Chromecast 2.0

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#1474354 19-Jan-2016 09:38

Why is Chromecast 2 not generally available in stores here yet?

It has been out for months, so don't see why it's still only available here in certain specialty retailers for a premium price (PriceSpy shows PB Tech is the cheapest at $98.90 with prices going up to $161.24!).

nofam

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#1474356 19-Jan-2016 09:48

andrew027: Why is Chromecast 2 not generally available in stores here yet? It has been out for months, so don't see why it's still only available here in certain specialty retailers for a premium price (PriceSpy shows PB Tech is the cheapest at $98.90 with prices going up to $161.24!).

Just order one from Google - I got mine in November and checking back on the pricing, it cost me NZ$72.72 to my door.

Happy to order one for you if that helps.

andrew027

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#1474380 19-Jan-2016 10:18

nofam: Just order one from Google - I got mine in November and checking back on the pricing, it cost me NZ$72.72 to my door.

Is there something "special" I have to do to order one, e.g. set up a "US" account? If I go to store.google.com first it only displays the v1 Chromecast. If I do a Google search I can find the v2 in the store but there's no "buy" button (although I could buy a Nexus 6P for NZ$1,099 if I wanted to).

nofam

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#1474395 19-Jan-2016 10:45

andrew027:
nofam: Just order one from Google - I got mine in November and checking back on the pricing, it cost me NZ$72.72 to my door.
Is there something "special" I have to do to order one, e.g. set up a "US" account? If I go to store.google.com first it only displays the v1 Chromecast. If I do a Google search I can find the v2 in the store but there's no "buy" button (although I could buy a Nexus 6P for NZ$1,099 if I wanted to).

Yeah, you need a VPN connection to a US server, and also a Gmail address that was created via the VPN, as (from memory), there's some kind of geo-location involved when you set it up.

Then you need a freight-forward service (like Youshop) to give you a US address.

andrew027

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#1474418 19-Jan-2016 11:05

Which is a lot of work and why local retailers feel they can charge a premium. Which brings me back to my original question: Why can't you just buy one here?

What's so special about a Chromecast device, or so regional about Google's sales strategy, that it can't be rolled out globally within a week or so of being released? Are the half dozen countries still on the "Chromecast v1 only zone" (my wording, not Google's) being used as a dumping ground, and we're not getting the v2 until Google's stock of v1s is depleted?

richms

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#1474428 19-Jan-2016 11:19

Probably because they have loads of old stock to clear with the AU adapter bundled.

Richard rich.ms

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nofam

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#1474431 19-Jan-2016 11:22

andrew027: Which is a lot of work and why local retailers feel they can charge a premium. Which brings me back to my original question: Why can't you just buy one here? What's so special about a Chromecast device, or so regional about Google's sales strategy, that it can't be rolled out globally within a week or so of being released? Are the half dozen countries still on the "Chromecast v1 only zone" (my wording, not Google's) being used as a dumping ground, and we're not getting the v2 until Google's stock of v1s is depleted?

Meh - if you want one, just buy it as I've described; I honestly don't know the answer to your question, but in the time it's taken you post, you could've ordered one.

We live in a global market, and NZ is a tiny, tiny player.

andrew027

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#1474451 19-Jan-2016 11:32

I should probably mention the reason I brought this up...

In my old house I had my TV wall mounted on a fully articulated bracket which had plenty of room behind the set for my Chromecast v1 dongle. The person who bought the house asked if I was taking the bracket with me (which I was going to do) but under the pretext of not wanting holes in the lounge wall he gave me $200 cash to leave it where it was. So I did.

In my new house I don't need the articulated bracket so I bought a slimline one that has the TV closer to the wall. There is just enough room behind the set for the v1 dongle, but not enough to have the USB power cable plugged into the end of it. The v2 would solve this as it has the flexible rubber cable (and make use of the currently empty 5GHz wifi band) but I will probably buy a 90° HDMI adaptor in the short term.

nofam

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#1474453 19-Jan-2016 11:35

andrew027: I should probably mention the reason I brought this up... In my old house I had my TV wall mounted on a fully articulated bracket which had plenty of room behind the set for my Chromecast v1 dongle. The person who bought the house asked if I was taking the bracket with me (which I was going to do) but under the pretext of not wanting holes in the lounge wall he gave me $200 cash to leave it where it was. So I did. In my new house I don't need the articulated bracket so I bought a slimline one that has the TV closer to the wall. There is just enough room behind the set for the v1 dongle, but not enough to have the USB power cable plugged into the end of it. The v2 would solve this as it has the flexible rubber cable (and make use of the currently empty 5GHz wifi band) but I will probably buy a 90° HDMI adaptor in the short term.

