Game streamingīecause of game streaming services like Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now, you have a reason to pick up the Chromecast with Google TV for gaming. The closest competitors in terms of price will be the Roku and Amazon Fire TV sticks, but only the latter offers anything remotely close to that of Google’s latest dongle. It’s likely one of the main reasons that the Chromecast with Google TV will be a resounding success. Google knocked it out of the park offering their latest streamer at under $50. The long wait for a remote has certainly been worth it. The Google TV settings allow you to program the power, input, and volume buttons to control your TV directly or a soundbar. You can use the remote to not only control the Google TV interface, but your entire home entertainment center. One of the biggest reasons the new Chromecast with Google TV remote is so useful is that it comes with an IR blaster. It’s not over-encumbered with extra controls and buttons, but the addition of dedicated YouTube and Netflix buttons are both useful and annoying at the same time. The remote is small, but its curved shape means that it is comfortable to hold while the D-Pad is perfectly placed for navigation.

Google’s idea that your smartphone is the best remote available at any time was a noble one, but in reality, a dedicated, tangible remote is just a natural way to interact with your TV. It’s amazing just how much of a difference a basic remote does make to the overall experience. Subscribe to 9to5Google on YouTube for more videos Remote (obvious)įor years people complained that Chromecast didn’t come with a dedicated remote.

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