7 ms·

My Chromecast from 2013 still works.

chubot 6y ago
I bought two of them and loved them for a couple years, at least for the content it opened up. However casting was unreliable. I never figured it out but I remember posting on HN about it years ago and other people had the same complaint. Then the YouTube app on my android phone would hang or crash. My Android phone kinda rotted after 4 years or so. I had a dedicated one for chromecast. Now I just use a wireless keyboard and an Ubuntu box connected to the TV. Works quite well, I can get all the apps and content I want through the browser.
- heavyset_go 6y ago
  Are you able to do Netflix in HD?
  - chubot 6y ago
    Yes, although the frame rate really sucks. I think that is a separate issue though. (You really notice it on action scenes) I don't see why there would be any problem with Netflix in HD in the browser on Ubuntu ? This PC is also from 2012 or so, so I think I should upgrade and maybe the frame rate will improve... I haven't isolated the issue. It's fine for most shows. But I suspect Netflix encoding quality also sucks, because most people don't care as much as I do, so I haven't debugged it.
    - heavyset_go 6y ago
      > I don't see why there would be any problem with Netflix in HD in the browser on Ubuntu ? Because there isn't a browser released on Linux that has the right DRM capabilities to run Netflix's DRM, and thus Netflix on Linux is limited to less-than-HD, hence why I asked if you were able to get it working.
      - chubot 6y ago
        I just use Firefox on Ubuntu and it seems fine? Doesn't seem SD. Maybe I'm missing something -- is there a way to check? The thing I notice is more the frame rate than the resolution. The resolution looks HD to me -- I can tell the difference with offline videos. Hm I suppose it is possible I am getting some degraded quality from Netflix. I always thought it was because of the old PC and/or their bad encoding quality. I mainly watch non-demanding video on Netflix, like a cooking show or standup comedy ... YouTube is definitely HD for me. https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/netflix-caps-video-quality-based-your-phones-widevine-drm-level-heres-check-for-hdr-fhd-support-0329213/ https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/netflix-caps-video-qu...
        heavyset_go 6y ago
        The last time I checked, Netflix was capped at 720p on non-Android Linux machines, but it's been a while since I've actually checked. I think the sentiments and conclusions in this thread[1] reflect the state of streaming HD content from Netflix on Linux, still. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/c26pc0/netflix_1080p/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/c26pc0/netflix_1080...
        EE84M3i 6y ago
        720p is High Definition by definition.
        heavyset_go 6y ago
        You got me there.
        shakna 6y ago
        I use a useragent changer to look like Edge and that seems to be all it takes to get the full-scale HD on Linux. Doesn't seem like Netflix go out of their way to disable it, though useragent sniffing is... Something you should never be doing.
    - commiefornian 6y ago
      Search for the video "Test Patterns". There's several different resolutions and framerates some with HDR too. That should help you figure out what you're getting.
scrooched_moose 6y ago
Mine still "work" but something changed around 2017 and they became so unreliable I don't bother any more. The Chromecast to Device connection is lost after about 10 minutes, making all controls not work. Can't pause, skip, select a new episode, etc. The fix is seemingly random - maybe 50% of the time recasting from the app (Netflix, Hulu, etc) works. 30% of the time mucking around in the Google Home app will work, and 20% of the time I just have to unplug it. Near as I can tell it's agnostic of client device, casting app, Chromecast gen (I've got 3 different versions around), or router. We've kindof just given up and gone back to Roku.
- nso 6y ago
  Had the same problem. The solution seemed to be a stronger WIFI signal. Adding an extension cable to move the chromecast further away from the TV prevents the tv from blocking signals.
- bmurphy1976 6y ago
  I had a similar problem, turns out my router was dropping bonjour/upnp packets. I think that was preventing my devices from properly discovering what services were available on my network. I never found a solution for the problem (OpenWRT+WRT3200ACM), but bought a different router and the problem magically went away (OpenWRT+R7800). Could be any number of reasons why you are having issues unfortunately.
  - scrooched_moose 6y ago
    Interesting. Thanks for the information. Might be a project for a cold night this winter, or we just are pretty happy with Rokus now. I'm certain the onset of the problem didn't coincide with a new router, and I've gone through a couple since it started so I assumed that wasn't the issue.
    - bmurphy1976 6y ago
      Yeah, who knows. In my case it worked for 1 to 72 hours after rebooting the router, then would drop 100% of the packets until the next reboot. It took some time to figure out what was going on.
vel0city 6y ago
The only issue I have with OG Chromecasts is that YouTube channels with 1080p60 videos tend to make the system stutter like crazy. Other than that the original Chromecasts I bought still work pretty much flawlessly.
- londons_explore 6y ago
  The 1080p60 bug can be fixed by cutting the plastic lid off the Chromecast and adding a fan.
  - webmaven 6y ago
    > The 1080p60 bug can be fixed by cutting the plastic lid off the Chromecast and adding a fan. I can't tell if you are serious. I can imagine circumstances where this would work, but... they involve the chromecast having a temp sensor and software to lower the clock speed to prevent overheating, resulting in skipped frames, but at the same time somehow not be able to lower the bitrate of the video stream. Seems... mildly improbable.
    - dannyw 6y ago
      Pretty much every single processor made in the past decade, if not two, has a core temperature sensor along with overheating regulation. Even the Raspberry Pi.
      - webmaven 6y ago
        So the overheating regulation is part of the firmware, rather than whatever software is running?
        londons_explore 6y ago
        Typically embedded linux systems use the linux CPU frequency scaler, which uses various inputs including CPU temperature to scale the CPU clock frequency.
ikiris 6y ago
i feel so sorry for your wireless network. They used an ancient chip that totally soaks airtime.