Makes sense. As I said, I'm happy to buy one on your behalf (and anyone else who can't be bothered with the faff of ordering). Delivery of mine was just under two weeks from memory.

I should add, they are flippin brilliant bits of kit - mine's behaved faultlessly and does exactly what it says on the tin.

BlueShift

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#1474465 19-Jan-2016 11:45

andrew027: I should probably mention the reason I brought this up...

There is just enough room behind the set for the v1 dongle, but not enough to have the USB power cable plugged into the end of it. The v2 would solve this as it has the flexible rubber cable (and make use of the currently empty 5GHz wifi band) but I will probably buy a 90° HDMI adaptor in the short term.

Do you not have the little bendy HDMI extender that came with the Chromecast? It comes in the box.

CutCutCut

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#1474472 19-Jan-2016 11:51

andrew027: I should probably mention the reason I brought this up... In my old house I had my TV wall mounted on a fully articulated bracket which had plenty of room behind the set for my Chromecast v1 dongle. The person who bought the house asked if I was taking the bracket with me (which I was going to do) but under the pretext of not wanting holes in the lounge wall he gave me $200 cash to leave it where it was. So I did. In my new house I don't need the articulated bracket so I bought a slimline one that has the TV closer to the wall. There is just enough room behind the set for the v1 dongle, but not enough to have the USB power cable plugged into the end of it. The v2 would solve this as it has the flexible rubber cable (and make use of the currently empty 5GHz wifi band) but I will probably buy a 90° HDMI adaptor in the short term.

You could try b&h, I got a couple from there on the black friday sales, shipping was reasonable about $8 USD from memory and only took a week to get here, I don't know ho much you'll save from shopping locally.

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richms

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#1474494 19-Jan-2016 12:13

BlueShift:
andrew027: I should probably mention the reason I brought this up... There is just enough room behind the set for the v1 dongle, but not enough to have the USB power cable plugged into the end of it. The v2 would solve this as it has the flexible rubber cable (and make use of the currently empty 5GHz wifi band) but I will probably buy a 90° HDMI adaptor in the short term.
Do you not have the little bendy HDMI extender that came with the Chromecast? It comes in the box.

I found that little extender had so little flex to it that it was pretty useless.

Also Im not sure that the 5GHz band is all that great on the new one. Had loads of dropouts on a router in the next room at a friends place, yet the 2.4 ssid worked solidly. I'm still waiting on the unifi's to get 5G back at home to really try them on.

Richard rich.ms

andrew027

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#1474564 19-Jan-2016 13:05

BlueShift: Do you not have the little bendy HDMI extender that came with the Chromecast? It comes in the box.

No, I didn't use it in the old house but kept the box and checked a couple of days ago - just had the Chromecast itself, plus the USB cable, and adapter for plugging into the mains (if there's no USB port on the TV).

richms: Also Im not sure that the 5GHz band is all that great on the new one. Had loads of dropouts on a router in the next room at a friends place, yet the 2.4 ssid worked solidly. I'm still waiting on the unifi's to get 5G back at home to really try them on.

Hmm, that's a shame. I wonder if that's a common issue? I was hoping for a dedicated frequency for streaming that's not competing with by my daughter's laptop on the 2.4GHz band.

NzBeagle

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#1474582 19-Jan-2016 13:18

andrew027:
richms: Also Im not sure that the 5GHz band is all that great on the new one. Had loads of dropouts on a router in the next room at a friends place, yet the 2.4 ssid worked solidly. I'm still waiting on the unifi's to get 5G back at home to really try them on.
Hmm, that's a shame. I wonder if that's a common issue? I was hoping for a dedicated frequency for streaming that's not competing with by my daughter's laptop on the 2.4GHz band.

I've found the 5G streaming to work well on my unit, but it may be proximity, round a corner, kind of the next room. Using the UAP-PRO, so not AC. It's quicker than on my older Chromecast but that could be as much the hardware improvements as the connection. In saying that, I never lost a connection on the old Chromecast (2.4GHz) maintaining a good HD stream.

lchiu7

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#1474593 19-Jan-2016 13:28

If you are going to buy one and use Youshop I suggest you get two for $50. Youshop shipping for the Chromecast was pretty high for me. Would have been cheaper for me to have it sent to my friend in CA, they could strip it out of the box and stuff two in a Global Priority bag and save a bunch on shipping.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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