Let ’s just skip to the chase , because two thing are true : The Onn 4 K Pro Streaming equipment has a awfully generic name . And I would buy it instead of a Google Chromecast With Google TV .
I do n’t mind let in that I was skeptical of a $ 50 Google TV streaming box from Walmart . Yes , that ’s my anti - Walmart diagonal prove . It ’s not fair , but it ’s there , and so I might as well just state that upfront . ( Would I feel different if this were a Target streamer ? I do n’t know . ) And it ’s also because I ’ve expend the retiring four years with an underpowered Chromecast with Google TV . Same cost . A great deal of the same glasses . And lots of lag .
So what changed my psyche ? A few thing , actually . A few surprising things .
Video review
The basics
If you ’re new to any or all of this , we ’ll go under the level here . Onn ( technically it ’s styled onn . — minuscule and with punctuation — but we ’re utterly not going to do that ) is Walmart ’s mansion brand . It ’s like Insignia for Best Buy .
And the Onn 4 K Pro Streaming machine is Onn ’s latestGoogle TV machine . It ’s not its first ; Onn had a 4 K equipment in 2023 as well .
The 4 green part is obvious enough — it supports 4 jet resolution . So did last class ’s waft . The “ Pro ” part perhaps is a little more disputable . Maybe it ’s because it supports Dolby VisionandDolby Atmos . Or maybe it ’s that unlike any other Google TV gadget I can think of , this one has microphone make into the body , so it ’s a really hands - free gadget . If you require to issue commands or queries to it using your spokesperson , you do n’t have to first find oneself the remote restraint .
Basically , it ’s a Google TV version of theAmazon Fire TV Cube , only much less expensive . That ’s not the only way the two equipment differ , but it ’s the biggest . And the Onn 4 K Pro ( that ’s what I ’m get to call it from here on out ) has some basic feature that Android nerds are going to know .
It has Ethernet , so you may keep thing hardwired . Or if you require to keep things wireless , it supports Wi - Fi 6 ( also known as 802.11ax ) . I did n’t see a huge speed difference either agency ( I utilize an Eero Pro 6 mesh frame-up on Gbit fiber ) , but that also could have been a part of the f number test app I was using . Either style , more than 100 Mbps up and down is far than tight enough for our purposes here . And if you need one , there ’s an HDMI cable length in the corner . overnice .
It also has a USB - A port ( it ’s USB 3.0 , too ) , so you’re able to plug in a hard drive and use it as a build - in gimmick storage as Android and Google TV have long enjoyed , or you’re able to utilise it as removable storage . ( Those are different things in Android World . ) Though you may not even involve to consider either of those options , because the Onn 4 K Pro has 32 GB of onboard reposition — twice as much as the Fire TV Cube . Only about 23 GB of that is actually usable at first kicking , but that ’s still a far cry well than the 8 GB of storage on aChromecast with Google TV .
The Onn 4 K Pro has 3 GB of RAM — more on that in a bite . And , again , it ’s running Google TV for its operating organisation .
The setup
Let ’s go back to that bit about where I was apprehensive about using tech from Walmart . I mostly was concerned about carrying out — is this thing belong to be as laggy as the original Chromecast with Google TV ? But I also was disquieted that it ’d be so junked up with Walmart poppycock that it would be otherwise unuseable .
So far , neither of those matter has been an issue .
First , a pre - setup consideration : Take a second to flip through the quick - start template in the boxwood , if only because there are some extras on the remote control you peradventure have n’t control before . And you ’ll also be directed to keep the Onn 4 K Pro out in the surface , so that its microphone will in reality be capable to get wind you .
A couple of other features on the equipment itself include a button on the front that almost just look like a logo , or maybe a power release ( the latter would n’t really make sensation , though ) . Turns out it ’s a dedicated remote control - discoverer button . Press it , and your remote will initiate cheep . Its tiny LED also will flash , but that ’s all but useless .
