Chromecast vs Apple TV

skeetingtons

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Forgive my life story I'm about to write, scroll to the TL;DR if you're not interested.
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Last year I bought an LG C1, and dove headfirst into the HiFi world. Since then I feel like I've gone very far down the rabbit hole, but I still feel like there are further depths to reach.

My first 4K device was the Fire TV Stick 4K, and I bought the Max version when that came out too. It did everything I needed, although in hindsight it was a bit slow to start up and navigate, but no big issues.

I decided at some point that I wanted to push my TV to the absolute limit. My first attempt was buying some Blu-rays and playing them on my PS5. This was good, but it seemed** like there was a lot of quality left on the table with this method.

So my next attempt was getting Plex. I acquired some remux files, bought the Plex pass, and played them on my Fire TV Stick 4K Max. I noticed it would buffer at some points even on WiFi 6 (I have a AX5400 modem). I did some research and determined** that even if I solved the bandwidth issue with ethernet, the Fire TV Stick was still limiting the picture quality to some degree.

So I bought the latest Apple TV 4K, because from what I was reading it seemed** like this would give the best quality picture for my Plex streamed remux files (or at least very close to the best, I preferred Apple over Shield Pro).

With the Apple TV 4K, I didn't necessarily notice much of a quality jump with my remux files. I did notice that apps like Netflix looked so much better than the Fire TV Stick version, that was surprising and unexpected. But anyway, I was satisfied with my purchase and believed I'd reached the end of my rabbit hole. I was content with my content.
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Fast forward to the present. I am now questioning every assumption (indicated by **) I have ever made.

My friend also has an LG C1 (a remote friend that I can't visit), and they are using a Chromecast Ultra. I can't find any details about whether the Apple TV 4K is giving a better quality picture for remux files than just a Chromecast. I have no idea why I never considered it, and it seems there's barely any technical information to compare the two that I can find. I guess for some reason I assumed the set top box style devices with larger hardware was of course going to provide better quality that a small dongle device, but now I can't seem to justify that at all. Plenty of people say it's better, but with no real evidence that I can see, and plenty of Chromecast users say there is no difference.
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TL;DR

So what is the truth? Is the latest Chromecast capable of delivering the same picture quality as the latest Apple TV? Have I deluded myself into thinking lossless 4K content streaming was more expensive than it is? Was the Firestick just as capable as my Apple TV? So many questions, so little answers. Thank you for reading.
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Extra credit question:
If money wasn't an issue, what does your streaming setup look like and why?
 
Have you compared the TV's own built in apps? How do they fare compared to the fire stick and apple tv?

MaSh
 
Have you compared the TV's own built in apps? How do they fare compared to the fire stick and apple tv?

MaSh
The TV Plex app had the same buffering issue as the Fire TV Stick, it seems the WiFi on the Apple TV is the best working out of the three (at least with my modem setup). Netflix on Apple TV seems to be way more vibrant that both Fire TV Stick and built in apps.

I definitely like the Apple TV the most out of everything I've used, I guess I want to know whether I paid for good picture quality, or I just paid for a good interface and WiFi. My friend asked if the upgrade to Apple TV from Chromecast is worth, and I just don't know the answer when it comes to raw picture quality.
 
The TV Plex app had the same buffering issue as the Fire TV Stick, it seems the WiFi on the Apple TV is the best working out of the three (at least with my modem setup). Netflix on Apple TV seems to be way more vibrant that both Fire TV Stick and built in apps.

I definitely like the Apple TV the most out of everything I've used, I guess I want to know whether I paid for good picture quality, or I just paid for a good interface and WiFi. My friend asked if the upgrade to Apple TV from Chromecast is worth, and I just don't know the answer when it comes to raw picture quality.

I am not sure what is the use of raw picture quality if there are buffering issues.

If apple TV solved only the buffering issue and made it smooth, it is worth the upgrade, dont you think? Raw PQ is not the only consideration.
 
I am not sure what is the use of raw picture quality if there are buffering issues.

If apple TV solved only the buffering issue and made it smooth, it is worth the upgrade, dont you think? Raw PQ is not the only consideration.
Hmm... I guess I'm not quite clear in my post. But I'm not looking for a solution to a problem, I'm looking for knowledge. I am happy with my setup and have no plans to change.

Is the latest Chromecast capable of delivering the same picture quality as the latest Apple TV?
 
Hmm... I guess I'm not quite clear in my post. But I'm not looking for a solution to a problem, I'm looking for knowledge. I am happy with my setup and have no plans to change.

Is the latest Chromecast capable of delivering the same picture quality as the latest Apple TV?
Lets see if there is any FM who has done Chromecast v/s Apple TV comparison for remux streaming off the network.



Extra credit question:
If money wasn't an issue, what does your streaming setup look like and why?
>> OTT streaming or the download stuff streaming?
There is no single "best" solution to both in my experience so far.
 
You probably already know but worth asking - LG OLEDs have different picutre settings for different HDMI ports and native apps. So a picture setting set for HDMI1 would be completely different to HDMI2(unless you have configured both of them to have the exact same setting).

Settings are different for HDR, Dolby Vision, HLG and SDR videos under the same HDMI port too. To add to this mix, there are AI brightnes and other AI enhancement settings.

Could you please confirm if HDMI setting to which Apple TV is connected is having the same setting as built in apps for HDR, Dolby Vision, HLG and SDR videos including the AI enhancement settings?

Is your question is based on all the settings being the same? If the settings are not the same, please try to apply the same settings that you like the most to other HDMI ports and see if it improves anything?


I use Roku Streaming Stick+, Nvidia Shield Pro 2019, Fire Stick 4k and Mi Box(Don't ask why do I have so many devices :)) Just like you, I also fell into the 4k/HDR/Dolby Vision/Atmos rabbit hole. I use built in apps too. With all the settings being the same, I don't see much difference in the picture quality(it could be my aging eyes too) between these devices.
 
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