Review: The Google TV Streamer is a better Chromecast, but not much more

28 Sep 2024, 15:00 by Taylor Kerns · Android Police

Google has had a patchy history with video streaming hardware. The company's earliest Chromecast devices were a hit at a time when streaming video from the cloud to our TVs was still a novel concept. But 2020's Chromecast with Google TV, after initially sunny reviews (including one from AP), eventually let a lot of users down with specs that turned out to be insufficient over the long haul.

The new Google TV Streamer is the company's latest attempt at streaming hardware. A $100 set-top box rather than a budget-priced dongle, the Streamer offers better performance and more features than the Chromecast with Google TV, and overall, I like it — but I'm worried that yet another release with just-good-enough hardware might be setting us up for disappointment down the road again.

Google TV Streamer

7.5 / 10

The Google TV Streamer offers decent performance and great streaming quality, but the Google TV experience here isn't much different than what you'll get anywhere else.

Pros

Generally quick performance
Streaming video looks great
Improved remote control
Ethernet port and Matter compatibility are nice perks

Cons

Could be more future-proof at $100
Google TV is crammed with content recommendations
Doesn't come with an HDMI cable

$100 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy $100 at Google Store

Price, availability, and specifications

The Google TV Streamer costs $100 in the US and is available for purchase now. The off-white Porcelain colorway is available from Google and retailers like Amazon and Walmart. There's also a woodsy gray Hazel model available exclusively from the Google Store.

Specifications

Operating System
Android TV OS
Resolution
4K at 60FPS
HDR support
Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG
Audio codecs
Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos
RAM/storage
4GB/32GB
CPU
MediaTek MT8696
Ports
USB-C (power/data), HDMI 2.1 (Type A), Ethernet (10/100/1000Mbps )
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 5 (2.4/5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, Thread border router
Integrations
Matter, Google Home
Downloadable Apps
Google Play Store
Remote
Bluetooth, IR, microphone, and the following buttons: D-pad, Select, Home, Back, Volume, Power, YouTube, Netflix, Play/Pause, Assistant, and Customizable .
Price
$100
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What I like about the Google TV Streamer

The most immediately noticeable upgrade in the Google TV Streamer is its hardware. It's a full-fledged "set-top box," meant to sit under or in front of your TV rather than dangling off the back of it. The idea here is that, being out in the open, the Streamer is better able to catch wireless signals than a dongle-style device like the Chromecast with Google TV could tucked behind your screen.

General performance is a step up from that of the Chromecast with Google TV. Disappointingly, there's still the occasional lag or stutter when scrolling through long menus, but with a faster chipset (that Google has opted not to officially identify) and four gigs of RAM, everything feels snappy enough. After using the Streamer for a couple of weeks, I haven't experienced any hanging or crashes.

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The Streamer itself looks good, as far as streaming boxes go. It's simple, but the unit's rounded pill shape matches its bundled remote, and it's handsome enough that it won't look tacky or cheap on your TV stand.

The Streamer's remote is a little different from the Chromecast's. It's got a tiny built-in speaker that can be activated from a hardware button on the Streamer's backside to help find it in the couch cushions. It's also a bit longer, with the volume keys moved from the right edge of the remote to the top surface with the rest. The space formerly occupied by a dedicated TV input control is now a customizable button that can be used in several ways; you can still use it to change inputs, but you can also configure it to open a favorite app or the new Google Home panel.

That Google Home panel is pretty handy. Being able to adjust my Nest thermostat or the lighting in my living room with a remote that I'm already holding is a convenience I didn't think I'd appreciate quite as much as I do. You can even use it to view feeds from Google Home-connected cameras. I don't think the implementation is quite perfect — you can't directly control your lights' colors, for example — but anything you can't accomplish through the panel, you can ask Google to do using the remote's microphone button.

There are a couple of new connectivity options for power users. The TV Streamer has an Ethernet port on the back for those who prefer or need a wired connection to get high-quality video streaming. The TV Streamer also functions as a Matter controller for adjusting compatible smart devices over Wi-Fi or Thread, making it a good starting point for smart homes that'll include products from the likes of Nanoleaf or GE.

