Chromecast with Google TV Owners Thread

Yes I can plug it in directly which probably will now.

I have it all set up with the blu-ray playback, kind of ridiculous that sub £100 streaming sticks can handle deciding Atmos but this brand new expensive giant router can't! XD
It saves on licensing fees not having a DA decoder. Probably why they also aren't doing Dolby Vision. Also they are focusing more on games than being a media player. And also they will be wanting to push their own custom 3D Audio from Tempest Engine.

For games and streaming services, seen as you are plugged directly into the bar, in the general PS5 System Audio settings, you should set the audio format to Linear PCM. Apparently, if you want full 5.1/7.1 surround sound signal to the bar you should select HDMI device type to either soundbar or AVR and then set the speaker configuration to 7.1.

Hope this helps :)
 
This is looking like my best option for a 4K, HDR, Atmos capable player with Ethernet. Apple TV is too expensive, I really dislike what I've experienced of the Fire TV interface and the Roku Ultra still isn't available in the UK.

I know this is a new product so wanted to ask, is HDR and Atmos fully working on major apps like Netflix and Disney+? And is there any alternative one can use to Google's £20 Ethernet power adapter?

Thanks!

Atmos and Vision isn’t currently supported on Disney+. Netflix is fine.
 
Atmos and Vision isn’t currently supported on Disney+. Netflix is fine.

Have you experienced the raised blacks bug on Prime HDR 10 content like The Boys (for example). On my Firestick 4k I have to lower brightness 10 clicks (out of 100) to get it looking how it does via the built in Prime app. Very strange bug.
 
Atmos and Vision isn’t currently supported on Disney+. Netflix is fine.

Is that true? They advertise them on movies that support them.

I just tested the Samsung apps with the soundbar and Amazon Prime content indeed works but nothing on DP.

I read Disney disabled both earliest in the year to save up bandwidth for the world's sudden increased reliance on the net but I thought they brought it back?
 
Is that true? They advertise them on movies that support them.

I just tested the Samsung apps with the soundbar and Amazon Prime content indeed works but nothing on DP.

I read Disney disabled both earliest in the year to save up bandwidth for the world's sudden increased reliance on the net but I thought they brought it back?

I've got the CC and films on the app are HDR10.
 
Have you experienced the raised blacks bug on Prime HDR 10 content like The Boys (for example). On my Firestick 4k I have to lower brightness 10 clicks (out of 100) to get it looking how it does via the built in Prime app. Very strange bug.

I don't watch much (if any) Prime content so couldn't tell you. Wouldn't know what raised blacks looked like anyway so unless an issue is a blatantly obvious one I just watch what I watch and I'm happy.

As I said, if all these niggles are going to upset/annoy people then I'd steer clear.
 
I don't watch much (if any) Prime content so couldn't tell you. Wouldn't know what raised blacks looked like anyway so unless an issue is a blatantly obvious one I just watch what I watch and I'm happy.

As I said, if all these niggles are going to upset/annoy people then I'd steer clear.

It was obvious on my TV watching The Boys, the whole picture looked brighter, the letterbox bars were visibly off black from usual, simply lowering brightness sorted it, just a strange bug. I still want one just intrigued if it's an issue on this Chromecast like my Firestick 4K
 
I'll have to contact DP tech support and hey some clear answers.

Thanks for the advice btw everyone!
 
I'll have to contact DP tech support and hey some clear answers.

Thanks for the advice btw everyone!

D+ and Google are both aware that currently the app doesn't support DV/Atmos at present. So it will be up to Disney to push an update through.

HDR10 picture looks great as well.
 
Is that true? They advertise them on movies that support them.

I just tested the Samsung apps with the soundbar and Amazon Prime content indeed works but nothing on DP.

I read Disney disabled both earliest in the year to save up bandwidth for the world's sudden increased reliance on the net but I thought they brought it back?

The only thing Disney disabled was access to their 4k stream, it has long since been restored. AFAIK the only Android TV device which currently supports Disney with both Dolby Vision and atmos is the shield 2019 (although the firestick also supports it which is based on android). There are unofficial workarounds and other apps do work so the reason for its omission isn’t due to the hardware.

With regards to your Samsung, if you purchase a device which outputs lossy atmos within a DD+ container then this will work when connected direct to the one connect box and using arc, you will just need to go into the sound options the first time something is played and change the audio output to DD+. TV is unlikely to ever be updated, I think the last one i received for my Q7F was spring 2019.
 
You literally can't get lossless Atmos from streaming apps anyway so yeah it won't make a difference :)

The only way you could get lossy atmos is by having a bluray player or ultra hd bluray player connected directly to the soundbar (or connected to a tv with eARC connected with HDM-eARC to a soundbar with eARC to passthrough the lossless audio formats).

Hey I wanted to flag this as inaccurate. The Atmos part is not an audio track but metadata so it can't be "lossy". If you mean the audio track itself is always "lossy" you would also be wrong because this chromecast can pass through uncompressed (HD) audio. Hope this helps.
 
Hey I wanted to flag this as inaccurate. The Atmos part is not an audio track but metadata so it can't be "lossy". If you mean the audio track itself is always "lossy" you would also be wrong because this chromecast can pass through uncompressed (HD) audio. Hope this helps.
Dolby Atmos via DD+ is lossy in that DD+ is itself a lossy format which all streaming services use.

Atmos via Dolby TrueHD is lossless Atmos and can only be found on Blurays/UHD discs.

