• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    311 months ago

    Is there anything interesting you can do with a Chromecast dongle by jailbreaking it, if you can get one for cheap?

    • Blackout
      link
      fedilink
      811 months ago

      Don’t need to jailbreak, it already works with pirate sites with the right app

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    15111 months ago

    I feel the original Chromecast was probably the last truly great original Google product, it was simple, it was inexpensive and it worked - you just plugged it in, joined your network and you were off, there really wasn’t anything like it at the time.

    I really hate what they’ve become.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        4211 months ago

        Chromecast with Google TV made the “simple” casting worse for some apps like Netflix. Instead of it casting directly, it would spawn the Netflix app and make you use the remote to reselect the show you wanted to see.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          711 months ago

          Also they made it reliant on the Google Home app, which makes it really hard to change WiFi networks. It’s a pain in the ass if you have multiple WiFi networks setup at your house.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            211 months ago

            Remind me, what app did it use before? I have had Chromecast since gen 1, can’t remember any other app, but that’s probably my memory failing.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              3
              edit-2
              11 months ago

              Honestly I don’t remember. I had a gen 1 Chromecast as well and I think it was just a Chromecast app. Now it’s all integrated with Google Home.

              Edit: I tried googling it and under the Wikipedia page description it showed the following. But what’s funny is if you go to the Wikipedia page, that text is no longer there.

              Originally called simply “Chromecast”, the app was released concurrently with the original Chromecast video model …

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              211 months ago

              I personally have a Comcast router/modem with its own network. I have a network switch that I plug into the router that I use for hard coded stuff. Mostly my PC and a couple other things that I want to run fast instead of convenient. Then I have a WiFi mesh network that I run for most of my other devices, including my phone.

              So for my Chromecast, if I want to stream from my phone on the mesh network, I have it on one network. But if I want to stream from my PC, I have it on another network. While with most devices, changing the network you’re connected to is simple, it’s a massive pain in the ass with a Chromecast.

              • Natanael
                link
                fedilink
                English
                111 months ago

                What you need to do is put devices which you want to access from multiple networks in a specific network / VLAN and then bridge it over

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                English
                111 months ago

                So as far as I understand, you have

                • Outer router (Comcast), which has WiFi enabled
                • Inner router (your own), which has WiFi enabled, and further meshes with other WiFi mesh devices (or is the mesh separate?)
                • A plain switch, for stuff you want cabled and fast

                Is that correct?

                Why not get the WiFi in the Comcast router disabled, and use your inner network exclusively, such that both WiFi and ethernet devices are on the same network?

                That’s what I did with my network, and I even got the ISP to put their modem/router into bridge mode, so it’s completely transparent.

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  111 months ago

                  I could, but I like having the router network as an option to connect to. I know the point of a mesh network is to improve WiFi connectivity overall, but every once in a while it will get a bit laggy when streaming a video. Probably because I’ve got like 90 some devices connected to it. I like having the option to switch my phone to the router network and go upstream of all the other stuff.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              211 months ago

              I take my Chromecast on holiday, you basically have to factory reset it every time to change network. But my recollection is that you’ve always had to do that.

              • @[email protected]
                link
                fedilink
                English
                211 months ago

                That makes perfect sense, and switching is definitely annoying then… But the person I responded to said they had multiple WiFi networks at home… E.g. Not on holiday

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              211 months ago

              I have a trusted network, an IoT network (where the CC would go), and a guest network.

              I know most people aren’t going to have the time or knowledge set up network segmentation, but it’s still good practice.

                • @[email protected]
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  110 months ago

                  I mean, yes? I’m obviously using VLANs here. I’m not running a separate switch and AP for each network…

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          311 months ago

          Yeah I got one of the newer ones after having a ton of the earlier models and I was disgusted by that change. Instantly returned it and bought one of the discontinued Ultras for 4K.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        2211 months ago

        I feels like they either badly copy (see Gemini) or don’t think about what they’re offering (see Stadia’s busted business model) they’re content to milk the existing services they’ve already got and make them worse by cramming in more ads (see YouTube, Google’s search result pages) and they cut out or dictate the web through their monopolies (see AMP and Chrome) rather than working with other parties to make good products.

        They feel like Hooli in Silicon Valley, basically the definition of a fat tech giant who doesn’t do any innovation of their own.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          511 months ago

          Badly copy (see Gemini)

          Tf are you smoking dude, Google has been working on AI long before ChatGPT was a twinkle in Sam Altman’s eye. They didn’t release any public models because they wanted to go about it safely and not just dump the world’s best misinformation creator on the open market for anyone to use with little safeguards. All that went out the window when ChatGPT got all the press and google decided they wanted a piece of the hype, but pretending they “didn’t do any innovation of their own” in regards to AI is ludicrous. They have been at the forefront of AI development for the last decade, and the fact you think otherwise shows your only knowledge about AI is from after ChatGPT headlines started coming out.

    • The Quuuuuill
      link
      fedilink
      English
      3111 months ago

      What’s funny is that was actually the start of them becoming who they are now. There’s a litany of evidence they stole the Chromecast technology

      • Natanael
        link
        fedilink
        English
        3
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        The remote playback control over network patents? I can’t see why those patents should be valid, everything there has prior art done in the 80’s

        What I’m more pissed about is how Google killed Miracast (it’s technically still around but Google removed it from default Android and OEMs have to choose to enable it) and how they fought against 3rd party implementations to keep the Chromecast protocol closed.

