Google TV Streamer tips to make it the best it can be

The Google TV Streamer was one of many extra stunning new merchandise we noticed from Google in 2024. Google had been totally invested within the small, dongle-like Chromecast for a decade, so it wasn’t completely anticipated that it might launch a extra conventional streaming field. Regardless, because of its distinctive options, stable efficiency, and truthful value, it was considered one of my favourite new Google units of the 12 months.

For those who simply acquired your self a Google TV Streamer, you may surprise what you are able to do with it. Fortunately, Google’s onboarding course of, which you undergo when organising the streamer for the primary time, provides you a terrific overview of its capabilities. You may see instructed content material, create a watchlist, generate AI screensavers, flip your TV into an enormous digital photograph body, and extra. Nevertheless, there are some issues you are able to do with the Google TV Streamer that the onboarding sequence doesn’t hit on (or doesn’t clarify simply how a lot you are able to do).

With that in thoughts, listed below are some Google TV Streamer suggestions and methods! When you’ve acquired the streamer up and operating, discover these to maximise the capabilities of your new system. Nonetheless don’t have a Google TV Streamer? Hit the button within the field under to seize one of the best 2024 tech devices!

This is likely one of the most important issues that just about everybody ought to do with the Google TV Streamer as a result of it’s going to have an effect on so many different issues on this listing. The suitable setting is normally energetic by default, however typically it’s not or might have been by accident turned off.

For these of you unaware, HDMI-CEC (which stands for “Shopper Electronics Management”) permits one system to transmit directions to a different system over an HDMI cable connecting them. Within the case of the Google TV Streamer, this permits it to inform your TV to activate or off, swap inputs, improve/decrease the quantity, and way more. In different phrases, with this energetic, you should utilize your Google TV Streamer distant to regulate each the streamer and the TV, which is actually handy.

To activate HDMI-CEC, maintain down the Dwelling button in your distant after which click on the All Settings icon subsequent to your profile image. Then, navigate to Show & Sound > HDMI-CEC and guarantee it’s enabled.

Throughout onboarding, the Google TV software program will let you know how one can customise the “star” button on the brand new distant that comes with the streamer, which Google formally calls the customizable button. That is a type of screens many individuals will skip by, however it’s one of many extra necessary settings to tweak.

By default, Google has this button set to launch your Google Dwelling panel, which we’ll contact on extra in a later part. Nevertheless, you may very simply launch the Google Dwelling panel with out utilizing the customizable button: maintain down the Dwelling button on the distant after which navigate to the Google Dwelling tile. It’s not as straightforward/quick as simply hitting the customizable button, however until you employ the Google Dwelling panel rather a lot, there are higher issues you are able to do with the customizable button as an alternative.

I like to recommend utilizing it as what it was on the Chromecast with Google TV: an enter switcher. With HDMI-CEC enabled, you should utilize your Google TV Streamer distant to swap to totally different TV inputs, permitting you to leap to your gaming console, Blu-Ray participant, and so forth., while not having to make use of your TV’s native distant. In my home, we don’t even have the TV distant out anymore — we solely use the Google TV distant. It’s nice!

Alternatively, you may set it as much as launch a favourite app, protecting in thoughts that there are already devoted YouTube and Netflix buttons. However when you’ve got a distinct streaming platform you need to get to shortly, you may set the customizable button to do this.

In both case, to set this up, maintain down the Dwelling button and navigate to the All Settings icon subsequent to your profile photograph. Scroll all the way down to Remotes & Equipment after which all the way down to Arrange distant buttons. Right here, you may change the customizable button to do no matter you assume is greatest.

Google solely formally lets you do these three issues with the customizable button, however because of Android TV’s semi-open nature, you are able to do way more unofficially. Take a look at the Button Mapper app, which helps you to make your distant buttons do many unimaginable issues. Sadly, the app’s free model is sort of restricted, however so long as you may deal with a couple of bucks to unlock all its options, it’s a robust software for the Google TV Streamer. For those who’re at a loss on how one can get the Button Mapper app on the streamer, preserve studying!

