Chromecast - the new Google TV

Gravel

Gravel

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So it's coming close to time for Orange is the New Black, and my wife wants to watch it. Problem is, I got rid of our PS3 a while ago (which is what we had used for Netflix before) and I also moved our Roku to our workout room. In the living room I've got an HTPC running XBMC, but it can't run Netflix for shit.

I was thinking of getting a Chomecast, but the idea of using my phone to browse Netflix sounds like the worst fucking shit ever. A laptop or tablet doesn't seem much better. Am I being over dramatic about it? My other option was one of the Roku streaming stick things, but I saw a demo video of it and it takes like 3 or 4 minutes from booting until your show actually starts streaming.
 
Crone

Crone

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Buy another Roku? Get Plex app to handle any of the media on your PC, and then get access to Netflix, and all the other cool shit Roku has.
 
Mures

Mures

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Elurin_sl said:
I was thinking of getting a Chomecast, but the idea of using my phone to browse Netflix sounds like the worst fucking shit ever. A laptop or tablet doesn't seem much better. Am I being over dramatic about it?
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Yes? My wife uses her phone all the time no problem and do you not already use netflix on your laptop or tablet? It isn't any different you just click one more button to play it on your tv.
 
L

Luthair

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The Netflix website also shows a lot more material and lets you browse deep into categories.
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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What's so bad about using a phone to start netflix? It's a hell of a lot better than using a remote control to spell things out on the screen. Phones are shitty remotes if you want to flip channels or fast forward or rewind a lot, but they are great for finding shit on netflix.
 
chaos

chaos

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Yeah I got rid of my cable and just stream shit through Chromecast now, using my phone exclusively. It is way, way better than any remote and guide setup with cable ever was.
 
Woefully Inept

Woefully Inept

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The shitty part about having a Chromecast and no TV service? When my grandmother comes over the house and has no hope in hell of figuring out how to use any of this technology to watch anything. At this point if she knows she spending the night over she'll just bring a book to read. lol
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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Heh, just having an AV receiver is enough to stymie most of my family from the previous generation if they wanted to try to watch my TV. If my mom wants to watch a DVD she has to call me every fucking time so I can tell her to hit the input button.
 
Abefroman

Abefroman

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Anybody have parents that will still sit there and watch SD instead of HD? I taught my parents to use couch potato, sickbeard, chromecast, boxee box and when I would visit I would still catch them watching SD fucking television instead of the HD channel since they are so used to just tunning to channel 5 and shit. Drives me fucking nuts.
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

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Abefroman_sl said:
Anybody have parents that will still sit there and watch SD instead of HD? I taught my parents to use couch potato, sickbeard, chromecast, boxee box and when I would visit I would still catch them watching SD fucking television instead of the HD channel since they are so used to just tunning to channel 5 and shit. Drives me fucking nuts.
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Yup, gave my mom my old Samsung 42" LED when I upgraded, took it to her house, set it up, went to the cable store and got her an HD box, set that up, and she still watches her standard def channels. Reason being that on her cable service where NBC is 4 and CBS is 5, etc, the HD channels are 1004 and 1005, and she's too lazy to type in all those numbers. So she watches 4:3 standard def and she hated the letterbox sides on the widescreen TV so she made me set it to "zoom" to get rid of them.

Goddamned ridiculous
 
Crone

Crone

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At least they can get HD, and just don't use it.

My Mom and step dad have a 60" Vizio, and they don't even subscribe to HD from Cox. They do as your parents do and use the zoom. It's stupid...
 
Zodiac

Zodiac

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I bought my folks one of those logitech remotes and programmed everything into it. They can just hit the button that says shit like "TV with Surround" and it will turn on recevier / DTv Box / tv and set all the inputs - shit is great. I think I setup like 10ish different shortcuts for things like dvd, radio, tape (yes) etc.
 
Void

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Elurin_sl said:
So it's coming close to time for Orange is the New Black, and my wife wants to watch it. Problem is, I got rid of our PS3 a while ago (which is what we had used for Netflix before) and I also moved our Roku to our workout room. In the living room I've got an HTPC running XBMC, but it can't run Netflix for shit.

