Nest Hub (2nd Gen) Streaming functionality

[Andrewmj]

I am considering purchasing a Nest Hub (2nd Gen). 

Will I be able to stream live radio from BBC Sounds and Global Player?

Will I be able to stream playlists from my music collection which I have stored in my Library in YouTube Music?

Will the title of the track (Now Playing) display on the Nest screen?

[Azarco]

Hello Andrewmj,

With Google Nest and Home speakers and displays, you can use your voice to listen to terrestrial and internet or satellite radio stations through speakers or displays, or a TV or speaker with Chromecast built-in. Check this link for more information.

Visit this article for details on how to play music on Nest speakers and displays.

Hope this helps.

Best,

Alex

[Andrewmj]

Thank you Alex for your help.

What I still need to know is whether Google Nest Hub 2 will display "Now playing", to identify the current song or classical piece, playing live on BBC radio stations and Classic FM. I have found on a Google Pixel phone, this depends on which streaming service I use, e.g. BBC Sounds, Global Player, YouTube Music, Radio Player, etc. Also where "Now playing" is displayed on my phone, it isn't always displayed on screen when I cast via Chromecast.

So the questions are:

1. Which radio streaming services are supported on a Google Nest Hub (2nd gen)?

2. Which if any, display the current piece of music (not just the station and programme) for which radio stations?

I've tried without success to find a retailer where I can try it out. They have Nest Hubs set up in demo mode, which doesn't enable me to check it out.

Thanks

Andrew

[Azarco]

Hey there,

We understand. Our supported partners are iHeartRadio and TuneIn Premium so any station from this partner should be working. While you can ask your Nest display what the current song is playing, it's not supported if you play a Radio station. It will only provide you with what the station is playing.

Regards,

Alex

[Andrewmj]

Thanks Alex for the further information. This makes me question whether BBC Radio is available at all (with or without "now playing" information). iHeartRadio is not available in the UK and the only BBC station streamed through Tunein is the BBC World service, excluding all the other 61 BBC national and local radio stations.

If I say to Google Assistant on my Google Pixel phone: "Play Radio 3 on BBC Sounds", it streams to my phone, and displays "Now Playing". Doesn't this also work on Google Nest Hub 2?

Thanks

Andrew

[Azarco]

Hello Andrewmj,

For available BBC Radio Station, it's best to contact BBC support to know what stations are supported on your display. Also, when you ask your Nest Hub to play music or Radio it will show on your display what's playing however, you can't ask the specific song it plays only the radio station.

Thanks,

Alex

[Muddi]

Hi there,

I hope we were able to answer your question with the info provided by @Azarco. If you have additional questions, feel free to respond to this thread and we'd be happy to further assist you.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Muddi]

Hey Andrewmj,

Due to inactivity, I'll go ahead and lock this thread in 24 hours. Feel free to start a new thread if you need assistance with your Google speakers and we'd be glad to assist you further.

Cheers,

Muddi

[Andrewmj]

Many thanks Muddi and Alex for your help.

I bought a Google Nest Hub 2 and experimented with this and with Internet radios. Radio stations which I tried display the current track now playing, apart from the BBC. BBC Sounds, as you rightly say, only displays the name of the station. The one exception is on a phone or tablet where the BBC Sounds app displays the current track. However, if I cast from my Google phone to the Nest Hub, the current track shows on my phone but not on the Nest display. If I connect my phone to the Hub using Bluetooth, the current track is displayed on both devices. I assume this is a problem with BBC Sounds rather than with specific devices (Nest, Internet radios, etc).

Cheers,

Andrew

[Azarco]

Hello Andrewmj,

We appreciate your time in updating the Community. Let us know if you have other questions or concerns otherwise, I'll go ahead and lock this thread after 24 hours.

Should that happen, you know where to find us.

Kind regards,
Alex