Chromecast with Google TV (HD) review: Lower resolution, lower price
The first Chromecast, launched way back in 2013, was a novel, dirt-cheap way to get your streaming content onto your TV. Subsequent Chromecast iterations have largely stuck to that ethos, but none have been able to match the original’s accessible $35 price point — that is, until the Chromecast with Google TV (HD).
The newest Chromecast keeps the slick UI2020’s $50 modelintroduced, but ditches 4K playback to cut the MSRP nearly in half. This thing ischeap. If you’ve got a 1080p screen around that could use a streaming update, there’s not much reason not to grab this $30 dongle.
Chromecast with Google TV (HD)
The Chromecast with Google TV (HD) has everything we like about 2020’s Chromecast with Google TV, minus the 4K resolution and Dolby Vision HDR. If you’re looking for a streaming dongle to use on a sub-4K display, this is a great pick — but consider springing for the previous generation if you think you might upgrade your TV in the near future.
Chromecast with Google TV (HD): Design, hardware, and what’s in the box
The Chromecast with Google TV (HD) looks exactly like 2020’s Chromecast: it’s still a flat pill shape that connects to your TV with a short, built-in HDMI cable. The only differences are some discreet “HD” branding printed on the backside of the device, and the fact that the HD model only comes in white — as opposed to the 4K edition, which you can get in white, blue, or pink.
The included remote is also unchanged from the last version, and it’s still great. It’s got an IR blaster on the front, and you could set it up to control your TV’s power and volume, even when you’re using an HDMI input other than the Chromecast’s. The remote’s rounded underside makes it comfortable to hold, and the side-mounted volume rocker is easy to press when it’s in either hand.
The only unlikeable thing about the remote is that, like with the 4K version, it’s got branded YouTube and Netflix buttons. Buttons like this come with the streaming dongle territory, and Netflix and YouTube are probably two of the better options. But even when I want to open one of those apps, I always end up navigating to it on screen. I only remember the buttons are there when I press one by mistake. It’s a minor complaint, but I wish they weren’t there at all.
As much as I like the hardware (especially that remote, which I miss whenever I’m streaming on a non-Chromecast device), minimal generational changes also mean the Chromecast HD inherits all the 2020 model’s faults. There’s still just a single USB-C input, and the device still can’t be powered by the USB ports on your TV; you have to use a dedicated power brick (Google includes one in the box, thankfully). There also still isn’t expandable storage built in. If you want to use more apps than the Chromecast’s paltry 8GB of storage space can handle, you’ll need to connect a memory card or flash drive through a USB-C hub — which is a little at odds with the Chromecast’s easy-to-tuck-away design.
Internally, the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is powered by a different chipset from 2020’s model: the Amlogic S805X2. That has a few implications. For one, there’s no support for Dolby Vision HDR in the HD Chromecast — it’s limited to HDR10 and HDR10+. But unlike the 2020 Chromecast, thanks to its new chipset, the Chromecast HD supports AV1 video decoding. That could mean bandwidth savings when streaming certain content, as little as that might matter on a device capped at 1080p that you’ll only ever use on your home internet connection.
The Chromecast HD also only has 1.5GB of RAM, a change from the 4K version’s 2GB. The 2020 Chromecast with Google TV wasn’t an especially powerful device to start. So on paper, the RAM downgrade is a little troubling. Having used both devices extensively, though, they feel pretty similar day to day.
Chromecast with Google TV (HD): Software and performance
Getting the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) up and running is an absolute breeze: just plug it in, set your TV to its input, and follow the on-screen instructions. You’ll handle most of the process through the Google Home app, and the Chromecast will even try to automatically configure its remote for power and volume control on your TV (which worked without a hitch on my setup that includes a Vizio screen and Sony speakers).
The Chromecast HD is running the newest iteration of Google TV, the more modern Android TV interface we’ve been seeing on more and more devices. The HD model launched with a version of Google TV built on Android 12. At the time, it was the only device with that software, but 2020’s 4K modelgot the same software experience in an update soon after.
