Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Discontinues Chromecast Audio (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the end-of-the-line dept.

Google has discontinued the Chromecast Audio dongle that allowed you to stream music via Wi-Fi to any dumb speaker with a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you're saddened by the news and would like to pick one up before they're completely gone, Google is now selling its remaining inventory for $15 instead of $35. TechCrunch reports: "Our product portfolio continues to evolve, and now we have a variety of products for users to enjoy audio," Google told us in a statement. "We have therefore stopped manufacturing our Chromecast Audio products. We will continue to offer assistance for Chromecast Audio devices, so users can continue to enjoy their music, podcasts and more."

Google is clearly more interested in getting people to buy its Google Home products and Assistant- or Cast-enabled speakers from its partners. It's also worth noting that all Google Home devices can connect to Bluetooth enabled speakers, though plenty of people surely have a nice speaker setup at home that doesn't have built-in Bluetooth support. "Bluetooth adapters suck," Google told us at the time, though at this point, it seems a Bluetooth adapter may just be the way to go.

88 comments

  1. Re: Remaining Hitler Youth Continue MURDERING JEWS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Better hurry

  2. Already out of stock by jakedata · · Score: 1

    Bummer, I could use another one. Nothing like listening to OK-ish digital music through four 7591a tubes. Friendly tube distortion mixed with digital artifacts. Sort of like crossing proton pack streams, might be "bad", or it might banish Zuul.

    1. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Out of stock EVERYWHERE.
      Walmart.
      Best Buy.
      Office Depot.
      Anyone with the thing on sale and on the internet...it's gone. :(

    2. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's always someone else's fault.

    3. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And why can't you use bluetooth dongle? I have doing that for ages everywhere. With headphones, car, home speakers and so on.

    4. Re:Already out of stock by jakedata · · Score: 5, Informative

      Don't normally reply to AC but here you go...

      1. Bluetooth audio is TERRIBLE
      2. BT range is ~10M at best, Chromecast uses WiFI/Ethernet
      3. CC supports synchronous multiple endpoint streaming
      4. CC supports guest streaming without pairing
      5. CC lets you control playback from multiple devices

    5. Re:Already out of stock by msauve · · Score: 1

      "Bluetooth audio is TERRIBLE"

      You've obviously never listened to AM/FM radio or 8-track/cassette tape. AAC or AptX really aren't bad, unless you're one of those who spends $2500 on a power cord. Or perhaps you're simply exaggerating.

      "CC supports synchronous multiple endpoint streaming"

      Do tell. Since you're someone who considers Bluetooth audio to be "TERRIBLE," what sort of phase jitter is present with multiple Ethernet endpoints?

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    6. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I know. Scalper's got the lot of 'em.

      CAP === 'treasury'

    7. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have never had a BT dongle work reliably. It will drop it's pairing after a short time.
      I hate BT audio. It works okay for phones, but I really suspect that it's not the same protocol or something
      else is very different. BT audio is a complete waste.

      CAP === 'eelgrass'

    8. Re:Already out of stock by jakedata · · Score: 2

      Oh, obviously.

      AM/FM was degraded by the digital subchannels stealing bandwidth. 8-Track was a joke from day one and I still have a case of them along with a player and the splicing die because that's just how I roll.

      As for phase issues, it's tough to tell when they are in different rooms, but you can adjust the delay in 1 ms increments if there's a problem.

      Mostly I play old records unless I want background music around the house all day long. I still crank up the Victrola now and then for that genuine 1:1 uncompressed analog experience.

    9. Re:Already out of stock by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 1

      The coolest part about Chromecast Audio is that you can play lossless music and use optical-out into a nice DAC/amp for maximum quality.

      I've got one, I'll probably order another from some store that has them in stock. Super bummed that this useful little gadget is gone.

    10. Re: Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you can't tell the difference between a digital signal recompressed by Bluetooth and the alternative CCA offers, by all means keep listening to this lossy mess.

      You must one of those who disses HD Audio formats too, right?