Hope this helps :)
 
A couple of quick notes for anyone interested:

1. You can plug this Chromecast directly into your AVR then you don't need to worry about the limitations of ARC or change your cabling. Works great with my Yamaha.
2. I was able to stream DTS Master HD via the VLC app with the digital audio passthrough option enabled so happydays.

The one thing I wish it had is video framerate matching.
 
Last edited:
Dolby Atmos via DD+ is lossy in that DD+ is itself a lossy format which all streaming services use.

Atmos via Dolby TrueHD is lossless Atmos and can only be found on Blurays/UHD discs.

Hope this helps :)
1. The DD+ tracks itself is identical with or without the Atmos metadata, so let's leave Atmos out of it.
2. That is a limitation of (some but not all) the streaming services and not the device itself. We are talking about the device here.
3. You can download then stream, or stream directly from torrents with uncompressed audio, discs aren't the only way.

So you are still wrong :)
 
1. The DD+ tracks itself is identical with or without the Atmos metadata, so let's leave Atmos out of it.
2. That is a limitation of (some but not all) the streaming services and not the device itself. We are talking about the device here.
3. You can download then stream, or stream directly from torrents with uncompressed audio, discs aren't the only way.

So you are still wrong :)
Mate, in my original post you quoted I literally explicitly state that you can't get lossles audio formats (Atmos or no Atmos) from streaming services. By streaming services I mean Netflix, Prime, Disney+.

I have never said anything about the capabilities of the device. I am sure it's perfectly capable of passing through lossless formats but I was literally talking about the audio formats provided by the 'big 3' streaming services.

No one should be illegally torrenting should they 👀👀👀

Therefore, in regards to my statements that you can't get lossless audio (Atmos or no Atmos...) From streaming services is actually correct. Nothing is wrong about what I said.

I agree that frame rate matching is a must and it's disappointing that it's not properly supported upon release of the device.

This is an area where I have to give props to Apple for getting this right in their ATV4K box.
 
Ran a couple of tests on my Nintendo Switch that's wired in and it's about 30Mbps.

I actually already have it split. I have the 5Ghz band set to a slightly lower frequency to help with penetration as certain devices, like my phone were having certain connection issues and forging me to reset their WiFi. It seems to have helped from What I can tell.

I actually have a Chromecast Ultra (thanks too the free Stadia giveaway) it doesn't appear to support Atmos passthrough.
I think you are confusing your internet connection speed with your router connection speed. Any router from the last 8+ years is capable of at least 450 Mbps in the 5Ghz band (from router to device). So the connection between the Chromecast and your router will be plenty fast for what you need.
 
Just watched Crystal Palace v Liverpool, sound is now in Dolby Atmos On BT Sport.
 
Setup was long but painless including Harmony support. However I’m trying the HDR channel on YouTube and HDR is not kicking in unlike Firestick or Roku all of which are connected to the same receiver, Anthem AVM60. Dynamic range matching is on. Any ideas?

edit: situation even worse, the device maxes out at 1080p. Can’t be the receiver since Roku and FireStick do 4K. Something wrong.

2nd edit: works fine direct to the TV, simply doesn't like connection to Anthem receiver which is a shame.
 
Last edited:
I was hoping to get a Chromecast with Google TV so I could listen to the Atmos tracks on Tidal, but after reading this ticket on the Chromecast support site, it sounds like Tidal (and other app makers) need to update their apps for Atmos to work properly on the new Chromecast first.

However, reading the What Hi-Fi review, it says "listening to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins on Tidal, we’re impressed by the Chromecast’s sense of rhythm". Are they talking rubbish I assume then? Has anyone managed to get Tidal Atmos tracks working?
 
I was hoping to get a Chromecast with Google TV so I could listen to the Atmos tracks on Tidal, but after reading this ticket on the Chromecast support site, it sounds like Tidal (and other app makers) need to update their apps for Atmos to work properly on the new Chromecast first.

However, reading the What Hi-Fi review, it says "listening to In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins on Tidal, we’re impressed by the Chromecast’s sense of rhythm". Are they talking rubbish I assume then? Has anyone managed to get Tidal Atmos tracks working?

no mate the problem is with Disney plus. Apart from the Shield no android TV device supports atmos from the Disney plus app. The firetv also supports atmos from the Disney plus app (which is also technically android)

My Sony android TV passes DD+ atmos from Tidal and pretty much every streaming service apart from Disney. I can get DD+ atmos from Disney though via the kodi addon. I expect it is the same for the chromecast
 
no mate the problem is with Disney plus. Apart from the Shield no android TV device supports atmos from the Disney plus app. The firetv also supports atmos from the Disney plus app (which is also technically android)

My Sony android TV passes DD+ atmos from Tidal and pretty much every streaming service apart from Disney. I can get DD+ atmos from Disney though via the kodi addon. I expect it is the same for the chromecast
Thanks Chopples, that's really helpful. I was looking at getting a Sony TV eventually so will probably just hold out for that then, cheers.
 
I don't know about anybody else, but I have been thoroughly unimpressed with the Chromecast with Google TV. It promises some really good features and user interface, but is severely let down by the current lack of apps and lack of proper integration of apps that are actually available. It is fine as an app launcher, but I bought it for the Google TV integration and UI, which just doesn't work as promised.

I raised a ticket at Broken promises - Chromecast with Google TV in the UK - Chromecast Community in case anybody would like to upvote :)
 
I'm enjoying mine, fast, responsive. Remote went weird yesterday, I still think think the Firestick remote is a bit better though.

I also like how it suggests things from other apps I use and shows my progress in netflix content.
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom