First Look at the Google TV Streamer, a Set-Top Box That’s Easy on the Eyes

I love theChromecast with Google TVstreaming dongle . I have several throughout my home , admit a budgetChromecast HDin the family elbow room where my kid binge - watchesBluey . But avowedly , the dongle feels out of position in the living elbow room , the main property for watching boob tube . That ’s the room that houses the wakeless measure and the countless other play box . It ’s the elbow room where I take people to sit down when they come over and show them the stuff I have . No one is going to admire a dongle . Next to other devices unite to the TV , the Chromecast with Google TV is merely thisthingsticking out of the back without any special ports or connectivity . You need a footling more than that for the primary adult screen in the house .

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The newfangled Google TV Streamer has been redesigned with that in mind , though it costs double as much as the dongle . It looks like a set - top box seat this meter , and you’re able to obscure it behind the television or set it in front like any other tchotchke . It ’s oblong - influence , like the Chromecast with Google TV that came before it , but with a flattened base to match what you ’d see on the Nest displays . There ’s an Ethernet port directly on the Google TV Streamer , plus USB - C , HDMI , and a reset button . That button can also help oneself you site the remote control , which has a loudspeaker system to chirp , making it well-to-do to find when it goes between the couch cushions . The other upside tothe Google TV Streamer , which helps justify its $ 100 toll , is that it ’s a smart household hub . It has the Matter communications protocol built in .

Google TV streamer

© Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The revamp remote is another ingredient of this cyclosis software program . It ’s larger , has ameliorate ergonomics , and has a bulk button on the remote rather than on the side . I ’m still getting used to the new arrangement . I ’ve become well - aim to thumb the correct side of the remote for the intensity . you could program an app with a young shortcut button next to the might button at the bottom of the remote control . I ’m still unsure what to ascribe to it . There ’s a push for the Google Home control control board and a mike button for voice ascendence . There are also buttons for Netflix and YouTube on the remote .

The Google TV Streameris the first time Google made a streaming limit - top boxful that was n’t just a dongle you punch into the television . I ’m still testing it out , though I did get a chance to prepare it up . The setup is the same as its predecessors , though you ’ll have to bring an HDMI cable for it this time since there is n’t one built into the equipment . The HDMI cable length sticks out if you do n’t have a white cable television like Google does in its merchandising . I ’ll have more to report in an approaching review .

The new Google TV Streameris available to buy for $ 100 . If it ’s out of your budget , Google still betray the$30 and $ 50 Chromecast dongles .

a photo of the Google TV Streamer remote