And around the side of the box is a replacement that work off the gimmick ’s otherwise always - on microphones . There ’s no on - screenland notification when that happens , but you ’ll note that the four LEDs on the box seat that light up when you ’re issuing voice commands are now a consistent Red River .
apparatus was pretty much on the nose like I ’ve seen on any other Google TV machine , be it a Chromecast or an real television lam Google TV . You have the option to either go through the Google Home app on a speech sound — and it ’s fundamentally just as easy on iPhone as it is on Android , which is prissy — or you could set things up manually on the TV itself . I highly advocate using a phone . It ’s faster , but you ’ll still want to place aside 10 or 15 second . ( I also had a Day 1 software program update on top of that . )
Once you ’re up and turn tail , thing should settle down after a few minutes . ( You really get a telling about that — if there ’s a little hesitation at first , be patient . That ’s normal when you first arrange up a machine like this . ) You also might get a couple of other presentment about things perish on in the background . For me , that included a firmware update for the remote controller . Keep an optic out for those .
The remote control
There ’s really a spot more to say about the remote control , but it ’s also cash in one’s chips to get a bit puzzling . When folk stared buzz off their retail building block of the Onn 4 K Pro , it appeared as if it was shipping with a couplet dissimilar remotes . We bought our unit of measurement from Walmart ’s website will review the remote than came with it .
But on May 16 , Walmart confirmed that , yes , there aretwo versions of the Onn 4 K Pro remote control — and that the one we got will be phase out . There are a couple major ( or not ) remainder . Our outback restraint does not have backlit push button , which is a disgrace . Those are always nice to have . But it also does n’t have a bighearted “ Free TV ” button in the heart , and I ’m utterly OK with that . It looks fearsome .
So I ’ll continue to review the remote that we got — just know that it might well not be the remote that comes with your Onn 4 K Pro .
First is that I greatly revel it — more than the remote that comes with the Chromecast with Google TV . It ’s more gently curved , which feel better in my bridge player . And there ’s just something about the buttons that feel a tad well — maybe because they ’re actually a little small , or that there are more of them , and that they ’re more densely packed .
Regardless , most ( if not all ) of the buttons are also perfectly utile .
have ’s start with what ’s been referred to as the “ Magic Button . ” It ’s not in reality called that anywhere — Star Button probably is more accurate — and there ’s nothing particularly wizardly about it . It ’s a customizable clit , and that ’s just new to streaming gadget .
This button lets you do one of two things : you may set apart it to any installed app that ’s otherwise usable in the rocket launcher ( not just any random APK file cabinet format on the equipment ) , or you may assign it to trade to any other equipment it ’s capable to see is connected to your video , and then convert that equipment ’s inputs . That ’s handy if you want to switch from the Onn box to , say , a Blu - ray player .
Me ? I ’ll just leave it tied to an app .
One short oddity here , though . If the Star Button is assigned to an app , you’re able to long iron out it again to change which app it launches . But if you have it delegate to cycle gadget stimulus ( say , you want it to control a receiver instead of your TV ) , you ’ll need to go into the distant restraint configurations menu , then scroll all the way down , and then you ’ll see an option to vary the Star Button functionality . That menu alternative does n’t appear if the clitoris launches an app .
There are four branded ready - launch buttons at the bottom of the remote , label for YouTube , Netflix , Disney+ , and Paramount+ . That ’s also not at all a novel phenomenon — but there is one playfulness small trick here . Hold down the YouTube clit and you ’ll get the pick to depute it to either YouTube TV , YouTube proper , or YouTube Music . That ’s a nice hint .
There are a duo of other button of note : There are consecrate options to switch Google profiles — passing handy so that you and your spouse or roommates or kids can all get your own recommendation when using this matter . ( And recommendations are still a Brobdingnagian part of the Google TV home screen experience . ) And the “ Live TV Guide ” button ( it looks like a piddling boob tube ) takes you straight to Google TV ’s guide , which integrates a act of reservoir — including , of course of instruction , YouTube TV , but also piles of FAST ( free , ad - supported television ) channels from a number of sources . There ’s also a “ Dashboard clitoris ” that ’s masquerading as a configurations button . It opens the Google TV dashboard , which also houses notification in increase to circumstance .
The only complaint I have about the removed — and it ’s a small and unsurprising one — is that the buttons are not backlit . I did n’t expect them to be backlit given that this is a $ 50 machine , but it would have been nice to have .
