Smart Speakers
Discussion
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I genuinely have no idea. If I want music I just chose it on Spotify on my phone and send it to one of the hifi's using Chromecast Audio. If I want to find something simple I Google it on my phone. If it's more complex I'll use one of the four laptops lying around the house or the Chromebase in the study.There's also an Alexa and two Google speaker things in the house but these have been relegated to the bedrooms where they are used as voice-activated alarm clocks by my wife & kids.
And if you ask me they're pretty s
t at that.I just don't get the point.
Your issue should be with LG making a st job of shoehorning Google assistant into their product.
That is not a true reflection of how Google Assistant performs.
Also, by now, you should have returned your device as faulty, as it clearly is.
I don't know what else to say to help you. Only you can decide if you want to put up with a badly designed piece of hardware.
t job of shoehorning Google assistant into their product.That is not a true reflection of how Google Assistant performs.
Also, by now, you should have returned your device as faulty, as it clearly is.
I don't know what else to say to help you. Only you can decide if you want to put up with a badly designed piece of hardware.
I have used several devices with Google assistant built in
Currently have several in the house 2 are the LG's one is used by my daughter. I used a Sonos One for a while and actually prefer the sound of the LG. Once you take the enhancement off via LG's own app the LG's have a great clear weighty sound. They also play poorer quality tracks really well. I believe this is due to the sound enhancements inside
To be fair I have a very good wi-fi system installed which cost very little. I do have dedicated routers as access points and there is a media SSID that the units link to so that may go some way to why they get a good signal.My %Ghz and 2.4 GHz are all separated.
What the OP describes is a faulty unit and should have been returned months ago.
As regards the usefulness of the units it depends what you want. Personally I think the google ones are better than the ones using Alexa. I was actually surprised at how much more accurate the Sonos was when connected to Google than to Alexa.
The Sony one we have in the bedroom is great as it has a dimmable time display so doubles as a night clock
What the OP describes is a faulty unit and should have been returned months ago. I don't believe its possible to flash the firmware in these but I expect there is some issue
The price reduction was more to do with some manufacturers realising that their products were unable to compete with the sub £100 pricing that Google own branded units were selling at. More that than dumping faulty units into the marketplace
The quality of construction clarity of speakers is better in the LG unit than the (original) Sony one
Sorry OP you are running a duff unit simple as that Get it returned Good luck
Currently have several in the house 2 are the LG's one is used by my daughter. I used a Sonos One for a while and actually prefer the sound of the LG. Once you take the enhancement off via LG's own app the LG's have a great clear weighty sound. They also play poorer quality tracks really well. I believe this is due to the sound enhancements inside
To be fair I have a very good wi-fi system installed which cost very little. I do have dedicated routers as access points and there is a media SSID that the units link to so that may go some way to why they get a good signal.My %Ghz and 2.4 GHz are all separated.
What the OP describes is a faulty unit and should have been returned months ago.
As regards the usefulness of the units it depends what you want. Personally I think the google ones are better than the ones using Alexa. I was actually surprised at how much more accurate the Sonos was when connected to Google than to Alexa.
The Sony one we have in the bedroom is great as it has a dimmable time display so doubles as a night clock
What the OP describes is a faulty unit and should have been returned months ago. I don't believe its possible to flash the firmware in these but I expect there is some issue
The price reduction was more to do with some manufacturers realising that their products were unable to compete with the sub £100 pricing that Google own branded units were selling at. More that than dumping faulty units into the marketplace
The quality of construction clarity of speakers is better in the LG unit than the (original) Sony one
Sorry OP you are running a duff unit simple as that Get it returned Good luck
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 11th January 20:14
I've got 3 Echo Dots and an Echo Show (only because it was included in a Ring Black Friday deal). I use them mainly for multi-room music and as a voice interface to my SmartThings automations. They do both pretty well. The only problem I've found is one - and not always the same one - will occasionally get sluggish and confused if they've been playing music for a few hours and needs power cycling to recover. I haven't yet replaced the alarm clock with the Show as it turns the bloody screen on at the slightest provocation.