    11. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hopefully with the discontinuing of the chromecast audio, they will finally bring those features to the plain old chromecast. It would be nice to have the chromecast be able to be included in multi speaker groups, since I already have a chromecast plugged into the back of my AV receiver. Could play music on the nice system while having the same audio piped though google home minis in other rooms throughout the house.

      Google teased that this feature was coming to chromecast some months ago, but I still am not able to add my chromecast to a speaker group.

    12. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please, go find any Subaru BRZ or Toyota 86 car on the lot, try bluetooth audio on it.

      AM/FM radio sounds better, because baseline Bluetooth (all that most OEM stereos support in even fairly nice cars) is like trying to listen to music through Speex, and sounds like tin-can swamp-butt.

      - WolfWings, too lazy to login to /. in way too long.

    13. Re:Already out of stock by msauve · · Score: 0

      "you can adjust the delay in 1 ms increments if there's a problem."

      So, half wave @ 500 Hz. That must be great for the soundstage. I call bullshit for you even being able to tell the difference between FLAC/WAV and 128K MP3, let alone Bluetooth.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    14. Re:Already out of stock by Krishnoid · · Score: 1

      I was able to buy some just now.

    15. Re: Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you trying to stablish precise soundstage between separate rooms? You clearly doesn't know what you are talking about. Do you even know what's the purpose of multiroom?

    16. Re:Already out of stock by ChitaChijiokeCharles · · Score: 1

      how do u say terrible? Privacy Policy

    17. Re:Already out of stock by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Don't normally reply to AC but here you go...

      1. Bluetooth audio is TERRIBLE

      I’m sure you can find an app that adds random hisses and pops to your Bluetooth audio, so it sounds like the formats you grew up with.

    18. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You've obviously never listened to AM/FM radio or 8-track/cassette tape.

      Ah, the old "something once existed that was worse so we shouldn't progress" excuse.

      AAC or AptX really aren't bad, unless you're one of those who spends $2500 on a power cord.

      AAC and aptX (Note: Because you didn't even know how it's written, I don't have much confidence in your knowledge of the codec.) I use both wired and wireless on a pair of inexpensive headphones (V-MODA Crossfade II: Codex Edition) every single day and I have no problem distinguishing between wired mode and wireless modes.

      Or perhaps you're simply exaggerating.

      Or perhaps you have poor hearing.

      So I agree with GP that Bluetooth audio is crap. I don't agree with him on Chromecast because it cannot work standalone and I don't recommend anything by Google anyhow.

    19. Re: Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      HD audio formats are placebos. The only thing 24-bit (or higher) audio does is make the signal quieter. 16-bit audio provides more than enough headroom for even the most complex sounds and pieces.

      That said, Bluetooth audio is crap. Lossy compression can be acceptable (ie. LAME VBR V0) for some things, but with a second lossy pass through Bluetooth it really sounds horrible. Then there is also the annoyance of constantly needing to charge headphones and speakers.

    20. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, the warble and ringing of Bluetooth audio compression isn't enough for you?

    21. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      optical-out into a nice DAC/amp

      LOL. Why would you want some obsolete shit like that? Just use vastly superior HDMI.

    22. Re:Already out of stock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still on sale at the Australian Google store... At the original price of $59.00. News hasn't reached over the Pacific yet.

  3. Re:More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm laughing at you! You're a millennial piece of shit who will never be able to afford a house or health care and you'll have to work until you die!!!!

  4. Monopolies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Monopolies working to reduce competition and push a less-desired product.

  5. Bluetooth is shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The protocol kills sound.

  6. Truth by eclectro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know that a product has left Google beta and works perfectly, when Google decides to kill it outright

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
    1. Re:Truth by dmt0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The real problem with this thing is that it doesn't have an always-on microphone that listens to you all the time. And it eats into the market of the devices that do.

    2. Re:Truth by msauve · · Score: 1

      "The real problem with this thing is that it doesn't have an always-on microphone that listens to you all the time."

      Nothing a sewing needle and super glue can't fix, if you don't know how to solder.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm confused...are you kidding around?

      saying that something has "an always-on microphone that listens to you all the time" is a reason why I would NOT want to own it.

      i feel sorry for the people who can't enjoy a world without eighteen fucking screens and speakers and monitoring devices and receivers and transmitters. go outside. breathe fresh air. talk to people. enjoy your life. read a book. sheesh, this isn't rocket science.

      and I'm only 33 years old. i feel like an old man, watching people get addicted to things they don't need, invented by people who don't give a shit about you.

