Chromecast with Google TV Review

The Chromecast with Google TV is a streaming device for your TV that might be the best at giving you personalized watching recommendations, and it's only $50, comparable to the Rokus and Fire Sticks.

Let's get into the details of the Chromecast with Google TV to see if this is your next satellite or cable TV replacement.

The Chromecast by Google is now the same price as the Roku Streaming Stick and Amazon Fire TV Stick, two popular streaming devices.

The Chromecast has become a solid competitor against the Rokus and Firesticks, especially since the Chromecast now comes with a remote.

Friendly advice: don't get a streaming device that makes you control it with your smartphone. It's inconvenient when someone is calling you in the middle of your show, and you need to use that same phone to pause the said show.

Consider spending more on an Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV Cube if you would like more storage space. We review these streaming devices and more in our Best Streaming Devices piece.

Your Chromecast by Google TV comes with the following in its package:

The Chromecast by Google TV comes with all of the main streaming apps you'd expect (and we wouldn't expect anything less, Google).

You'll also find all kinds of apps for sports, news, kids, music, games, fitness, cooking, you name it.

If you don't already know, the Android Store has a ton of apps. So the fact that you can download any app you can find in the Android Store, the possibilities are endless.

Google TV's streaming apps include the following:

Google TV's various apps include the following:

When you turn on your Chromecast, you'll find yourself on the "For You" home screen.

This menu does a great job of incorporating content from all of your streaming platforms and gives you solid personalized TV series and movie recommendations.

We saw the most suggestions from Netflix, Hulu, and Max.

You'll find that Google TV's interface is very similar to that of Netflix. You have your Movies and Shows tabs at the top, and you'll also find horizontal categories.

Google TV will give you suggestions like a standard streaming service would, such as "Because you watched Palmer," and movies and shows will be grouped in "Comedies," "Mysteries," and "Fantasies."

And the more often you rate movies and series, the more accurate your recommendations will be.

And there's another advantage of all of your streaming platforms being connected in one place: you can ask the voice remote to "show me action movies," and Google TV will bring up action movies from all platforms.

And lastly, kids can have their own space with kid-friendly filters and will be able to view apps such as YouTube Kids, Cartoon Network, PBS Kids, and more.

You can also control how long they watch, and you can also set a bedtime so it turns off right at 9 PM. Now that's a feature most parents can get behind.

Our very own Craig Hanks gives you his take on the new Chromecast device. He goes over the new equipment, interface, and perks.

Spoiler alert: Almost everything about the new device is positive, but there are a couple of swings and misses.

Setting up your Chromecast will take about 20-25 minutes, and it's an easy process.

These are the following steps for a successful setup:

1. Plug the Chromecast into a power outlet and your TV
2. Connect Google account to Chromecast
3. Choose to receive a personalized experience and download apps
4. Sign into each of your streaming platforms, music apps, and others

You'll need to download the Google Home app before plugging in your device, and you might need an extension cord if your outlet is more than 3.5-4 feet away from your TV's HDMI port.

The first step might be obvious, but every device is different.

Connect your cable, adapter, and Chromecast together. Then plug the adapter into your outlet and the Chromecast into the HDMI port of your TV.

Once you plug it in and you put the batteries in the remote, the remote will automatically connect.

You'll be greeted with a Welcome page to choose your preferred language, and then you'll be prompted to scan the QR code on the screen.

This is where your Google Home app comes in.

Sign in to your Google account on the app, and then connect your device to your home internet.

Then you'll have to wait about eight minutes while it is "Signing in to Chromecast with your Google Account" and "Installing system update."

After it's done with this step, you'll be asked to sign in to your Google account again, but on the screen using the remote (so hopefully you have your Gmail password memorized).

When you get to the screen that asked if you'd like a personalized TV experience, click "Turn On" if you want the unique feature Google TV can give you that you can't get with any other streaming device.

You then get to select the streaming services you'd like downloaded to your home screen. Then the installation of your apps will take about 5 minutes.

We like that you can choose to download most of your favorite services within 10 seconds rather than needing to find them individually in the app store and download them one by one.

After the apps have downloaded, you'll find yourself at your personalized home screen.

You'll see all of the suggestions Google TV has given you, but you'll want to sign in with all of your accounts now so you don't have to worry about it later.

So when you click on a suggestion that you decide you want to watch, just click "Watch Now" and sit back and relax.

If you don't want to spend over $200 for a streaming device, the Chromecast will do the job.

The Chromecast might not have the internal storage space and full 4K quality that an Apple TV might have, but you will get access to all of the streaming apps you need for your living room entertainment.

Chromecast has a feature you can't find with any other streaming device, and that makes it much more competitive against the Rokus and Firesticks: you get a personalized experience. You will get TV series and movie recommendations based on your interests and likes.

But if the Chromecast by Google TV doesn't seem like the next streaming device for your home, check out our best streaming devices list for other options.

Do you have Google TV? What's your experience with it been?

Or do you like a different provider better? Drop us a comment below!