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Google TV Streamer: Our new entertainment and smart home hub

25 points by hbcondo714 2y ago

rawgabbit 2y ago
This seems like the next version of the "console wars". Instead of Xbox vs PlayStation, it is now Apple's Homekit versus Google <insert name here>. With Google's reputation as a PII devouring monster to feed its advertising business, I know which home automation hub I will choose.
- cqqxo4zV46cp 2y ago
  Yeah, and I’m fairly confident that HomeKit will be around in a few years.
- imglorp 2y ago
  If you don't like how devices get bricked routinely, services cancelled, and your PII is the product, try Home Assistant. https://www.home-assistant.io https://www.home-assistant.io
Takennickname 2y ago
I hate it. "Doesn't stand out in your home" - The chromecast wasn't even visible, so this is a clear downgrade. Why would they even bring it up. I wanted to love Google Home. I don't have Apple products, and the Alexa app was horrible. But alas, it was Googled. It became such a clusterfuck of convolution that it's not even usable for me anymore. I was using it on my Google Apps email, which I switched from to a regular gmail (because youtube premium wasn't available on Google Apps, neither was Google Home integration with my calendar), and now I can't move my devices to my new account. All of this, on top of the fact, that Google has proven to be the least trust worthy company when it comes to managing users' data (arguably tied with Meta). I can't wait until my house starts shouting ads at me, or 24/7 listening 'to improve ad quality' becomes standard. Take me back to IRC and phpbb.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Thaxll 2y ago
The Chromecast Ultra released 8 years ago was already able to play 4k hdr with dolby vision, where is the giant leap in performance?
- fantasybuilder 2y ago
  The new box can make API calls to Gemini!
- deadmutex 2y ago
  Performance is more than just media playback. E.g. smoothness of the UI, input latency, etc. all matter. Sometimes you also want to play a video at 2x speed, or play multiple video at once (e.g. sports use case).
atum47 2y ago
Can I watch all those wonderful YouTube Shorts on it?
- atum47 2y ago
  How about ads? Is it packed full of ads?
wantsanagent 2y ago
"Google is today proud to announce both the advent and the sunsetting of Google TV Streamer. 'We expect fans to love this product for the next 8 months' says product manager Greg Kalhani 'Afterwhich the product will, sadly, be removed and customers will be refunded their money.'"
xnx 2y ago
Related discussion here: 3 hours ago, 468 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41171060 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41171060
ortusdux 2y ago
The $100 price point seems strange to me. For many, things in the $20-$50 range are an easy impulse buy. This is now just barely in the $100-$200 range, which puts it up against Apple's and Nvidia's offerings.
crustaceansoup 2y ago
The "Chromecast with Google TV (4k)" is $50 to this device's $100. $50 is a really attractive price point, $100 immediately feels less like a casual buy. The previous device was also a nice tiny dongle, not requiring any real estate (great for the "TV hanging on the wall with no console" types), while this is a set top box. This feels like a huge step back for new purchasers. It's not going to drive upgraders either? More memory, better chipset - These are weird, hard sells for normal people. The previous device could already play 4k HDR streams as well as anything. It improves loading times of apps? So what? You can download more apps? Most TV apps are sized on the order of tens of megabytes, why do I need more storage? AI features. I don't want any of these, who wants any of these? AI summaries: Shows already have summaries, but now I guess I can have them written by a machine instead. AI screensavers: You have to be kidding, that's not a selling point. I also assume all of this could have been a software update on the old device since it's probably on-cloud. Smart home features. Again, they could just been a software update? And who wants to turn on their TV and browse through their Google TV's interface to get to their smart light controls or whatever? We have phones and we have voice assistants already. I just can't understand this. Am I missing something?
- Kailhus 2y ago
  No, I really struggle to make sense of it too.. the CGTV is perfectly fine, why “retire” it
icehawk 2y ago
Is it too cynical to wonder how long of a lifetime this product line has given google's track record?
bitshiftfaced 2y ago
Seems like the advantages over Chromecast are: * Remote * Ethernet option * Able to play AppleTV * An app that organizes media and looks like it keeps track of what's on all of your paid streaming services. They're going more into the direction of Roku, which is easier for boomers and up to use because it works more like what they're used to already.
- crustaceansoup 2y ago
  "Chromecast with Google TV" has a perfectly serviceable remote with a mic, has an ethernet option (optional power adapter with ethernet port), and Apple TV, and already has the last item though sans AI-generated summaries
  - bitshiftfaced 2y ago
    I guess I'm on outdated Chromecast hardware.
matthewfelgate 2y ago
Can't Google come up with a better name than "Google TV Streamer"?! Give me a break... Using AI to predict what people want to watch won't work. I use Chromecast and what I want is a rechargeable remote control. I want a decent user interface that makes it clear what I have selected. Voice control I find absolutely useless.