    4. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The real problem with this thing is that it doesn't have an always-on microphone that listens to you all the time. And it eats into the market of the devices that do.

      That's not possible, because there aren't any such devices. If you want to say that the problem is that it doesn't have a microphone that listens to you after you say a hotword, then that would be true.

    5. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some with Apple deciding to drop headphones.

    6. Re:Truth by zugmeister · · Score: 2

      You may be surprised to learn these devices are always listening to you.
      If they didn't do this they couldn't listen for the activation word.

    7. Re:Truth by willy_me · · Score: 1

      The product is missing features compared to the more integrated solutions. The best solutions will generate their analog signal at full scale and then inform the amplifier how much the signal should be amplified. This provides maximum signal quality. This Google product generates an analog output but has no way of informing to the amplifier what the amplification should be. To adjust volume you have to decrease the amplitude of the signal which induces signal loss.

      Users who want optimum signal quality can still get it by setting audio output to 100% and then using the amplifier / speaker settings to adjust volume. Great - but most people want to use their digital devices to control the audio. Play, pause, forward, next, and volume all controlled from the same device.

      The current Chromecast probably operates just like AirPlay. Lossless audio transmission and full control from the transmitting audio device. I can see why Google would kill the Chromecast Audio given the advantages of more integrated solutions. The market now is filled with such solutions - unlike when the Chromecast Audio was release.

    8. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's plenty NEW hardware without bluetooth input. Because they're just sound devices not computers or lifestyle shit.
      Where I live small JBL portable bluetooth speakers are popular, for 30 euros. They're nice, the sound is either junk if you want real sound or great if you're used to $3 desktop speakers, phones and laptops and speaker in desktop LCD monitors. The jack is for INPUT and I think it was on Bose Soundlink III as well.

    9. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same age there! We're probably the most "conservative" on these subjects because when we were 16-year-old and such spending zillions hours on the computer and Internet was shameful. So we did it and we were nerds and virgins literally or figuratively. Maybe a portion aged roughly 30 to 40 years is like this meanwhile plenty 50 and 60 year-olds are smartphone and facebook drones.

      We were also computer-literate in various ways. e.g. while the sysadmin or dev greybeards had shell accounts, tex files and ran their own e-mail server etc. we were at least playing vid games with no Internet activation and when multiplayer we connected to "dedicated servers" owned by other players. Even the games had a fucking console when pressing tilde key and we could type "connect x.x.x.x" (IP address) or use a separate program to find games, or find games on IRC and do something like "halflife.exe -game cstrike -[some other flag] -server x.x.x.x". Even "game streaming" didn't exist but e-sports teams of that time would post a 750KB file on their website that when run on the game engine would replay the action. (at 100fps, from any player's viewpoint, with free range camera...)

      Other multiplayer games had a launcher with a choice of null modem, modem, IPX, TCP/IP.. And this was only to play games. So, we can see and understand when a game is only hosted on the publisher's server (tied to your e-mail account) and then becomes a social media.
      I'm getting tl;dr. In conclusion, fuck this shit, but I don't know what to say to the ignorant drones. Perhaps Warren Buffet's advice, he said that he stays out of shit he doesn't understand.

    10. Re:Truth by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      Not really a point in chrome cast audio devices except for legacy hardware. The people that want to cast to legacy hardware aren't buying them anymore, they already have the ones they need and they're legacy hardware is most likely going to die before their chrome cast audio.

      Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but in my case this legacy hardware is decades old and it will continue to be used for decades, because it sounds fucking incredible and was built before the current trend of everything immediately falling apart after you buy it. It will almost certainly outlast the Chromecast. But..

      the far more likely scenarios is simply that no one wants these things anymore.

      ..I think you're right about that too. I expect the Chromecast to last 5-10 years so it would be a long time before I bought another one, and I know not many people are doing this stuff.

