~~ ahem Google TVs just have more features, like apps you can install and sideload.
People are dumb for falling for this clickbait title.
I get what you’re saying, but these new ones are twice the price of the 4K Chromecast. It sucks that they’re killing the $30 HD Chromecast as well, its great for my spare TV. I wouldn’t want to pay 3x that price for essentially the same functionality if I need to replace it.
I know there’s other Android TV boxes that are comparable, but Google’s offering was an easy go-to.
I wrote it up elsewhere, but I don't mind the price point.
The built in ethernet port covers a lot of that.
A solid quality ethernet dongle is gonna be $25, so now that's $75 for the 4k CCwGTV + ethernet.
So you're paying $25 extra for the better form factor (2 chained dongles look so bad), the extra ram, better processor, etc
For some folks that might not matter, but I use Steam Link on my CCwGTV and those specs will likely make a tangible boost in gaming performance for quality, frame rate, latency, input lag, etc.
So in my demographic of people gaming with em, I 100% expect it'll be a popular upgrade.
The ethernet part is pretty big, overall. Don't overbook that.
I’m not denying that these features are a welcome addition, I’m just lamenting the loss of the cheaper version for use-cases where those features arent really needed.
I pretty much just watch Youtube on my bedroom TV, and I got one for my mom so she can watch Netflix on her 10 year old 720p 32”. I don’t want to pay $100 for that.
I might get the new one for Steam Link in the living room though, that does sound sick.
There are 2 CCwGTV models, only 1 of then is being discontinued.
The other one sounds like it'll keep being sold.
But also you can always just buy a chromecast, just cuz they aren't being actively produced doesn't mean you can't find em online
There are so many cheaper better options that Google can't really compete in that space. Onn set top box is half the cost and so is the fire stick. It's one of those things where people aren't gonna go with the cheap Google product when they can get a better cheap product elsewhere there's dozens of random Chinese companies also making the little streaming sticks and as more streaming companies upgrade their services these smaller offerings are gonna be less likely to sell because they don't do 4K well, don't do 8K and don't offer the functionality of larger boxes. I'm thinking really hard about swapping out my shield TV for one of these.
There're so many other products that come with Chromecast built in too. Receivers for home entertainment systems, tvs, sound bars. Even if the smaller streaming sticks weren't ubiquitous it's hard to tell someone to buy one that's gonna take up a dedicated HDMI port when they can buy a TV with it already built in. And for the rest of us there's stuff like this.
I'm not saying that the Chromecast doesn't have its place. I'm saying I didn't think we'd even get this kind of refresh of the product this go round. People only upgrade when what they have stops working and I feel like a lot of the market already has a tiny streaming stick.
Ok, but my gen 1 Chromecast stopped working years ago, and it was sluggish, unreliable to cast to and virtually unusable long before that. My Chromecast Ultra has steadily declined in usability too, the whole Chromecast UX has fallen off a cliff the past few years. It used to be fucking magic and just worked with everything. Now my Chromecast with Google TV only really works satisfactorily when I bother to update smarttube and pair it with the code.
The whole platform is trash these days compared to the original gen 1 experience. I went from living in the future, only using my phone to watch TV 10 years ago, to slowly migrating back to a fucking remote control like it's 1980 again. Say what you want, but the promise that gen 1 Chromecast delivered on has been dead and buried for a while now.
I'll just have to respectfully disagree in experience.
I have multiple gens of chromecasts and haven't seen any degradation in performance. They work pretty much the same.
I have no idea wtf is going on with your units.
My 1st & 2nd gen Chromecasts are working just as good as was the day we bought them and the UX is exactly the same - what was it about the UX that went down hill?
I hate the remote control. OG Chromecast you just used your phone or computer to control everything. You could turn volume up or down which doesn't fucking work on the new gen w/o the remote bc it relies on actually changing the volume setting on the TV itself whereas the old one just lowered the volume being transmitted from the device to the TV. The whole platform has been enshitified. There was no way to cram ads into the old Chromecast so they decided to make it be a shitty smart TV type dongle that you need to log into every app on to make functionality even work where before the login was just on your phone. Now if a guest is over, they can't even cast because they are signed in on a different account. Everything is worse on the new Chromecast, but hey, my boomer mom loves having a remote now.
I don’t think anyone is saying that chromecast as a “functionality” is being killed. It’s not the same product, the new one is a set top box compared to the current dongle, with better specs and 3 times the price. People would buy multiple chromecast dongles to have it all around their house or to carry it when traveling. Now, many will not do it with this set top box.
They kept the same name and functionality but definitely “killed” the old product - chromecast dongle which everyone knows as chromecast.
Thank you!! I read the first article about it and was worried Google killed support for the cast protocol. But it's literally a rebrand for a new product. Yes, they are discontinuing the 4k basic Chromecast but I guess it didn't sell enough? I don't expect any company to indefinitely offer a product because I seem to like it personally.
Not that I want to particularly defend Google, they do have track record of killing useful products. But this is not that.
I think that upgrading it with just 22% faster processor is kind of killing it.
The current CCWGTV performance sucks.