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Has anyone found a good alternative to Chromecast? I prefer it to having a smart TV. However, it seems like the app ecosystem is converging around that protocol

by als0 6y ago

Has anyone found a good alternative to Chromecast? I prefer it to having a smart TV. However, it seems like the app ecosystem is converging around that protocol, making it harder to completely degoogle my life...

Swizec 6y ago
Apple’s AirPlay works okay. I like good old HDMI cables, they work reliably. I’ve had terrible latency and connectivity issues with both chromecast and apple tv. Audio lagging, randomly deciding not to be discoverable, etc. A cable always works
- chokeartist 6y ago
  Regarding your AirPlay woes - have you checked the health (strength) and throughput of the wifi signal? I have a lot of noisy stuff around my house so one thing I did was hardwire my AppleTV to be one less wifi device. That resolved all of my issues. Additionally, I later ended up adding more Wifi APs to provide consistent throughput across the house. Previously I had "slow" zones. Not really dead zones, but annoyingly slow enough to force you to switch temporarily to 4G. If you can't hardwire the device specifically, consider repositioning the WiFi AP closer, add/or add another AP if you are able to. Hope this helps.
moistbar 6y ago
There's Miracast, but it only does screen mirroring.
sbuk 6y ago
Roku is an option. Supports both Chromecast and AirPlay.
mvanbaak 6y ago
if apple is not a problem for you, their appletv hardware is pretty awesome. I have one connected to every tv.
matmatmatmat 6y ago
I use an old Linux box. Works great for Netflix and Amazon Prime. I'm sure it's not for everyone, though.
- ProAm 6y ago
  Netflix only streams 720p unless you use Edge on some edition of Win10
  - Jkvngt 6y ago
    Unless you're sitting closer than two screen diagonals to your TV, it's a scientific fact that even with 20/20 vision you can't tell the difference between SD and HD. Please reference the NHK's book on their analogue HD technology, Hi-Vision Technology, where they go into the psychovisual research extensively.
    - ProAm 6y ago
      I used to think that too but when watching GoPro footage over the years there is always a visible difference between 720p and 1080p. And I think 4k is also noticeable.
      - Jkvngt 6y ago
        I agree they are all noticeable, at the proper viewing distance. These are scientific facts. Ask yourself, what's the smallest angle the human eye can subtend? All other factors fall into place once you've calculated this.
  - matmatmatmat 6y ago
    I didn't want to go into details, but I think we actually get Netflix in 1080(p?) using either Firefox or Chrome, but Amazon Prime looks like 720p using Firefox.
    - ProAm 6y ago
      If you know how let me know. There used to be an addon that mimic'd a header it was looking for but I think netflix fixed that loophole. Im not sure if there is a way to verify the info during playback anymore? EDIT - From their website (https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931): Resolution Windows computers support streaming in the following browser resolutions: Google Chrome up to 720p Internet Explorer up to 1080p Microsoft Edge up to 4K* Mozilla Firefox up to 720p Opera up to 720p Windows 8 app up to 1080p Windows 10 app up to 4K*
Y7EhHtj8a7 6y ago
I use one of laptops laying around the house that wasn't used anymore, connected the TV via HDMI and bought a bluetooth keyboard with a built in track pad. The bluetooth keyboard works as my remote now, and it works very reliably - not just to stream content or play music, but its great to even do split screen, shop together/ look up something together while sitting on the couch, typing on the keyboard/using a trackpad is infinitely better than using the onscreen keyboards on smart TVs/roku etc.
bentcorner 6y ago
I'm not a Chromecast user so I can't say what is a good alternative but I use a Roku and am pretty satisfied with it. My "smart" TV has apps but they're hot garbage so I keep it offline and just use the Roku. Keep in mind Roku shows ads on your home screen and gathers tracking data, but this can be blocked with pihole.

by als0 6y ago

Swizec 6y ago

Apple’s AirPlay works okay. I like good old HDMI cables, they work reliably. I’ve had terrible latency and connectivity issues with both chromecast and apple tv. Audio lagging, randomly deciding not to be discoverable, etc. A cable always works

chokeartist 6y ago
Regarding your AirPlay woes - have you checked the health (strength) and throughput of the wifi signal? I have a lot of noisy stuff around my house so one thing I did was hardwire my AppleTV to be one less wifi device. That resolved all of my issues. Additionally, I later ended up adding more Wifi APs to provide consistent throughput across the house. Previously I had "slow" zones. Not really dead zones, but annoyingly slow enough to force you to switch temporarily to 4G. If you can't hardwire the device specifically, consider repositioning the WiFi AP closer, add/or add another AP if you are able to. Hope this helps.

moistbar 6y ago

There's Miracast, but it only does screen mirroring.

sbuk 6y ago

Roku is an option. Supports both Chromecast and AirPlay.

mvanbaak 6y ago

if apple is not a problem for you, their appletv hardware is pretty awesome. I have one connected to every tv.

matmatmatmat 6y ago

I use an old Linux box. Works great for Netflix and Amazon Prime. I'm sure it's not for everyone, though.

ProAm 6y ago
Netflix only streams 720p unless you use Edge on some edition of Win10
- Jkvngt 6y ago
  Unless you're sitting closer than two screen diagonals to your TV, it's a scientific fact that even with 20/20 vision you can't tell the difference between SD and HD. Please reference the NHK's book on their analogue HD technology, Hi-Vision Technology, where they go into the psychovisual research extensively.
  - ProAm 6y ago
    I used to think that too but when watching GoPro footage over the years there is always a visible difference between 720p and 1080p. And I think 4k is also noticeable.
    - Jkvngt 6y ago
      I agree they are all noticeable, at the proper viewing distance. These are scientific facts. Ask yourself, what's the smallest angle the human eye can subtend? All other factors fall into place once you've calculated this.
- matmatmatmat 6y ago
  I didn't want to go into details, but I think we actually get Netflix in 1080(p?) using either Firefox or Chrome, but Amazon Prime looks like 720p using Firefox.
  - ProAm 6y ago
    If you know how let me know. There used to be an addon that mimic'd a header it was looking for but I think netflix fixed that loophole. Im not sure if there is a way to verify the info during playback anymore? EDIT - From their website (https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23931): Resolution Windows computers support streaming in the following browser resolutions: Google Chrome up to 720p Internet Explorer up to 1080p Microsoft Edge up to 4K* Mozilla Firefox up to 720p Opera up to 720p Windows 8 app up to 1080p Windows 10 app up to 4K*

Y7EhHtj8a7 6y ago

I use one of laptops laying around the house that wasn't used anymore, connected the TV via HDMI and bought a bluetooth keyboard with a built in track pad. The bluetooth keyboard works as my remote now, and it works very reliably - not just to stream content or play music, but its great to even do split screen, shop together/ look up something together while sitting on the couch, typing on the keyboard/using a trackpad is infinitely better than using the onscreen keyboards on smart TVs/roku etc.

bentcorner 6y ago

I'm not a Chromecast user so I can't say what is a good alternative but I use a Roku and am pretty satisfied with it. My "smart" TV has apps but they're hot garbage so I keep it offline and just use the Roku. Keep in mind Roku shows ads on your home screen and gathers tracking data, but this can be blocked with pihole.