I’ve got a Vero 4K to watch photos stored on my NAS. It is a couple of years old and it seems to be dying.
My requirements are:
Watch videos stored on NAS via NFS/SMB
Install Stremio
4K
Available in NZ
Sound doesn’t matter too much as I have a simple sound bar.
The Google TV 4K is sold here for NZ$79 and gets raving reviews. It seems I can install Stremio and VLC or Kodi, so that should meet my requirements.
The alternative is a Xiami TV Stick 4K which is NZ$69
I know the NVidia Shield is the best, but they are above budget.
Probably my only concern with these dongles is that they are WiFi based, but I have a very solid WiFi network with an Ubiquiti access point, so that should be fine.
So I’m leaning towards the Google TV 4K, any concerns or considerations?
I can’t recommend the Google TV/Chromecast if you have to interact with multiple apps or plan on using the Discover screen or search. The remote is finicky and feels cheap and the device itself is totally underpowered for Google TV. Its Amlogic SoC is slow as fuck and often drops frames and the 2GB of memory are barely enough to keep the bloated interface in memory while the storage is often full even after just installing a few apps. It has gotten a bit better after even Google had to admit that performance was abysmal but the optimizations just fixed the most obvious shortcomings.
I have sinced unsubscribed from all streaming services and just rely on the put.io app on Google TV to handle my media consumption needs and it is good enough for that. So if you just need the Stremio app (which I haven’t used myself) to access local content, you should be fine. I never saw it struggle with 4k HDR content nor did I encounter A/V sync issues.
the google TV is probably your best bet without either breaking the budget or buying questionable off-brand android boxes (many of which have been fount to have malware included)
You can indeed add a usb-c ethernet adaptor if you have a pass through power USB-C hub/breakout, or the simple solution is to buy the official chromecast ethernet adaptor that is integrated into the power supply. they are available from Google directly, or compatible knock offs are on amazon.
Total cost of that rig of dongles and adaptors is still significantly less than an NVIDIA Shield, even the basic tube model.
Thanks! Yeah, I’ve tried knock off Android boxes, never had luck.
I read about wired that it maxes out at 100mbps so wireless may even be faster. Guess I’ll start wireless.
Just FYI, the Chromecast supports ethernet, depending on the model. I believe some of the older Chromecast Ultra models have an ethernet port on the power brick, and the newer Chromecast with Google TV models (which I believe is the one you’re looking for) are USB-C, and you can power it from a hub, and it’ll connect automatically to a USB-ethernet adapter on the hub. This is also how you’d extend the storage of the Chromecast, because the onboard storage is criminally small.
Thanks, yeah I read you need a usb c adapter or a power adapter with rj45 included. Read though that it maxes out at 100mbps and my WiFi is probably faster. Guess wireless is worth a try first.
Oh yeah, that’s the other thing I forgot to mention. I believe the power brick the Google TV model comes with is only like 1.5 amps, so you’ll definitely need a higher-rated adapter with whatever hub you get. You’ll wanna check the requirements of the hub and the ethernet adapter and make sure whatever power adapter you get can support all of them at once.
Personally, I’ve had no issues using wifi with mine. I used to have it connected with ethernet when I would play games on Stadia through my Google TV, but that usually ran just fine on wifi, as well. Just keep in mind that you do need to be a lot closer than you would expect to get a good signal; being placed behind your TV made of metal and glass does a lot to interfere with the wifi signal, so I find that dongles like this tend to really not do well with being beyond the same room as the router, in a lot of cases.
Thanks for the insights. Wi-Fi ap is in the same room as the TV, so that should be fine.
Think usb adapter will be plan B.
Thanks again for the details. Lemmy is great.
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I can’t recommend the Google TV/Chromecast if you have to interact with multiple apps or plan on using the Discover screen or search. The remote is finicky and feels cheap and the device itself is totally underpowered for Google TV. Its Amlogic SoC is slow as fuck and often drops frames and the 2GB of memory are barely enough to keep the bloated interface in memory while the storage is often full even after just installing a few apps. It has gotten a bit better after even Google had to admit that performance was abysmal but the optimizations just fixed the most obvious shortcomings.
I have sinced unsubscribed from all streaming services and just rely on the put.io app on Google TV to handle my media consumption needs and it is good enough for that. So if you just need the Stremio app (which I haven’t used myself) to access local content, you should be fine. I never saw it struggle with 4k HDR content nor did I encounter A/V sync issues.
I DESPISE the remote. One accidental bump and you’re on another app. Poor design.
the google TV is probably your best bet without either breaking the budget or buying questionable off-brand android boxes (many of which have been fount to have malware included)
You can indeed add a usb-c ethernet adaptor if you have a pass through power USB-C hub/breakout, or the simple solution is to buy the official chromecast ethernet adaptor that is integrated into the power supply. they are available from Google directly, or compatible knock offs are on amazon.
Total cost of that rig of dongles and adaptors is still significantly less than an NVIDIA Shield, even the basic tube model.
Thanks! Yeah, I’ve tried knock off Android boxes, never had luck. I read about wired that it maxes out at 100mbps so wireless may even be faster. Guess I’ll start wireless.
Android TV can be installed on a variety of cheap boxes if you don’t mind getting a bit nerdy and flashing a custom firmware
https://www.atvxperience.com/
Thanks, I think that’s too much hassle, sorry.
Just FYI, the Chromecast supports ethernet, depending on the model. I believe some of the older Chromecast Ultra models have an ethernet port on the power brick, and the newer Chromecast with Google TV models (which I believe is the one you’re looking for) are USB-C, and you can power it from a hub, and it’ll connect automatically to a USB-ethernet adapter on the hub. This is also how you’d extend the storage of the Chromecast, because the onboard storage is criminally small.
Thanks, yeah I read you need a usb c adapter or a power adapter with rj45 included. Read though that it maxes out at 100mbps and my WiFi is probably faster. Guess wireless is worth a try first.
Oh yeah, that’s the other thing I forgot to mention. I believe the power brick the Google TV model comes with is only like 1.5 amps, so you’ll definitely need a higher-rated adapter with whatever hub you get. You’ll wanna check the requirements of the hub and the ethernet adapter and make sure whatever power adapter you get can support all of them at once.
Personally, I’ve had no issues using wifi with mine. I used to have it connected with ethernet when I would play games on Stadia through my Google TV, but that usually ran just fine on wifi, as well. Just keep in mind that you do need to be a lot closer than you would expect to get a good signal; being placed behind your TV made of metal and glass does a lot to interfere with the wifi signal, so I find that dongles like this tend to really not do well with being beyond the same room as the router, in a lot of cases.
Thanks for the insights. Wi-Fi ap is in the same room as the TV, so that should be fine. Think usb adapter will be plan B. Thanks again for the details. Lemmy is great.