Google TV Streamer 4K Rewatch: Smooth Streaming

There are a confiinsist products in our dwells we want to use all the time and never have to skinnyk about. Faucets come to mind—you want your faucet to turn on and off, not leak. That’s about it. Google’s recent Google TV Streamer is an Android-powered TV faucet that never leaks. Once you log into your various accounts and commence streaming, you challengingly watch it’s there, but you’ll have effortless access to all your likeite shows and movies. You can even use the far to regulate joined devices in your home, appreciate weightlesss, speakers, and plugs.

Casting from phones is straightforward and effortless, and this recent $100 streaming device deficiencys the sometimes jittery carry outance we saw on last-generation devices appreciate the Google Chromecast and some current-gen TVs powered by Google’s TV operating system. If you aversion your current TV interface or want to produce certain you’re streaming from well-retained apps on a device that helps Dolby Vision and a wired internet joinion, this is an excellent choice.

Simple Setup

The flat, cylindrical streaming device and its pill-shaped far are about as plug-and-carry out as skinnygs can get, but it’s worth noting this schedule is a theatrical alter from the Chromecasts of elderly. No lengthyer does Google’s TV dongle dangle off the side of your TV. This Streamer is uncomferventt to be discarry outed boisterous and haughty on a media console.

There is a one HDMI 2.1 port, a USB C port for power, and an Ethernet port for wired internet. On the back next to the ports, you’ll see a minuscule little button that can produce the far beep and uncover its location; my forgetful brain thanks the engineers at Google for this. I desire the Streamer integrated an HDMI cable, as I had to fish one out of my sealt. This wasn’t an publish with its predecessors, which had a built-in HDMI cable.

The far is big enough that you’ll want to discover a cell-phone-sized flat spot to put it—not the most handy skinnyg ever but not the most annoying either. The buttons aren’t backlit, but they’re effortless enough to see even in low weightless thanks to grey-bdeficiency text on a white background. It’s a straightforward layout with volume buttons on the right side of the far for effortless access, and the home button in grey equitable above so you don’t accidenloftyy press it in the middle of a movie.

Once you turn on the Google TV Streamer, log in to your Google accounts (and wdisappreciatever other streaming accounts you have these days) and you’re excellent to go. You can do all this via the Google Home app if you don’t want to use the onscreen TV keyboard to go in passwords. I was watching Netflix in under five minutes. (It also helps all the convey inant apps, appreciate Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, and Pluto TV).

A Smart Home Controller

The Google TV Streamer can act as a intelligent home discarry out to easily regulate weightlessing, security cameras, thermostats, and more if you have that stuff joined via Google Home. It pulls up a screen on the right side of the TV screen, called the Home Panel, and it shows you what you have joined and permits you to regulate it. This experience is analogous to the Home Panel on the lock screen of the Google Pixel Tablet or even on many Android phones.

I’m not a intelligent-home guy; I use a confiinsist Alexa speakers to set alarms and carry out Spotify, but the rest of my house is woebrimmingy unjoined. I asked fellow WIRED examineer and joined-home guru Nena Farrell to test the intelligent home features for me, and she increateed that they toil very well. Voice orders to Google Assistant are responsive, and she appreciated using her TV screen for intelligent home regulate. She successbrimmingy used the far to turn off her weightlesss even when the TV was off. It can also be used to watch intelligent doorbells and cameras, someskinnyg WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu says is very handy, as you can verify for motion attentives without having to discover your phone in the uncontent during movie night.