Google Chromecast (RIP)

[Jay]

Officially? Well the first gen launched in India on December 2014, a good one and a half year after it was released. So who knows?

The US price for the 1st gen was 25 USD, yet it launched in India for 3k (45usd). The 2nd gen is available now on Ebay for 3650. You get another 8% off if you use ICICI/HDFC cards.

 

[Nishant]

Google Store sucks ass as far as putting up their devices/accessories on sale are concerned. Most of the items are either 'Out of Stock' or 'Coming soon' since eternity. I got both Chromecast 1 and 2 before it was launched in India. Had bought Chromecast 1 for around 2.6k and got Chromecast 2 for the same price few weeks ago (a friend from US wanted to sell, grabbed it).

 

[Zaphod]

The 2nd gen is available now on Ebay for 3650. You get another 8% off if you use ICICI/HDFC cards.

Thanks. I just ordered the eBay one. Hopefully I won't need their "guarantee". How is Netflix's performance on Chromecast? I am tired of LG's pathetic Smart TV software and wireless adapter issues.

 

[igloo]

I have chromecast1 and netflix is flawless on it. Most review treat chromecast2 faster than 1 so I guess you'll have much better experience.
Though I am still waiting netflix app to appear on LG smart TV(non webos).

Otoh I am considering roku 3 or roku stick for my next tv because of remote inclusion.

 

[Jay]

@Zaphod Chromecast 2 has incorporated 5Ghz support, so I imagine it would stream much faster and efficiently with your R6220 than the conventional 2.4. Btw chromecast uses hardcoded Google DNS, so accessing other Netflix regions requires tweaking at the router level.

 

[Sushubh]

It has to be in range of AC router to benefit from that [emoji23]

 

[Zaphod]

@Zaphod Btw chromecast uses hardcoded Google DNS, so accessing other Netflix regions requires tweaking at the router level.

UHD playback should be much better on Chromecast 2, at least in theory. I must say a UHD TV is starting to look very tempting right now. Any tips on the router tweaks for someone running Smart DNS?

Though I am still waiting netflix app to appear on LG smart TV(non webos).

I have a non webos LG TV and I got the Netflix app about two weeks ago. That's when I realized how shitty LG's WiFi is. Just make sure the TV is set to auto update. Or init the app yourself to force an update.

 

[Jay]

Why do I need to block Public DNS Lookups? : UnoTelly Customer Service
Setup Static Routes on NETGEAR Routers : UnoTelly Customer Service
Setup Firewall Rules on Netgear Routers : UnoTelly Customer Service

And then set the router DNS to the desired Smart DNS service.

 

[Zaphod]

I got the Chromecast 2 today and I must say it's spectacular. Setup took less than two minutes. Netflix is finally playing in Blu-ray quality now. It was nowhere as good when playing on LG's app. The CC 2 on sale on eBay comes with a US style power plug but my TV seems to be putting out enough juice to power the device via USB.

 

[Sushubh]

how much did it cost you? price on import units is close to 4K.