I'm a fan. I use my Google Home/Nest devices for streaming Spotify playlists, alarms, timers, reminders, controlling my smart bulbs, streaming audio books from my phone and playing rain sounds to help me sleep.
In terms of asking questions I think it's pretty good generally. Usually I'm asking about the weather, but they are useful for "how do I/how long to get to x by car/public transport" type questions.
It also works well for asking where shops are, when they open, when various films are on at my local cinema.
I just asked it how you catch ebola and got a pretty clear and comprehensive answer! I think the last question I asked it that it could not give me an answer for was about the Christmas bin collections.
I've got two Google Homes linked in stereo mode on the bedside tables, a Nest Hub Max in the lounge and a Nest Mini fixed under the kitchen cupboards. I'd have one in the bathroom if I had a suitable power supply.
In terms of asking questions I think it's pretty good generally. Usually I'm asking about the weather, but they are useful for "how do I/how long to get to x by car/public transport" type questions.
It also works well for asking where shops are, when they open, when various films are on at my local cinema.
I just asked it how you catch ebola and got a pretty clear and comprehensive answer! I think the last question I asked it that it could not give me an answer for was about the Christmas bin collections.
I've got two Google Homes linked in stereo mode on the bedside tables, a Nest Hub Max in the lounge and a Nest Mini fixed under the kitchen cupboards. I'd have one in the bathroom if I had a suitable power supply.
I have 4 google home devices, 2 mini, 1 home and a JBL battery powered one. All perform faultlessly and have done for over a year. I stream BBC radio for at least 6 hours everyday and rarely have a problem. You need a good network connection for them, if they are dropping out I would suggest you look at you wifi signal. As for asking question you need to be positive in the way you speak. I also use them for voice control of my home automation with out any issues, the biggest problem I have is someone talking when I am trying to issue commands to google, but it is understandable that it cant understand me when some is talking as well.
We bought an echo dot recently for the kitchen diner.
It's basically to play a little music, instead of a twenty quid dab kitchen radio.
It seems pretty good at that. I ask for absolute radio 90s and that's what I get. I also use the timer function when cooking and ask it the weather. I'm not expecting anything more of it. It's already got access to far more music and radio than the equivalent dab radio.
It's basically to play a little music, instead of a twenty quid dab kitchen radio.
It seems pretty good at that. I ask for absolute radio 90s and that's what I get. I also use the timer function when cooking and ask it the weather. I'm not expecting anything more of it. It's already got access to far more music and radio than the equivalent dab radio.
I have a Sonos One or Play 1; the one with Alexa!
As a music playing device it's great, I do ask it to play certain tracks, radio stations or albums and generally it gets it correct from the off, I use it as a timer when cooking (it's in the kitchen), but that is pretty much as far as it goes.
We also have a couple of Google Home Mini's dotted about too, we only have them as they were free, again they are used for music and generally perform adequately, we rarely ask them questions and if we do it's because we are bored or want a bit of fun.
If I want to find out anything of note, I just Google it on my tablet or phone; both of which are always within an arms length.
As a music playing device it's great, I do ask it to play certain tracks, radio stations or albums and generally it gets it correct from the off, I use it as a timer when cooking (it's in the kitchen), but that is pretty much as far as it goes.
We also have a couple of Google Home Mini's dotted about too, we only have them as they were free, again they are used for music and generally perform adequately, we rarely ask them questions and if we do it's because we are bored or want a bit of fun.
If I want to find out anything of note, I just Google it on my tablet or phone; both of which are always within an arms length.
HTP99 said:
I have a Sonos One or Play 1; the one with Alexa!
As a music playing device it's great, I do ask it to play certain tracks, radio stations or albums and generally it gets it correct from the off, I use it as a timer when cooking (it's in the kitchen), but that is pretty much as far as it goes.
We also have a couple of Google Home Mini's dotted about too, we only have them as they were free, again they are used for music and generally perform adequately, we rarely ask them questions and if we do it's because we are bored or want a bit of fun.
