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Amazon removing the Chromecast from their store was, if anything, verification at the Fire TV was not a product that could succeed on its own. I love my Chrome

• dazc 9y ago
  Well, for me at least, amazon's copycat worked first time out of the box. Chromecast, alas, turned out to be an expensive plastic brick.
  • ct0 9y ago
    thank goodness that samsung TV's can play from both sources
    • jimnotgym 9y ago
      Until one of them falls out with Samsung, presumably?
      • ct0 9y ago
        pretty much, but since samsung doesnt enter the space of these competitors, it would be silly to have a falling out. Samsung doesnt offer too many competing products with amzn /goog
  • organsnyder 9y ago
    What issues did you encounter? And how can you call a $35 device "expensive"?
    • mcintyre1994 9y ago
      My brother took his to uni and couldn't log into the Wifi - I assume he has to enter uni credentials for it and the Chromecast doesn't support that Wifi authentication model.
      • clintonb 9y ago
        Authentication is one issue. The biggest is the fact that UPnP is disabled on many university networks. Chromecast relies on UPnP for device discovery.
      • mooman219 9y ago
        For setup, it need to be on the same subnet as the device you're using to register it. Most university networks are split into many subnets making this extremely difficult to do, and use after registration. The best workaround is using a router as a middle man for the phone and chromecast, but it's a pain. I have a chromecast, but gave up on making it work in university.
      • joshuamorton 9y ago
        As a partial aside, I'm going to gloat about how incredible my alma mater's networking infrastructure and usability is. Tell me how long it takes you to find explicit instructions on connecting a chromecast from this site[1]. I think most schools are just incredibly bad at managing their network infrastructure, and its really sad. [1]: http://www.wrecktechs.gatech.edu/ http://www.wrecktechs.gatech.edu/
      • ams6110 9y ago
        He probably needs to register the mac address with the university dhcp service so that it can get a routable IP address. University networks used to be pretty wide open but the days where you could just plug into any available Ethernet socket or hop on the wifi anonymously are gone.
        • Grazester 9y ago
          We may have a winner here. Universities tend to use this network access control services that block random mac's from connecting.
          • jimmaswell 9y ago
            For mine the Wifi was always gated but ethernet ports were open.
    • Arainach 9y ago
      $35 for something that does nothing (a brick) is expensive. I'm not in the habit of throwing away that much money, and there are many other things I could use it on. Interpreted more literally, $35 is quite expensive for both an actual brick: https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-2-1-4-in-x-4-in-Clay-Brick-RED0126MCO/100323015 https://www.homedepot.com/p/8-in-x-2-1-4-in-x-4-in-Clay-Bric... And a plastic brick: https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-Duplo-Building/dp/B01IO152AO/ https://www.amazon.com/LEGO-DUPLO-Creative-Duplo-Building/dp...
    • dazc 9y ago
      I plugged it in and followed the simple set-up instructions. The process was interrupted because my device required an update. No surprises there but the update process descended into a continuous loop farce that didn't look like it was ever going to end. So I put everything back in its box with the intention to try again at some point in future; 2 years later it is still there. The price was not so high that it warranted an instant return; I intended to have another go when I had more time - just never got around to it. So yeah, it was expensive in this respect. Maybe I should have persisted but I value my time and don't see why I should waste it on small issues like this. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chromecast+udate+problem https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chromecast+udate+problem I noticed amazon offered a better option actually with a LAN connection instead of wi-fi so I opted for this knowing that sending it straight back wouldn't be a problem, if it came to it. I bought the Chromecast from another UK retailer where a refund would involve a lot more effort..
  • nolok 9y ago
    No offense but I bought a lot of chromecast and even my most tech inept family users have "moved to the tech age" with it and never bother me to get it working. I'm sure amazon thingy works just as well, but your trouble with it are more anecdotal than the rules.
    • dazc 9y ago
      '...but your trouble with it are more anecdotal than the rules.' Hence why I said 'for me at least'.
• syshum 9y ago
  If they would give me an actual controller for the chromecast I might consider it I have no desire to control my TV with my phone. I may look into Roku as an alternative to FireTV now though,
  • rubyfan 9y ago
    I love the Roku. It’s a competitor to the AppleTV in our house. Great device.
  • clintonb 9y ago
    I am happy with my Roku Streaming Stick. I have access to every major media provider except Apple and Spotify (who neutered their app earlier this year). My biggest complaint (which isn't applicable to most users) is the limited SDK. I imagine this is why many of the basic video apps look alike.
  • Crespyl 9y ago
    I'll third the praise for Roku. The only annoyance is that they put ads on the homescreen, (but that can be blocked at the network level), and that different apps tend to have slightly different/inconsistent UXs, for example pressing "up" while watching Netflix will show you the timeline without pausing, but doing the same in HBO Now will take you back out to the show info page. The dedicated remotes are nice, though sometimes oddly slow to "wake up". Some models even have headphone jacks on the remote, which can be really handy. All the versions can be controlled through a really nice Android app, which lets you directly enter text rather than pecking around in a grid keyboard, and also lets you forward audio to your phone/headset instead of the speakers or remote.
    • pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      Roku, seemingly, accessed my device and disabled side-loading. An unlawful access (unauthorised access, unauthorised modification, both crimes under the Computer Misuse Act in UK). Put me off an otherwise stellar experience.
• hammock 9y ago
  >Amazon removing the Chromecast from their store was, if anything, verification at the Fire TV was not a product that could succeed on its own. Did anyone ever think otherwise? Content is king. Fire stick is just a raspberry pi with half-ass UI built in
  • threatofrain 9y ago
    But shouldn't Amazon have a content advantage? A metaphorical Raspberry Pi with a better GUI should've been enough.
    • hammock 9y ago
      I interpreted parent's comment to mean Fire TV could not succeed agnostic/irrespective of the content.
  • pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    Can someone explain this to me. I bought a Chromecast and took it back the next day, it didn't do anything beyond mirroring content from a particular device (seems everyone who watches needs a device, or you need a 2nd device for a room to be casting from), which any Android device does (including FireTV). FireTV for me was a million times more useful, I must be missing something?