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Finally and most importantly, streaming performance has been great for me. Full disclosure: I'm not an AV-head who lives and dies by Dolby TrueHD passthrough or AV1 decoding. But I think I am pickier than your average consumer, and to me, 4K HDR content looks great on my 55-inch OLED TV, without any stuttering or obvious compression artifacts. Sound from my connected Sony speakers is also more than good enough.

Google says that the TV Streamer supports HDR in the form of Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG; for audio, there's Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos. (And for those curious: Google's developer documentation shows that the Streamer does support AV1 decoding.)

What I don't like about the Google TV Streamer

There's no HDMI cable bundled with the Google TV Streamer. That's not unusual for streaming boxes like this; similar options from companies like Apple and Amazon also don't include an HDMI cable. But unless you've got extras lying around, that's an annoying omission, and you'll need to factor it into the purchase price.

Performance on the Google TV Streamer is more than adequate today, but that was true of the Chromecast with Google TV four years ago, too. When I asked directly, Google declined to confirm which chipset the TV Streamer is running under the hood. It's been reported to be the MediaTek MT8696 — the same SoC as Amazon's 2021 Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which retailed for $55 and hit sale prices as low as $25 before it was discontinued for a newer model. I have to wonder whether this thing will still feel nimble into 2025 and beyond.

But ultimately, my biggest gripe about the Google TV Streamer is, well, Google TV. It's a perfectly functional streaming platform with all the video apps you might want, but Google TV's interface is packed to the gills with content recommendations that add nothing to the experience.

The strip of recommended content that takes up the majority of Google TV's home screen is flatly not tied to individual preferences; it's the same for all users, incorporating sponsored content, buzzy new releases, topical recommendations (eg, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on Max as an "in memoriam" to the late Maggie Smith just hours after news of her death broke), as well as some very off-the-wall options like a channel on Google TV Freeplay that airs old game shows 24/7. The art presented along with these recommended shows and movies is often bafflingly low quality.

This isn't a blurry photo, it's how some of Google TV's home screen ads actually look.

Google TV also does show recommendations that are ostensibly tuned to your tastes, but I haven't found these much more useful. On my TV, these comprise almost entirely ad-supported content on Pluto TV, most of which isn't relevant to me.

I know recommendations and ads like these are just as bad or worse on Fire TV or Roku devices, but I don't really accept every existing option is just as bad as a good reason for new products to suffer the same issues. Google TV's apps-only mode isn't a solution, either; the stripped-back interface removes the Library tab you use to access purchased shows and movies, disables Google Home integration, and still shows unpersonalized recommended content. This software experience feels cheap, especially on a premium-priced device.

Should you buy it?

The Google TV Streamer is, on balance, a nice streaming box for most people. It supports the video and audio formats mainstream audiences are likely to care about, performs well enough, and comes with some useful features that were missing from Google's Chromecast devices, like built-in Ethernet support and ample storage space for all your streaming apps.

I think the general Google TV experience is a slog, and I resent the prevalence of recommended content all the more on a device priced at a hundred bucks. It makes sense that the $30 Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is brimming with ads; the thing couldn't be much cheaper, so it tracks that Google would find alternative ways to monetize it. But the Google TV Streamer costs more than three times as much, and I don't think it's wrong to expect a software experience that matches the price tag.

Still, the Google TV Streamer's got it where it counts. If you need something to cover up your TV's slow, built-in software or to replace an entry-level streaming device that's getting long in the tooth, the TV Streamer's streaming performance won't disappoint, and its hardware is easier on the eyes than most competing options. Just don't forget to grab an HDMI cable to go along with it.

Google TV Streamer

7.5 / 10

The Google TV Streamer offers decent performance and great streaming quality, but the Google TV experience here isn't much different than what you'll get anywhere else.

$100 at Amazon $100 at Best Buy $100 at Google Store

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