The distant that comes with the Google TV Streamer is actually good, however it’s lacking one thing: a full keyboard. Clearly, that will be ridiculous for it to have, however when looking for content material or typing in passwords, having one certain can be good. Fortunately, you should utilize your cellphone for this.

Within the Google Dwelling app in your cellphone or pill, head to the Gadgets part after which discover the Google TV Streamer tile and faucet it. Hit the Open Distant button you discover there. If it’s your first time utilizing this, you’ll must hyperlink your cellphone to the streamer by inputting a six-character code that seems in your TV. When you do, you’ll have the core options of the {hardware} distant proper there in your cellphone.

With this digital distant, you are able to do the fundamentals: navigate round, choose issues, flip the quantity up/down, set off Google Assistant, and so forth. On the prime of the distant interface in your cellphone, you’ll see a keyboard icon. Faucet that anytime you don’t have the persistence to make use of the {hardware} distant’s directional pad.

It’s also possible to use your cellphone to put in apps. The Google Play Retailer app on Google TV is, in a phrase, abysmal. Discovering what you need is tough, and navigating round is gradual and clunky. For instance, if you wish to set up the Button Mapper app talked about within the earlier part, good luck with that on the TV itself. As an alternative, I like to recommend discovering the app utilizing the Google Play Retailer put in in your cellphone. Assuming the Google account in your cellphone is identical because the one on the streamer, you may faucet the drop-down arrow subsequent to the Set up button on an app’s web page after which push the set up to your streamer. That is means quicker and way more handy. Simply remember that apps that don’t assist Android TV received’t have the ability to be put in with this technique.

Whereas the primary Google TV interface just isn’t horrible, it’s stuffed with advertisements. Even a few of the issues that aren’t blatant advertisements are nonetheless advertisements, reminiscent of the varied bits of instructed content material that subtly push you to subscribe to yet one more streaming service.

If, like me, you don’t admire this, there are two issues you are able to do. The primary is easy and can take away a lot of the advertisements, whereas the second is extra sophisticated, however will take away actually each advert. We’ll depart it to you which ones one you favor.

The primary technique is to activate the built-in “apps-only mode.” Do that by holding down the Dwelling button in your distant and navigating to the All Settings icon subsequent to your profile photograph. As soon as there, navigate to Accounts & Signal-in > [Your Profile] after which scroll all the way down to allow “apps-only mode.” Now, instructed content material received’t be practically as outstanding all through the Google TV interface.

Sadly, this doesn’t completely cease advertisements from showing. To go nuclear on advertisements, I like to recommend utilizing an app referred to as Dispatch. This app was designed to make Plex servers the main focus of the Android TV interface, however you don’t should be a Plex consumer to make the most of its capabilities. If you set up it, you’ll see directions on how one can flip off the default Google TV interface and substitute it with Dispatch. When you do, each time you flip in your Google TV Streamer, it’s going to bypass the default interface and go to Dispatch, which has zero ads. What’s extra, you may nonetheless instruct Dispatch to ship instructed content material from the streaming companies you already subscribe to, so if you happen to don’t like advertisements however do nonetheless need the occasional advice, that’s nonetheless attainable.

Dispatch comes with a free two-week trial. After that, you’ll must pay a one-time payment to unlock a lifetime license, which is presently set at $9.99. I did this and don’t remorse it one bit.

As with all different Google TV units, the underlying software program on the Google TV Streamer is simply Android TV, which is, after all, based mostly on Android. Which means many Android apps and video games that work on telephones and tablets also can work in your TV. This may make you assume that the Google TV Streamer could possibly be an unimaginable gaming system, permitting you to play mobile-first video games, emulated console games, and extra in your big TV.