Coming from Google TV based on Android 11, user-facing changes in Android 12 are minor; the interface looks and acts just the same. The most noticeable difference between the two is that, with Android 12, the Chromecast plays some pleasant new sounds as you navigate the UI. It’s got less obvious updates, too, like a privacy toggle to fully disable the remote’s microphone, but overall, it’s not easy to spot the software differences.
Google TV is, ostensibly, all about relevant content recommendations — they’re all over the home screen. It immediately opens to aFor youtab that cycles through several options Google thinks you might be into across different services. Under those recommendations is a row ofTop picks for you— yet more recommended content. I don’t know if either of these features has ever turned me on to new shows or movies I wouldn’t have otherwise watched, and it’s hard to see them as much more than ads filling my screen. It’s a good-looking UI, at least.
it’s possible to also avoid the interface entirely by using the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) like a legacy Chromecast. You can cast video, audio, and photos from any mobile apps that support Chromecast functionality to the TV. On Android, that includes all the big names. You can even add the Chromecast HD to speaker groups in the Google Home app and include your TV speakers in multi-room music playback.
You can access the Google Assistant by holding down the dedicated button on the Chromecast HD’s remote. The Assistant can do everything you’re used to, like answering questions, adjusting smart home gadgets, and controlling media playback. You can also use it to search for shows and movies across apps, which is handy when you know what you want to watch but are unsure which service has it. I really like the hold-to-talk model for interacting with the Google Assistant, too. There’s something satisfyingly manual about it versus the Assistant listening until it feels like it should stop.
However you access your content, you’ll get pretty robust audio and video format support. Aside from the lack of Dolby Vision HDR, the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) supports all the same protocols as the 4K model.
For HDR, it’s compatible with HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG; for audio, you’ve got access to Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, and Dolby Atmos via HDMI passthrough. Video is, of course, limited to 1080p, but if you’re shopping for a streamer to use with your 4K TV, you’re probably not thinking about the Chromecast HD.
TV and movies from the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) look and sound great, though. Dolby Vision is a notable loss on a spec sheet, but HDR10+ does a fine job, and it didn’t take any futzing to get full sound out of my 5.1 setup. I tested the Chromecast HD on 4K-capable screens, and even there, 1080p is fine for most of what I normally watch. I did miss the added resolution the 2020 model brings to the table in newer, more visually rich content, like Disney+’s Andor — but again, most people won’t be using this HD model with a 4K TV anyway.
Chromecast with Google TV (HD): Should you buy it?
The 2020 Chromecast is still one ofour favorite streaming devices. If you’ve got a 4K TV (or a 1080p one with Dolby Vision), it’ll be a better buy for you than the Chromecast with Google TV (HD). But for any screen 1080p or lower, the Chromecast HD is an absolute no-brainer. At just $30, it grants access to all the streaming services you could ask for, wrapped up in an easy-to-use UI and controlled with a great remote.
As inexpensive as it is, though, I can’t help but wish the Chromecast HD were a bit cheaper still. If $30 is impulse-buy cheap for you, $50 likely is too — and conversely, if your budget is tight enough that a one-time $50 purchase isn’t feasible, $30 probably isn’t much better.
At this price, the Chromecast is also contending with Walmart’sOnn Android TV box, which is regularly available for $20 on sale and comes with 4K support. I don’t know what Google’s profit margins are like on the Chromecast with Google TV (HD), but I’d be more enthusiastic about the dongle if it were $10 or even just $5 cheaper at retail.
But even at its full $30 price, the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) is a bargain. The interface is more polished than what you’ll find on similarly priced Fire TV or Roku streamers, performance is quick enough to never be frustrating, and it supports a wide variety of AV standards (lack of Dolby Vision notwithstanding). If you need to get streaming apps on your 1080p TV, the HD Chromecast is a great way to do it.
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Things get red hot for Magenta
From faster storage to better speakers
Carriers get the upper hand
New colors inbound
One UI is expanding to Samsung’s home appliances
A hefty discount makes this a no-brainer