      It's unfortunate, though. The nice thing about the Chromecast is that it's so damn small and cheap (even if you cloned it using a Pi or something, it wouldn't be as small and cheap and elegant). It really was a great low-impact way to deliver music to an old stereo. Very high quality, different league than bluetooth. Chromecasts can decode FLAC so it really is CD quality all the way to the amp, if you're already storing your music that way.

      And just in case not everyone really understands what you could do with a Chromecast: the protocol was apparently documented and open enough that we got the pychromecast library out it. So you could talk to these things and control them. Have mpd output to stream, have homeassistant watch for play events and tell the Chromecast to connect to the stream, and you're got top notch audio over wifi to high-end oldschool stereos. All without putting a "computer" in that room. I really can't overstate how well it works, for so little investment. AFAIK nobody else sells anything like that.

      Alternatives?

      One is to not use legacy equipment and just get a new amplified speaker with Chromecast built in. That's what we use on the back patio, with a boombox we carry back'n'forth. That's ok for that situation. But now I'm wondering if Chromecast-enabled boomboxes are still going to be available (why the fuck did I trust Google to not kill their product!? I know better than that, but for some reason I really thought they wouldn't abandon Chromecast), so if anything happens to that speaker, I worry I might be back to square one with the outdoor solution.

      The other alternative is to use a "real computer." Reading the files over NFS and just run a cable from the computer's output to the amp, and it will obviously be every bit as good. So of course you can do that ... in situations where you can do that, but that's going to be more than $30. That's probably what most Chromecasts will get replaced with. And of course once you add a real computer to that room, that adds to the things you can do in there.

      All that said, it's also a proprietary device that I allowed onto my LAN!!! And it really does phone home, and I think the stream provided metadata, so it's probably telling Google what music I listen to, plus that I stream from my own server. So the spy angle is right too, which won't apply to having just another Ubuntu box hidden somewhere.

      [Heh, just realized I keep calling them Chromecasts instead of Chromecast Audio. I sometimes forget there is (was?) a video version too.]

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    11. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's bitztream the autism-hating, custom EpiPen-hating, Musk-hating, Qualcomm-hating, Firefox tabs-hating, Slashdot editors-hating Slashdot troll!

    12. Re:Truth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL! You were 16 in like 2002. Computers and the internet were already in use by the general populace by then. Hell, lots of people had PDAs and most people had mobile phones in 2002.

      I was 16 in 1992 when computers and internet were still actual niche interests for nerds. You don't know what you are talking about, little kid.

    13. Re:Truth by Fieryphoenix · · Score: 1

      I don't think he's kidding, I just think he didn't include "the problem FOR GOOGLE WITH OFFERING IT".

  7. Re:You gotta love Apple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would love them even more if they would shitcan useless bullshit posts like yours.

  8. Never seen one by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    I've never seen a speaker with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

    1. Re:Never seen one by sobachatina · · Score: 1

      The audio chromecasts also had optical output and adapters for RCA.
      I love mine. I wish I would have known about this in time to buy some spares.

    2. Re:Never seen one by msauve · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's the Chromecast which has the 3.5 mm headphone jack, which is also usable for line level audio. Use whichever commonly available cable you need to hook up to powered speakers - a 3.5 mm jack is common there, too.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:Never seen one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ultimate Ears (Logitech) Boom and Roll are battery powered, Bluetooth/3.5mm jack fed, speakers. Hardware is beautiful, software sucks hard.

    4. Re:Never seen one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      can't tell if you're dumb or just making a dumb comment regarding a simple typo in the summary..

      "via a 3.5mm headphone jack" is how it should have read.

      amplified speakers, such as wired computer speakers or "antique" (before bluetooth took this market over) ones for ipods, etc. will work; as would any receiver/stereo system/boom box/etc. with line inputs (using a 3.5mm stereo to rca adapter if necessary).

    5. Re: Never seen one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Speakers with a jack plug? You haven't tried Bose or many other powered speakers on the market.

    6. Re:Never seen one by zugmeister · · Score: 1

      JBL Flip 3 / Charge 3 and just about every $20 BT speaker on Amazon have 3.5 mm in jacks. Those tiny ones that accordion up "for bigger bass" mostly run off that jack as well. Don't all computer speakers use that plug by default as well?