The experience
I started this review with my concerns . I was concerned about slowdown . I was disquieted about Walmart cruft . I ’m finishing it without any headaches over either . The Onn 4 K Pro has performed better than any $ 50 twist typically performs . Better than a $ 50 Fire television set control stick . well than a $ 50 Roku joint . And right smart better than the old Chromecast with Google TV .
I had no problem withDolby Visionkicking in , just as it does on my other political program . ( Apple telecasting 4Kis my day-to-day driver , and I use an honest-to-god Chromecast all the time , too.)Dolby Atmosalso mostly worked across the various Robert William Service and content that support it , fromStranger Thingson Netflix toTop Gun Maverickon Paramount+ .
I did run into a few singultus where I did n’t get Atmos sound recording where I ’d otherwise expected it . I could n’t get any Atmos out of the Apple TV app ( Dark MatterandArgylewere both no - gos for some ground ) , and there were a couplet other titles on Netflix that failed . Your gas mileage may vary , and it would n’t surprise me to see that get sorted at some point .
Other than the fact you bought this from Walmart , you ’d think it was a proper Google gadget .
The other thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the see-through lack of any sort of Walmart mien in everyday use . ( To be good , I ’d forgotten thatWalmart had unlade Vudua few age ago . ) So far , no display ads . No suggestions that I buy something from Walmart . There ’s just a stock , standard Google TV experience . That in and of itself is still a pretty busy thing — there ’s a long ton on the nursing home projection screen . But I have n’t seen anything I did n’t expect to see . Nor was there any variety of Walmart - specific terms of service I had to accept at the initial setup . Just the await Google poppycock .
Again , it would n’t storm me if things change at some gunpoint . But so far , so good .
But the biggest improvement over Chromecast with Google TV has just been the sheer lack of any variety of lag . It ’s maybe not quite as fluent as I ’m used to on Apple TV 4 K , but that ’s a very small ill and something I ’d expect from it just being a different weapons platform . Flipping through apps and home screens is a fasting as it should be . I do n’t get fall up waiting for selections to change from one roofing tile to the next . Whether that ’s because of ameliorate computer hardware ( think back that this box has 3 GB of RAM ) , or coding , I do n’t know . And I do n’t care . I ’m just happy it ’s better .
Voice control , by the way , work exactly as you ’d expect . Google Assistant hears me fine from the couch . It hears me ok from the kitchen , about 25 feet away . And hearable responses come through my soundbar when the TV ’s on . If the TV is off , response come via a speaker built into the Onn 4 K Pro ( same as how it work with the Fire TV Cube ) ; it ’ll then turn on the TV and route everything through it , though .
Just keep in mind that if you have any Nest Hub speakers within hearing , you may run into secernment problems , where another machine ’s microphones get a line you when you really wanted the Onn 4 K Pro to handle things . That ’s not a fault in the Onn 4 K professional , though — it ’s just how these things do work .
Should you buy it?
I can currently say without any kind of hesitation that if I had to choose between the Chromecast with Google TV and the Onn 4 K Pro Streaming equipment ( ugh , that name ) , I ’d choose the latter . They ’re the same monetary value . They basically have the same lineament on paper . Like Chromecast , it ’s on Android 12 and is on the March 2024 security measure update .
But Onn work more to the table . It has Ethernet and USB build in . It has paw - free vocalization control via the mics on the machine itself . It has the built - in remote - control locator . And it does n’t have the lag you see on the Chromecast .
All for the same price .
The Onn 4 K Pro means Google does n’t need to make a raw Chromecast anytime shortly .
For now , everything ’s coming up rose . Any concerns I have about the Onn 4 K Pro Streaming gimmick are really about the software and not so much about the hardware . You maybe could find some subjective complaints . The remote still feels plasticky , for one . The woven texture on the box itself may get begrimed . There ’s no infrared extender choice , if you desire to keep comparing it to the Fire TV Cube . I could maybe crab that it uses a bbl power connector and not USB - C. But those are very small thing , and not in reality concerns I have . They ’re just observations .
For all intents and purposes this is , for now , a satisfying Google TV experience that just so happens to be branded and sold by Walmart . Other than that , it ’s all very much the usual Google experience .
And for just $ 50 ? The Walmart Onn 4 K Pro Streaming gimmick will do you very well . Shame about that name , though .