25 points by hbcondo714 2y ago

This seems like the next version of the "console wars". Instead of Xbox vs PlayStation, it is now Apple's Homekit versus Google <insert name here>. With Google's reputation as a PII devouring monster to feed its advertising business, I know which home automation hub I will choose.

cqqxo4zV46cp 2y ago
Yeah, and I’m fairly confident that HomeKit will be around in a few years.
imglorp 2y ago
If you don't like how devices get bricked routinely, services cancelled, and your PII is the product, try Home Assistant. https://www.home-assistant.io https://www.home-assistant.io

Takennickname 2y ago

I hate it. "Doesn't stand out in your home" - The chromecast wasn't even visible, so this is a clear downgrade. Why would they even bring it up. I wanted to love Google Home. I don't have Apple products, and the Alexa app was horrible. But alas, it was Googled. It became such a clusterfuck of convolution that it's not even usable for me anymore. I was using it on my Google Apps email, which I switched from to a regular gmail (because youtube premium wasn't available on Google Apps, neither was Google Home integration with my calendar), and now I can't move my devices to my new account. All of this, on top of the fact, that Google has proven to be the least trust worthy company when it comes to managing users' data (arguably tied with Meta). I can't wait until my house starts shouting ads at me, or 24/7 listening 'to improve ad quality' becomes standard. Take me back to IRC and phpbb.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Thaxll 2y ago

The Chromecast Ultra released 8 years ago was already able to play 4k hdr with dolby vision, where is the giant leap in performance?

fantasybuilder 2y ago
The new box can make API calls to Gemini!
deadmutex 2y ago
Performance is more than just media playback. E.g. smoothness of the UI, input latency, etc. all matter. Sometimes you also want to play a video at 2x speed, or play multiple video at once (e.g. sports use case).

atum47 2y ago

Can I watch all those wonderful YouTube Shorts on it?

atum47 2y ago
How about ads? Is it packed full of ads?

wantsanagent 2y ago

"Google is today proud to announce both the advent and the sunsetting of Google TV Streamer. 'We expect fans to love this product for the next 8 months' says product manager Greg Kalhani 'Afterwhich the product will, sadly, be removed and customers will be refunded their money.'"

xnx 2y ago

Related discussion here: 3 hours ago, 468 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41171060 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41171060

ortusdux 2y ago

The $100 price point seems strange to me. For many, things in the $20-$50 range are an easy impulse buy. This is now just barely in the $100-$200 range, which puts it up against Apple's and Nvidia's offerings.

crustaceansoup 2y ago

The "Chromecast with Google TV (4k)" is $50 to this device's $100. $50 is a really attractive price point, $100 immediately feels less like a casual buy. The previous device was also a nice tiny dongle, not requiring any real estate (great for the "TV hanging on the wall with no console" types), while this is a set top box. This feels like a huge step back for new purchasers. It's not going to drive upgraders either? More memory, better chipset - These are weird, hard sells for normal people. The previous device could already play 4k HDR streams as well as anything. It improves loading times of apps? So what? You can download more apps? Most TV apps are sized on the order of tens of megabytes, why do I need more storage? AI features. I don't want any of these, who wants any of these? AI summaries: Shows already have summaries, but now I guess I can have them written by a machine instead. AI screensavers: You have to be kidding, that's not a selling point. I also assume all of this could have been a software update on the old device since it's probably on-cloud. Smart home features. Again, they could just been a software update? And who wants to turn on their TV and browse through their Google TV's interface to get to their smart light controls or whatever? We have phones and we have voice assistants already. I just can't understand this. Am I missing something?

Kailhus 2y ago
No, I really struggle to make sense of it too.. the CGTV is perfectly fine, why “retire” it

icehawk 2y ago

Is it too cynical to wonder how long of a lifetime this product line has given google's track record?

bitshiftfaced 2y ago

Seems like the advantages over Chromecast are: * Remote * Ethernet option * Able to play AppleTV * An app that organizes media and looks like it keeps track of what's on all of your paid streaming services. They're going more into the direction of Roku, which is easier for boomers and up to use because it works more like what they're used to already.

crustaceansoup 2y ago
"Chromecast with Google TV" has a perfectly serviceable remote with a mic, has an ethernet option (optional power adapter with ethernet port), and Apple TV, and already has the last item though sans AI-generated summaries
- bitshiftfaced 2y ago
  I guess I'm on outdated Chromecast hardware.

matthewfelgate 2y ago

Can't Google come up with a better name than "Google TV Streamer"?! Give me a break... Using AI to predict what people want to watch won't work. I use Chromecast and what I want is a rechargeable remote control. I want a decent user interface that makes it clear what I have selected. Voice control I find absolutely useless.