04-22-2022 07:25 PM
I recently purchased an Android TV (specifically, the TCL 4-series - the 50" one) with built-in chromecast (BIC). The TV's two streaming apps I've used so far (Netflix and Sportsnet) work well, but casting to the BIC from other apps is unstable:
On the first TV I picked up, I wasn't connecting to the BIC consistently, and any successful connections had severe buffering. These issues were reproducible regardless of whether the BIC's updates were installed or not (i.e. with both version 1.47.216070 and 1.56.276477). Considering that the dongle I've been using for the past few years (which runs version 1.56.275994) is still working well, I thought the BIC was defective. However, the replacement TV I picked up the other day (same make and model) has the same issues. In fact, when I tested the "Optimize fullscreen videos" feature in Chrome, I was never prompted with the option.
Interestingly, the Sportsnet app on one of my mobile devices seems to cast to the BIC just fine, but other apps (such as TSN and Rogers Ignite) do not. These apps are not available in the Google Play for Android/Google TV store yet, so it's important that I find a way to make the BIC work with them.
04-27-2022 06:03 PM
Hi mathlete,
Thanks for reaching out. Please try to restart your TV and reinstall the affected apps. If the same issue persists, please reach out to the TV manufacturer for additional help. There might be some compatibility issues with the apps you're trying to cast to your TV with built-in Chromecast.
Thanks,
Jennifer
04-30-2022 06:07 PM
Hi there,
It's me again. I want to make sure you're all good — how did the steps go?
Thanks,
Jennifer
05-01-2022 03:41 PM
I reached out to TCL, and they gave me a few suggestions (including your suggestion of reinstalling the BIC updates). I had already done this at least once, but the next attempt made some progress with the TSN app. The Rogers Ignite app is still performing poorly though, so I'm waiting for next steps from TCL.
As I told them, the solution might be to set the resolution limit on the BIC. If you know how to do this, please let me know.
05-01-2022 05:57 PM
Hi mathlete,
Thanks for keeping me in the loop. I'm afraid I don't have info on how to adjust or set the resolution limit on your TV with built-in Chromecast, but your TV manufacturer might have this info on their end.
In the meantime, do you still have other questions and concerns?
Thanks,
Jennifer
05-04-2022 06:00 PM
Hi there,
It's me again. I don't want to be a nudge but I'd like to check if you still have other concerns. Feel free to let me know if you do.
Thanks,
Jennifer
05-05-2022 02:59 PM
I don't think it's the TV's resolution that needs to be adjusted, it's the BIC's - the BIC is designed to handle up to 4K resolution, but lower resolutions seem to perform poorly on the BIC compared to the dongles. The BIC also doesn't support the "Optimize fullscreen videos" feature in Chrome whereas the dongles do. When can I expect the BIC to be updated to match the performance of dongles?
06-01-2022 03:56 PM
Hi mathlete,
Sorry for the late response. I'm afraid I don't have info on when it will be updated to match the performance of the separate Chromecast dongles as this will depend on the TV manufacturer. You can reach out to them for further information.
Thanks,
Jennifer
06-04-2022 04:25 PM
Hi there,
I wanted to check back in to see if you still have other questions and concerns. Feel free to let me know if you do.
Thanks,
Jennifer
06-05-2022 04:46 PM
Hey mathlete,
Just checking in to make sure that you've seen my response. Please let me know if you have other questions or concerns as I will be locking this in 24 hours if I won't hear back from you again. Feel free to start a new thread and we'll be happy to help.
Thanks,
Jennifer