Nevertheless, this isn’t so simple as it might appear. First, not each app/recreation on the Play Retailer is optimized for TVs. As such, Google solely permits for a small variety of apps/video games to be put in on Android TV, so your favourite titles won’t work.

Second, the MediaTek MT8696 SoC powering the Google TV Streamer is weak. Certain, it’s high-quality for launching films and TV exhibits, however it’s not good for gaming. So, even when you may get your favourite titles put in, your gameplay expertise will probably be tough.

Lastly, controller assist is obtainable, however the latency is terrible. This makes it tough to get pleasure from any fast-paced titles reminiscent of racing sims, platformers, action-adventure video games, and so forth.

Actually, the one sorts of video games I can advocate one ought to play on the Google TV Streamer can be issues like old-school RPGs — video games that don’t depend on quick inputs, extremely detailed graphics, or quick framerates.

When the Google TV Streamer launched, one of many first issues we seen was that it solely had one USB-C port on the again. This port supplies energy to the streamer. With no second port for storage, in official phrases, Google doesn’t assist expandable storage on the streamer. Actually, throughout our briefing on the product, we particularly requested Google if you happen to may use the lone USB-C port for storage, and it informed us no — it’s just for energy.

Nevertheless, as soon as the system landed at retail, individuals began determining that you possibly can add extra storage to the system. Sadly, it’s not a really simple course of. First, you’ll want a powered USB dongle, reminiscent of this one from Amazon. You plug that dongle into the USB port on the again of the streamer after which present energy to the dongle utilizing the cable and adapter you’ll sometimes use with the streamer. Subsequent, you’ll want a USB stick (like this one from Amazon). Format that USB persist with exFAT (not NTFS), load no matter you need onto it, after which plug it into the USB hub. The Google TV Streamer will acknowledge this as extra storage.

Whereas this does work to increase storage on the streamer, it doesn’t work for a lot else. Present variations of Android TV don’t assist file explorers, so accessing stuff you’ve put in your USB stick will probably be tough, if not inconceivable. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re decided to toy along with your streamer and increase what it may do, you might have choices right here.

Truthfully, although, if expandable storage is what you actually need, simply purchase an NVIDIA Protect TV ($149 at Amazon).

One of many key differentiators between the Google TV Streamer and each different streamer available on the market — together with all different Google TV units — is how tightly it may combine along with your smart home. The beforehand talked about Google Dwelling panel, proven above, lets you see digicam feeds, flip lights on or off, and alter the thermostat all out of your TV display screen. That is presently unique to the Google TV Streamer.

This is good news for individuals already within the Google sensible house ecosystem. However if you happen to’re one of many tens of millions who’ve but to begin a sensible house, the Google TV Streamer is now the right system to get you on that path!

Listed here are some issues you are able to do with the streamer as associated to your wider sensible house:

• Thread border router: The Google TV Streamer is usually a hub on your Thread/Matter units. You probably have a Thread-supported system (reminiscent of a lightbulb) that wants a hub to work, you don’t want a separate hub. The streamer could be the hub, saving you from shopping for yet one more factor to plug right into a wall outlet.
• Speaker teams: You probably have different Chromecast-enabled units in your house, you may create a speaker group. For instance, when you’ve got a Nest Audio speaker ($99.99 at Best Buy), a Nest Mini speaker ($29.99 at Best Buy), and the Google TV Streamer, you may group all of them collectively within the Google Dwelling app. It will mean you can play music or podcasts on all three methods concurrently. You may then add extra audio system as you go, filling your complete house with sound.
• Google Nest doorbell alerts: You probably have the wired Nest Doorbell ($179.99 at Google) or wi-fi Nest Doorbell ($179 at Amazon), you may program your Google TV Streamer to routinely present your doorbell’s video feed when somebody comes knocking. This interrupts what you’re watching, clearly, however it’s an effective way to know who’s on the door as quickly as they ring the bell.

Do you already personal a Google TV Streamer? Did we miss any suggestions or methods for it? Tell us within the feedback!