    7. Re:Never seen one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The cheap JBLs even have a microphone so you can use then as a "bluetooth headset" when using the phone as a phone.

  9. Why would you even want it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A cheap bluetooth dongle that does the exact same thing is $10, and doesn't give Google a record of everything you listen to and when.

    1. Re:Why would you even want it? by dmt0 · · Score: 2

      Somehow 1 time out of 3 when I use bluetooth, it fails to connect giving me various excuses. Besides, AFAIK bluetooth is not lossless. Sure, shitty Chromecast puck is not gonna give you audiophile level quality, but at least there's not transcoding loss happening.

    2. Re:Why would you even want it? by sobachatina · · Score: 1

      A bluetooth dongle that seemlessly streams directly from the internet with no (extra) loss of quality and stays playing even when I leave with my phone?

      Just admit it. A bluetooth dongle is nothing at all like the chromecast.

      As for privacy- most people already use online music services so someone already knows what they listen to and when. You have to be especially paranoid to only play your own ripped, local, music because of privacy concerns.

    3. Re:Why would you even want it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You misogynistic piece of shit - how dare you use the 'd' word!

    4. Re:Why would you even want it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As for privacy- most people already use online music services so someone already knows what they listen to and when. You have to be especially paranoid to only play your own ripped, local, music because of privacy concerns.

      Sorry, no, if you know of Fahrenheit 451 - I only saw the movie and never read the book, but that's good enough. Or know about 1984, or watched Brazil, Soylent Green, THX 1138 or know about the Stasi, or about book burnings like in Indiana Jones and the last crusade. I might be mixing up things there but popular culture used to consider such shit sensitive, about authorities knowing every shit you've read, watched or heard.
      Of course technology makes this all too easy but maybe it gets worse because of people having lived through WW2 dying out.
      In the next decade you'll see people who listened to or read the wrong thing be rounded up and sent to concentration camps if we don't care enough.

    5. Re:Why would you even want it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Privacy/security is just one of a number of concerns with streaming music.

      Local music...

      isn't tracked
      isn't used as an advertising vessel
      isn't limited to what streaming services have in their libraries
      doesn't require internet access
      cannot simply disappear due to common issues like changes in service or licencing conflicts
      is always available regardless of where and how you listen
      can be freely copied, deleted, converted, modified, remixed, etc.

  10. Sadly the only problem with the product was the $ by DarkKaplah · · Score: 2

    Sadly the only problem with the chromecast audio was the standard price. $35 was just too high. I got mine on a holiday sale last year for $15 with a discounted google home speaker. It let me upgrade me old yamaha 6.1 to allow easy streaming. I would have snapped up 4 more if the price was $15-$20 all the time. For $35 it was just too expensive for what it did. Honestly however if they add a 3.5 mm jack to the google home puck speaker I would get go that route.

    --
    Coffee: The lifeblood of intelligence in civilization.
  11. Google canceling a product ? Surely not ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I mean, it's not like Google has a long history of capriciously canceling products or anything of that sort

    .

    If after Google's long and dishonorable history of fucking over users you'd trust Google enough to use anything from Google, your ability to make intelligent decisions must be called into question in the most severe manner possible.

    If you disagree, you're not only stupid, you're the worst kind of stupid, which is defined by a refusal to accept important new information because it might threaten your worldview.

  12. Re:More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Muh Headphone Jack!

    Tell me, do your mommy and daddy know you're such a pointless useless twerp ?

  13. Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromecast? by jrifkin · · Score: 1

    I love my Chromecast audio. I use it with my 30 year old Sony receiver driving my 50 year old EPI speakers, serving up music from my Raspberry Pi running a minidlna server. Works great.

    Does anyone know what it would take to rig a Google "Streaming Media Player" (i.e. the Video version with the HDMI output) to drive an old-school audio receiver?

  14. Re:Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromecas by jakedata · · Score: 3, Informative

    Search for HDMI Audio Extractor. They are not especially expensive but it's another thing that you need to plug in.