I bought two of them and loved them for a couple years, at least for the content it opened up. However casting was unreliable. I never figured it out but I remember posting on HN about it years ago and other people had the same complaint. Then the YouTube app on my android phone would hang or crash. My Android phone kinda rotted after 4 years or so. I had a dedicated one for chromecast. Now I just use a wireless keyboard and an Ubuntu box connected to the TV. Works quite well, I can get all the apps and content I want through the browser.

heavyset_go 6y ago
Are you able to do Netflix in HD?
- chubot 6y ago
  Yes, although the frame rate really sucks. I think that is a separate issue though. (You really notice it on action scenes) I don't see why there would be any problem with Netflix in HD in the browser on Ubuntu ? This PC is also from 2012 or so, so I think I should upgrade and maybe the frame rate will improve... I haven't isolated the issue. It's fine for most shows. But I suspect Netflix encoding quality also sucks, because most people don't care as much as I do, so I haven't debugged it.
  - heavyset_go 6y ago
    > I don't see why there would be any problem with Netflix in HD in the browser on Ubuntu ? Because there isn't a browser released on Linux that has the right DRM capabilities to run Netflix's DRM, and thus Netflix on Linux is limited to less-than-HD, hence why I asked if you were able to get it working.
    - chubot 6y ago
      I just use Firefox on Ubuntu and it seems fine? Doesn't seem SD. Maybe I'm missing something -- is there a way to check? The thing I notice is more the frame rate than the resolution. The resolution looks HD to me -- I can tell the difference with offline videos. Hm I suppose it is possible I am getting some degraded quality from Netflix. I always thought it was because of the old PC and/or their bad encoding quality. I mainly watch non-demanding video on Netflix, like a cooking show or standup comedy ... YouTube is definitely HD for me. https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/netflix-caps-video-quality-based-your-phones-widevine-drm-level-heres-check-for-hdr-fhd-support-0329213/ https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/netflix-caps-video-qu...
      - heavyset_go 6y ago
        The last time I checked, Netflix was capped at 720p on non-Android Linux machines, but it's been a while since I've actually checked. I think the sentiments and conclusions in this thread[1] reflect the state of streaming HD content from Netflix on Linux, still. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/c26pc0/netflix_1080p/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/c26pc0/netflix_1080...
        EE84M3i 6y ago
        720p is High Definition by definition.
        heavyset_go 6y ago
        You got me there.
        shakna 6y ago
        I use a useragent changer to look like Edge and that seems to be all it takes to get the full-scale HD on Linux. Doesn't seem like Netflix go out of their way to disable it, though useragent sniffing is... Something you should never be doing.
  - commiefornian 6y ago
    Search for the video "Test Patterns". There's several different resolutions and framerates some with HDR too. That should help you figure out what you're getting.

scrooched_moose 6y ago

Mine still "work" but something changed around 2017 and they became so unreliable I don't bother any more. The Chromecast to Device connection is lost after about 10 minutes, making all controls not work. Can't pause, skip, select a new episode, etc. The fix is seemingly random - maybe 50% of the time recasting from the app (Netflix, Hulu, etc) works. 30% of the time mucking around in the Google Home app will work, and 20% of the time I just have to unplug it. Near as I can tell it's agnostic of client device, casting app, Chromecast gen (I've got 3 different versions around), or router. We've kindof just given up and gone back to Roku.

nso 6y ago
Had the same problem. The solution seemed to be a stronger WIFI signal. Adding an extension cable to move the chromecast further away from the TV prevents the tv from blocking signals.
bmurphy1976 6y ago
I had a similar problem, turns out my router was dropping bonjour/upnp packets. I think that was preventing my devices from properly discovering what services were available on my network. I never found a solution for the problem (OpenWRT+WRT3200ACM), but bought a different router and the problem magically went away (OpenWRT+R7800). Could be any number of reasons why you are having issues unfortunately.
- scrooched_moose 6y ago
  Interesting. Thanks for the information. Might be a project for a cold night this winter, or we just are pretty happy with Rokus now. I'm certain the onset of the problem didn't coincide with a new router, and I've gone through a couple since it started so I assumed that wasn't the issue.
  - bmurphy1976 6y ago
    Yeah, who knows. In my case it worked for 1 to 72 hours after rebooting the router, then would drop 100% of the packets until the next reboot. It took some time to figure out what was going on.

vel0city 6y ago

The only issue I have with OG Chromecasts is that YouTube channels with 1080p60 videos tend to make the system stutter like crazy. Other than that the original Chromecasts I bought still work pretty much flawlessly.

londons_explore 6y ago
The 1080p60 bug can be fixed by cutting the plastic lid off the Chromecast and adding a fan.
- webmaven 6y ago
  > The 1080p60 bug can be fixed by cutting the plastic lid off the Chromecast and adding a fan. I can't tell if you are serious. I can imagine circumstances where this would work, but... they involve the chromecast having a temp sensor and software to lower the clock speed to prevent overheating, resulting in skipped frames, but at the same time somehow not be able to lower the bitrate of the video stream. Seems... mildly improbable.
  - dannyw 6y ago
    Pretty much every single processor made in the past decade, if not two, has a core temperature sensor along with overheating regulation. Even the Raspberry Pi.
    - webmaven 6y ago
      So the overheating regulation is part of the firmware, rather than whatever software is running?
      - londons_explore 6y ago
        Typically embedded linux systems use the linux CPU frequency scaler, which uses various inputs including CPU temperature to scale the CPU clock frequency.

ikiris 6y ago

i feel so sorry for your wireless network. They used an ancient chip that totally soaks airtime.