Why Chromecast is better than Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, and Smart TVs

Hi, everyone.  This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today's video, I'll tell you why my family has switched over entirely to using Chromecast as our streaming technology after trying out almost all of the others.

I'm definitely an early adopter for certain kinds of technology and apparently streaming tools are one of those.  We got an Apple TV back in 2007 when they released the first generation device and since then have tried Roku, Amazon Fire stick, Google Chromecast, and a bunch of different Smart TVs.  For a while, we were using Roku, but now we have entirely switched over to Chromecast and let me tell you why.  First of all it has a 

Pros:

• Light interface - Chromecast works different than most other streaming devices.  Other streaming devices require you to fire up the interface on the TV, choose a channel like Netflix, log in with your credentials using their awful on-screen keyboard, laboriously type in a show name to search, choose it, and then control playback using a special remote.  Chromecast does NOT have that whole interface.  With Chromecast, you find what you want to play on your phone or computer then look for the Cast icon.  As long as your phone and the Chromecast are both on the same wifi network, you can then play that show on your Chromecast or TV.  I think of other streaming devices as having a heavy interface since they have to carry all of those channels and shows.  Chromecast has a light interface since it allows you to do all of the searching and finding on your phone and then one tap directs it to play on your TV.  Why does this matter?  Two reasons:
• 1) it's FASTER.  A lot faster.  Depending on the device, it can take forever to scroll through their content screens and find what you are looking for.  Smart TVs in my experience are the absolute worst.  Waiting for screens to load is excruciating, but perhaps even worse is
• 2) the on-screen keyboard.  Wouldn't you rather type your username and password on your phone than use their ridiculous keyboard that takes forever to space over and space down and space over again?  And it's not just putting in your username and password, it's also searching and really anything else.  Searching and typing on your phone is so much faster and way less frustrating.
• Doesn't kill your battery - This seems to be the 2nd question I get on this.  For whatever reason, casting a show from your phone does not seem to affect your battery.  I think it's because it's not actually streaming from your phone.  It's just redirecting the content to play on your TV, so it's not using any phone energy at all.  This is different from a computer, since if you stream from your Chrome browser it does stream in both places, but no one seems to be worried about killing their computer battery since you can just plug it into the wall as you are watching.  Also with Chromecast, there is
• No remote - This is a big deal for my family.  We are a family of losers -- with the exception of my husband, who is the finder -- we all lose things on the regular.  And remotes are the worst.  They are tiny, they get stuck in couch cushions or hide underneath furniture.  With every other streaming device, you need a remote and they are the tiniest itty bitty things.  With Chromecast though, you don't need one because your phone IS the remote.  You can play, pause, forward, and go back from the app right on your phone.  And, it turns out, phones are not as easy to lose.  I have spent countless hours looking for Roku remotes (and because we had multiple devices, we would find one, but then that wouldn't operate the right Roku).  Anyway -- I love not having to worry about a remote.
• Cheap - At $35 it is by far the cheapest of the options.  The Amazon Firestick is not too much more at $50, but the others are easily $100 per device.  
• Compact & Tidy - Like the Fire Stick, the Chromecast dongle (I don't know who makes up these words) plugs directly into your HDMI port and hangs there out of sight.  You have to plug it into a power outlet, but it doesn't use line of sight technology the way that Roku and Apple TV do.  Instead, it communicates with your phone and computer through your wifi network.  As a result, it is little, doesn't need a surface to rest on, and it's tidy since you can just plug it in and keep it out of sight.  It's also super portable.  We take one with us for most vacations, but we always pack an extension cord since hotel rooms are not known for their accessible power outlets.  
• Content - this was a bit of an issue until recently.  In order for Chromecast to stream -- you need to have this little icon appear in the content app, right?  In order to get that little Cast icon to appear in apps, Google has to have a deal with that content provider.  They own YouTube, so obviously that is no problem.  And they have relationships with Disney, Hulu, NetFlix, HBO, and scads of other content providers.  The only one that was missing for a while was Amazon because -- I don't know the two behemoth corporations were having some kind of staring contest, but apparently one of them blinked, because now the Amazon Prime app has a Cast icon also.  There is a work around in case you routinely watch content from a provider that doesn't have an agreement with Google and therefore doesn't have a Cast icon.  And that is, the Chrome browser on a computer will cast whatever is playing on it.  So, play it on your computer and then cast it to the TV from there. 
• Easy to Use - I have no problem with learning new technology, particularly if it's going to make my life better, but that is not true of everyone.  My husband does not like to learn new tech and probably has some learned tech helplessness as a result of living with me.  But that is not an issue at all with Chromecast.  It is so simple, that really anyone can use it.  Find what you want to watch on your phone, hit the cast button, choose a Chromecast if you have multiple units, and done.  Even my in-laws are happy users.  And finally,
• Slideshow - When your Chromecast isn't in use playing content, I use mine as a digital photo frame with a random slideshow of pictures from my Google Photos account.  I have a video on that if you are interested, but we all enjoy seeing old pictures and reliving those past experiences when our TV is not in use.

So, those are all the great things.  Are there any drawbacks?  Sure, but there are a lot fewer.  Here goes.

Cons:

• No bells and whistles - Chromecast has a practically non-existent interface.  So, with some streaming devices you also get games you can play and other kinds of content.  Not so on the Chromecast.  Maybe this is a drawback because you have access to less stuff.  But maybe you see it as a plus since it is simple and only gives you what you need.
• Delay - So, let's say you are watching a show and your phone rings.  Well, how are you supposed to use your phone to pause the TV so that you can answer your phone when it is ringing?  Yeah, that's an issue.  You have to either mute the TV or turn it off and rewind it once you answer the phone.  It's not a huge deal, but it's kind of annoying. 
• Loses connection - Starting the connection between your content app and Chromecast is easy, but sometimes Chromecast will lose the connection with your app.  So, you are pausing the app and the Chromecast is still going.  Or you tell it to stop casting and it doesn't.  I've found that if you are a Chromecast user, you need to have a pretty decent relationship with the Google Home app.  This app is how you will install your Chromecast initially and how you will fix connections when they go wrong.  Google Home is the app that Google uses to manage all of the "home" centered devices in your house.  So, we have 3 Chromecasts and a Nest thermostat, but you can also have a Google Home speaker, a video door bell, or any of their smart home appliances.  Anyway -- if the connection somehow severs between say your HBO Now app and Chromecast so that it is no longer responding to your commands from the app, you can go into Google Home, select the appropriate Chromecast and control it from there or make it stop casting altogether.  

So, that's it!  We are a Chromecast only house now.  We also recently cut the cord, so we went from having a mess of cords, receivers, and remotes to having ONE REMOTE that operates the TV and only 2 cords that plug into the wall.  In addition, we never need to change the TV input anymore since everything goes over Chromecast.  It's heavenly.  Let me know what you think.  Comments are always appreciated and thanks for watching!