  15. Re:Remaining Hitler Youth Continue MURDERING JEWS. by jrifkin · · Score: 1

    I'm guessing that you don't have any friends?

    https://youtu.be/Tjp5OmoDYQM?t...

  16. Re:Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromecas by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A monoprice HDMI audio extractor is literally all you'd need. Maybe a cheap screen or an EDID spoofer if the chromecast doesn't handle missing EDID well.

  17. There's an alternative that's still in production. by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

    https://www.amazon.com/YunList...

    YunListen adapter with a 3.5mm jack -- supports DLNA as well as direct music streaming from a NAS.

  18. Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I really find it cute that you guys are using Google home products. Lol. It's really great!

  19. Fucking Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why do they discontinue stuff I like all the time?

  20. Re:Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromecas by RDW · · Score: 1

    Would it be easier to run a DLNA renderer on the Pi (or another Pi), add a DAC (HAT or USB), and plug it straight into the receiver?

  21. Re: Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromeca by jrifkin · · Score: 1

    My question is hypothetical since my current Chromecast audio is still fine, but for the record my Raspberry pi "server" lives
      in the basement, while the receiver in upstairs in the living room.

  22. Enjoy your Google walled garden by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Where everything and anything you did will be tracked, recorded, and fed to the Google data borg to sell you more ads. Any Google product that won't feed data into the borg will be discontinued.

    In fact, it should be called the Google Sheep Pen. In a walled garden, you are the customer. But for Google, you aint the customer, you are the product to be sold.

    1. Re:Enjoy your Google walled garden by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      Though you're totally right about getting spied upon, it wasn't a walled garden. Chromecast was open enough that you could really use your way, instead of their way. Your own UI, your own controller, your own music storage. It doesn't lock you into anything, other than having to have some Android device around somewhere, for the initial installation. And after that, you don't even need Android if you don't want it. So it's more like a weird Google brick column in your garden, than like being trapped inside walls like you get with the videogame-console-like situations (Sony, Apple, etc).

      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  23. Already can group CC Videos for audio, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    however seems to not be available for CCv1. I've been able to do it with my CCv2 and Chromecast Ultra.

  24. crome casr audio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I liked.it an my only one needs replaced. This pisses me off enought to not ny any more casters.

  25. EOL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Due to discontinuing by Apple, in December I replaced two Airport Expresses with Chromecast Audios. Any idea where to look next?

  26. Loved it for multi room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ahh such a shame, I use the chrome cast audio for multi room from a couple of hifi system's. Using plex it was nice to send the same audio to different rooms when having a party or wandering about the house.

    Basically turning a fairly expensive (at the time) hifi into a streaming multi room device at a fairly low price, instead of buying sonos or something was good. I won't claim to be An audiophile so the quality want so important, and as it was all streamed from plex didn't need to link phones up or such like.

  27. That fucking figures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just bought three at the end of 2018. At least I got them for 15 bucks. Google has a history of dumping products and services without much notice. Fuck them. Glad I don't fall for that google home, smart device bullshit. I even just replaced Chrome for Opera and get better performance. I'm back to using very few of their services. Gmail and search and voice still remain useful.

  28. Re:More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, I guess you can't discern the lossy compression artefacts of wireless audio when the underlying music is talentless millennial noise.

  29. Re:More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    Muh Headphone Jack!

    I’m a Boomer, and I second this.I’m nostalgic about some vanished aspects of my youth, like few speech on college campuses, but tangled cords are not one of them.

  30. Re:More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    EDIT: ...free speech on college campuses.

  31. Re: More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why don't you just use the edit button a few times ;)

  32. Re:There's an alternative that's still in producti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does it allow you to group multiple receivers to have Zone control like CC?

  33. Re: Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromeca by RDW · · Score: 1

    Second RPi running the renderer for about the same price as a Chromecast?

  34. Re:More whining from dotardly boomers incoming! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must have shit ears and/or use shit gear then. I can't tolerate the horrible quality of lossy wireless compression, nor do I want to have to constantly charge headphones and speakers.

  35. So, by BitztreamNotARealNam · · Score: 1

    How's life in the hypocrite lane?