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

I emotion the Chromecast with Google TV streaming dongle. I person respective passim my home, including a fund Chromecast HD successful the household country wherever my kid binge-watches Bluey. But admittedly, the dongle feels retired of spot successful the surviving room, the main spot for watching TV. That’s the country that houses the dependable barroom and the countless different amusive boxes. It’s the country wherever I inquire radical to beryllium down erstwhile they travel implicit and amusement them the worldly I have. No 1 is going to respect a dongle. Next to different devices connected to the TV, the Chromecast with Google TV is simply this thing sticking retired of the backmost without immoderate other ports oregon connectivity. You request a small much than that for the superior large surface successful the house.

The caller Google TV Streamer has been redesigned with that successful mind, though it costs doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic the dongle. It looks similar a set-top container this time, and you tin fell it down the TV oregon acceptable it successful beforehand similar immoderate different tchotchke. It’s oblong-shaped, similar the Chromecast with Google TV that came earlier it, but with a flattened basal to lucifer what you’d spot connected the Nest displays. There’s an Ethernet larboard straight connected the Google TV Streamer, positive USB-C, HDMI, and a reset button. That fastener tin besides assistance you find the remote, which has a talker to chirp, making it easier to find erstwhile it goes betwixt the sofa cushions. The different upside to the Google TV Streamer, which helps warrant its $100 price, is that it’s a astute location hub. It has the Matter protocol built in.

© Florence Ion / Gizmodo

The revamped distant is different constituent of this streaming package. It’s larger, has improved ergonomics, and has a measurement fastener connected the distant alternatively than connected the side. I’m inactive getting utilized to the caller placement. I’ve go well-trained to thumb the close broadside of the distant for the volume. You tin programme an app with a caller shortcut fastener adjacent to the powerfulness fastener astatine the bottommost of the remote. I’m inactive unsure what to delegate to it. There’s a fastener for the Google Home power sheet and a microphone fastener for dependable control. There are besides buttons for Netflix and YouTube connected the remote.

The Google TV Streamer is the archetypal clip Google made a streaming set-top container that wasn’t conscionable a dongle you plug into the TV. I’m inactive investigating it out, though I did get a accidental to acceptable it up. The setup is the aforesaid arsenic its predecessors, though you’ll person to fetch an HDMI cablegram for it this clip since determination isn’t 1 built into the device. The HDMI cablegram sticks retired if you don’t person a achromatic cablegram similar Google does successful its marketing. I’ll person much to study successful an upcoming review.

The caller Google TV Streamer is disposable to bargain for $100. If it’s retired of your budget, Google inactive sells the $30 and $50 Chromecast dongles.