        I see there’s ongoing work for a Matter based standard for casting, I really hope that ends up getting broad support. We need something better than DLNA (and Miracast is technically DLNA over WiFi Direct). We need an open casting standard supporting Chromecast-like remote interactive content (the device is essentially a remote controlled web browser)

  • SkaveRat
    link
    fedilink
    English
    4011 months ago

    “okay, what successful product are we going to kill next?”

  • FalseMyrmidon
    link
    fedilink
    211 months ago

    Makes sense. Smart TVs weren’t common at that point, now you can’t avoid them.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1211 months ago

      I don’t allow my TVs to touch the internet. I hadn’t realized how much they phone home until disabling upnp on my router locked the tv up and I couldn’t navigate the Home Screen without a terrible delay. The telemetry collection is out of control and they fingerprint everything you watch from a connected device. No thanks.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      511 months ago

      Still works better for traveling. Hotel smart TVs are even worse than the home models, but if you have an open HDMI port on it and can work out the wifi, you’re in business.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    29
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    It didn’t have planned obsolescence in it. People bought the 3 devices they needed for their house, and have been coasting off them for a decade. Maybe with the occasional refresh for 4k or a worn out USB port or whatever.

    Just corporate greed on display here. People stopped buying them because the product was simple and did what it was supposed to for a long time. Gotta enshitify it so we see those $$$ roll in again.

    Edit - they also probably thought it would be a revenue stream for buying videos through Google or get their cut from some android app, but people instead watched their media from sources outside their pay umbrella

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      511 months ago

      Yeah I’ve had the same Chromecast since close to when they first came out. Haven’t had any problems outside of apps not supporting it very well sometimes, which isnt really a problem with the device itself. Still works perfectly even with pretty constant use as I use it for having videos on while I fall asleep.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      111 months ago

      dit - they also probably thought it would be a revenue stream for buying videos

      Jokes on them, I enabled “App-only” mode which only displays installed apps

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    56
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Did y’all even click the article?

    It will be rebranded, basically, to become the Google TV streamer. The tech is not going anywhere.

    “In place of the Chromecast, the company will offer the newly announced $99.99 Google TV Streamer, which launches on September 24th.”

    • surfrock66OP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      811 months ago

      It’s a different device. Already, the existing google tv workflow is different than the chromecast, which was phone control first. Now, it brings up an app which favors navigation with the remote. If I want a set top box, I’ll put a kodi box in…I wanted a dumb dongle which could be controlled from a phone. It’s fundamentally a different product.

      My hope is that casting decouples as a concept from being a google protocol. Even though Amazon is backing it now, I hope MatterCast can become an open casting standard. My vision is having MatterCast be an installable add-on to Kodi, and then an ultra-light image can be made for super low-end devices supporting audio and video (or both).

  • FireWire400
    link
    fedilink
    English
    311 months ago

    As long as they don’t completely nix the support à la Spotify Car Thing I’m fine with it

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    511 months ago

    Be nice to have something to replace my Nvidia shield pro with that’s not an apple tv. Looking forward to seeing how the new streaming device compares

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1411 months ago

        Won’t Chromecast still exist as a service? Just because they aren’t making the dongle doesn’t mean all the Chromecast enabled devices are just going to stop working or even being made. Just about every display that’s made has Chromecast built in now.

  • @[email protected]
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1011 months ago

    Switched to apple TV already. Googles lame ad infused cheap plastic remote did the trick on me. They have to pay ME if they want a Youtube and Netflix ad laying on my table at home.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    6611 months ago

    Me - Ok Google, give me a open source way to turn my raspberry pi into a 4k streaming box.

    Google - Got it. Playing Tyler Swift on living room tv

    Me - wtf?

    • Justin
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1211 months ago

      KDE Plasma Big screen looks promising. Combine it with TV friendly apps like Jellyfin and plasma tube, and it should be pretty competitive and actually receive updates.

      • Jeena
        link
        fedilink
        711 months ago

        Thanks for mentioning KDE Plasma Big Screen it’s an interesting attempt. It’s written in Qt, like many of the TV UIs today anyway. I need to check it out.

        • Justin
          link
          fedilink
          English
          411 months ago

          Yeah, I’m thinking of trying it out once my fan less N100 box arrives from china. Should have much better AV1 performance and subtitle rendering performance than my Google TV.

          I had a “fun” experience the other month with my Google TV where it was refusing to connect to my Jellyfin server. Turns out Google hasn’t updated the HTTPS CAs in over 2 years, and it was no longer compatible with the latest Let’s Encrypt X2 certificates which was announced back in 2020. Android TV has some good apps, but it is a software, ads, and security nightmare.

    • Avid Amoeba
      link
      fedilink
      English
      611 months ago

      HardKernel makesa a few ODROID models that come with available Android TV builds. Some have the same chipset as the AMLogic on the CCwGTV 4K and they aren’t terribly expensive. If I wanted an open source Chromecast replacement I’d go for that.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1411 months ago

    Hopefully people will reverse engineer the firmware and protocol so that the old devices aren’t total landfill.

    Google have lost their mind…

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      811 months ago

      I think it just means google would stop selling it as the new google TV streamer is up for sale. My Chromecast from 2015 is still working till this day.