The Chromecast with Google TV is undoubtedly one of the best devices to make the most of our Smart TV for its good performance, the customization and the quantity of applications offered by its OS, the interface and of course, its high quality-price ratio.
The above alone makes it a highly recommended purchase, but we also tend to miss out on one of its functions: the remote has a built-in microphone for using Google Assistant.. I admit that until relatively recently I only used it to speed up the process of entering titles when searching for a movie or series, but since I started using these commands, it’s another story: these are the best voice commands to get the most out of Chromecast.
To use: To use voice commands on Google TV with Chromecast, simply say the command while holding down the Google Assistant button, as you see in the image immediately after. Note that if the microphone is in listen mode, the LED on the remote control will light up.
Voice commands to maximize TV usage
Whether you are new to voice commands or already using them, it is worth remembering a few basic commands simply because they are used a lot.
- ‘Fast forward X minutes‘o’Go back and seconds‘. When you are in full playback, you can move forward or backward for a certain amount of time, much more convenient than moving the cursor by eye.
- ‘Increase volume by X points‘o’Lower the volume to 10%‘, there are two different ways to change the volume of the device.
- ‘Open YouTube‘, a way to avoid having to navigate the interface and start directly from inside.
- ‘Pon flea bag‘. You can save browsing steps by requesting a specific series or movie that you know is on one of the streaming platforms you subscribe to.
- ‘Go to the next chapter‘o’Go to previous chapter‘. When you are playing a series, you can speed up the process (the server never sees the end credits or the preview of the next one) with this command.
- ‘Pause playback‘, ‘Reading continues‘o’For reading‘, these three require little explanation, of which I have already told you that personally I rarely use them, since on the controller it simply means pressing a button.
- ‘Watch episode 3 of Fleabag on Prime Video‘. Although it is technically possible to request this command and it will be executed successfully, in my experience the longer the command is and contains words in other languages, the more likely it is that the wizard will not doesn’t understand you perfectly.
- ‘Find a romantic movie‘o’Look for a dark comedy series‘. This use is less common but can be really interesting when you want to see a specific genre but don’t know what title it is. Of course, for this to work, Google must first have permission to share requests with TV apps (e.g. Prime Video or Netflix).
- ‘Tell me about Margot Robbie’s films‘o’What musical film does John Travolta appear in?‘o’Tell me about the films that won Oscars in 2023‘. These are some of the more sophisticated voice commands and their results are generally good (although, again, it depends on how you pronounce and vocalize), which can help you review an artist’s filmography, remembering the title of a movie you only have a vague description of or catching up on award-winning films.
- ‘Show me my photos from Google Photos,’Show me my photos’ or ‘Show me my photos of Pamplona’. If you give it permission to access your personal data, you can use your TV screen as a large photo frame and also filter by certain criteria (if you have active Google Photos filters)
- ‘Show me the garden camera‘. If you have a connected security camera, compatible with the Google ecosystem and linked, you can see what it is recording live.
Other Useful Voice Commands
From there, it is clear that it is still Google Assistant, which opens the doors to answer questions, have general information and home automation at your fingertips.
- ‘How tall is Tom Cruise?‘, ‘How many Oscars does Penelope Cruz have?‘o’What year did Audrey Hepburn die?“You can ask him general questions or those that come up when you watch a movie or series.
- ‘How will the weather be tomorrow?‘, ‘The weather next week‘o’It will rain tomorrow?‘, the weather is one of those things that is best resolved with a colorful interface where you can see the maximum and minimum temperatures, if it’s raining, if it’s cloudy or sunny, among others.
- ‘How is the traffic in Madrid?‘?, will show you a map of the city with nuances that indicate the traffic density and a brief message about its condition.
- ‘Turn on the lamp‘, ‘Turn off the socket‘o’Increase thermostat temperature to 20 degrees‘. If you have home automation compatible with Google Assistant and synced with the Google Home app, you can also perform certain voice commands from the TV.
Cover | Chromecast with Google TV, Xataka analysis
In Xataka Android | Google Assistant: How to control Chromecast with your voice to watch Netflix, YouTube, Spotify and Play Music
