topic Re: Fewer apps than Chromecast? No IR support? in Streaming

Fewer apps than Chromecast? No IR support?

RoninRob — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 16:52:04 GMT

I needed to replace a broken Chromecast, and since that's no longer available I got the TV Streamer. So far I've noticed:

It cannot control the volume on my receiver. My Chromecast could.
It's missing several apps that I had on my Chromecast such as PBS, Qobuzz, and Tidal.

So far this is a huge disappointment. About twice the price of my old Chromecast for half of the functionality. Honestly if I'd known I'd be losing this much functionality I'd have looked for other options.

This product has been out for a while. Are there any upgrades coming or app support in the works, or is this as good as we can expect?

Re: Fewer apps than Chromecast? No IR support?

branches78 — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 04:39:02 GMT

Hello, let me try to help you out:

"It cannot control the volume on my receiver"

How do you have the Streamer connected?

If you use HDMI-CEC, make sure it is turned on in the Streamer's "Screen and sound" section

Then go to settings -> remote control settings and make sure the power button and the volume keys are setup correctly

If you don't use HDMI-CEC but infrared, make sure your receiver is setup in the same section above.

"It's missing several apps that I had on my Chromecast such as PBS, Qobuzz, and Tidal"

How do you know they are missing?, I see Tidal and Qobuz on mine, I don't live in the US so I don't see PBS since some apps are region locked.

Re: Fewer apps than Chromecast? No IR support?

RoninRob — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 04:10:25 GMT

When I was doing my initial setup, I was unable to set up the volume and power. The part of the setup where it says it's playing music didn't play anything, and it didn't recognize my receiver. When searching for Qobuz PBS, or Tidal I got apps "like" those, but not those actual apps. The kind of stuff usually served up when what you actually want is not available.

The following day, based on your post I went to search for the apps again, and now they show up in my search. The volume setup also works. I'm guessing that the streamer updated itself at some point in-between. Why that would prevent apps from appearing when you search for them I don't know, but I guess the lesson is to make sure the streamer is up-to-date before resorting to a public forum and making a fool of yourself. 😄

Thanks!