I was thinking of getting a Chomecast, but the idea of using my phone to browse Netflix sounds like the worst fucking shit ever. A laptop or tablet doesn't seem much better. Am I being over dramatic about it? My other option was one of the Roku streaming stick things, but I saw a demo video of it and it takes like 3 or 4 minutes from booting until your show actually starts streaming.
Click to expand...
A little late I realize, but when you say the HTPC can't run Netflix for shit...why? Are you saying that if you open up a browser and start Netflix, it runs like shit? Or are you trying to use it through XBMC (which admittedly doesn't work for shit)? Other than ease of remote control, I can't really envision any of those other solutions being cheaper and easier to use than a browser, since you've already got a computer sitting there.
 
Crone

Crone

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Speaking of remote controls. Son threw our Roku remote into the toilet and we didn't know it so it sat there for a day or so. Completely killed it. Went to the App Store, and downloaded Roku's app, and holy shit is that shit cool.

No reason for a remote at all, and remote play of videos that are already on the phone. So bad ass.
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Gravel

Gravel

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Vvoid_sl said:
A little late I realize, but when you say the HTPC can't run Netflix for shit...why? Are you saying that if you open up a browser and start Netflix, it runs like shit? Or are you trying to use it through XBMC (which admittedly doesn't work for shit)? Other than ease of remote control, I can't really envision any of those other solutions being cheaper and easier to use than a browser, since you've already got a computer sitting there.
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Was referring to running the Netflix app on XBMC. It...doesn't really work. Anyway, I ended up getting a Chromecast just in time for Orange is the New Black. It's pretty sweet, but I hate having to switch over to wifi on my phone to use it.

One of these days I'll buy a tablet and use that.
 
Noodleface

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You guys that have people with SD-syndrome. My wife is the same way. I would always say "I AM PAYING FOR HD SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WATCHING" but she wouldn't care. Said she couldn't tell the difference.

On regular Comcast HD-DVR boxes you can actually set them up so SD channels are blocked if an HD channel exists and it will automatically switch. On the X1 boxes it actually always switches to HD if it is available. Now everything is at peace.
 
Void

Void

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Elurin_sl said:
Was referring to running the Netflix app on XBMC. It...doesn't really work. Anyway, I ended up getting a Chromecast just in time for Orange is the New Black. It's pretty sweet, but I hate having to switch over to wifi on my phone to use it.

One of these days I'll buy a tablet and use that.
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I hate to be dense, but what's wrong with a bluetooth mouse and Firefox? Seems like less effort than a Chromecast/phone or tablet.
 
S

Silence_sl

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Abefroman_sl said:
Anybody have parents that will still sit there and watch SD instead of HD? I taught my parents to use couch potato, sickbeard, chromecast, boxee box and when I would visit I would still catch them watching SD fucking television instead of the HD channel since they are so used to just tunning to channel 5 and shit. Drives me fucking nuts.
Click to expand...
Heh, my parents are pretty close to the same. They've got a gawdawful 720p rear projection set. I set them up with an Apple TV, but the old man is too lazy to use it (the remote has ONE FUCKING BUTTON), so orders shows on Netflix disc instead of streaming.
 
Kuriin

Kuriin

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I think my Chromecast broked. For some reason, the Chromecast will not connect to my internet and subsequently, I cannot connect to it. It used to work. I've tried factory resetting it and everything. I get to the point of putting in the password to the network as well as changing it from ChromecastXYZ to XYZ. Can't seem to get it to work. QQ
 
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Solariss

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Just reading some of the SD/HD discussion got me to thinking. Why the fuck is there still standard definition? Shouldn't HD just be the standard at this point? Cable companies are real pieces of shit (yes, this is obvious). Do we really need to pay EXTRA for HD channels these days? That should be the norm... we're well past it technologically. You can broadcast free basic HD channels with a simple antenna, but we need a "special" box from Comcast and an extra monthly fee for HD. When are we going to advance from this era?

Fuck, and I came here to see if I should buy a Chromecast or Roku streaming stick. Any thoughts?
 
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