If I want to find out anything of note, I just Google it on my tablet or phone; both of which are always or within an arms length.
I have a Sonos One and use it for much the same. It also tells me the traffic on my commute every day, which is handy. It does seem to work well.As a music playing device it's great, I do ask it to play certain tracks, radio stations or albums and generally it gets it correct from the off, I use it as a timer when cooking (it's in the kitchen), but that is pretty much as far as it goes.
We also have a couple of Google Home Mini's dotted about too, we only have them as they were free, again they are used for music and generally perform adequately, we rarely ask them questions and if we do it's because we are bored or want a bit of fun.
If I want to find out anything of note, I just Google it on my tablet or phone; both of which are always or within an arms length.
Piginapoke said:
HTP99 said:
I have a Sonos One or Play 1; the one with Alexa!
As a music playing device it's great, I do ask it to play certain tracks, radio stations or albums and generally it gets it correct from the off, I use it as a timer when cooking (it's in the kitchen), but that is pretty much as far as it goes.
We also have a couple of Google Home Mini's dotted about too, we only have them as they were free, again they are used for music and generally perform adequately, we rarely ask them questions and if we do it's because we are bored or want a bit of fun.
If I want to find out anything of note, I just Google it on my tablet or phone; both of which are always or within an arms length.
I have a Sonos One and use it for much the same. It also tells me the traffic on my commute every day, which is handy. It does seem to work well.As a music playing device it's great, I do ask it to play certain tracks, radio stations or albums and generally it gets it correct from the off, I use it as a timer when cooking (it's in the kitchen), but that is pretty much as far as it goes.
We also have a couple of Google Home Mini's dotted about too, we only have them as they were free, again they are used for music and generally perform adequately, we rarely ask them questions and if we do it's because we are bored or want a bit of fun.
If I want to find out anything of note, I just Google it on my tablet or phone; both of which are always or within an arms length.
Have 2 minis,1 speaker and one with the screen as a night clock
They are good at basic tasks, set a timer/alarm, whats the weather, travel time to..., latest news etc
Terrible at longer or more complicated tasks.
Ok google when is the nest train from station A to station B
Now playing Travelling Wilburys End of the Line from Youtube.
Inability to change screen brightness on the Google Home, I want to use it partly as a night clock and partly as a night light but it dims the screen so much it is difficult to see the time and impossible to walk round using.
Doesn't transfer music between devices. OK google play this music on kitchen mini. Sorry I can't do this at the moment. So I either have to set up a home group and play on them all at the same time or restart the selection when I go to another room.
And my phone often picks up the request that is answered by another device but then the phone stays on the google assistant screen
However on the plus side the Roku box goes quiet when I'm talking to Google then resumes volume after query
They are good at basic tasks, set a timer/alarm, whats the weather, travel time to..., latest news etc
Terrible at longer or more complicated tasks.
Ok google when is the nest train from station A to station B
Now playing Travelling Wilburys End of the Line from Youtube.
Inability to change screen brightness on the Google Home, I want to use it partly as a night clock and partly as a night light but it dims the screen so much it is difficult to see the time and impossible to walk round using.
Doesn't transfer music between devices. OK google play this music on kitchen mini. Sorry I can't do this at the moment. So I either have to set up a home group and play on them all at the same time or restart the selection when I go to another room.
And my phone often picks up the request that is answered by another device but then the phone stays on the google assistant screen
However on the plus side the Roku box goes quiet when I'm talking to Google then resumes volume after query
You might get some idea's from here...loads of things you can do
Paul Hibbert tech stuff and things, and quite funny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhf0bF1oRNw
Paul Hibbert tech stuff and things, and quite funny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhf0bF1oRNw
Scrump said:
techiedave said:
I would reply but it seems my last one has been removed for what reason I dunno
Pathetic all it did was mention about using a bracket to fit to a wall in a bathroom
Wasn't an advert
There have been no posts by you removed from this topic.Pathetic all it did was mention about using a bracket to fit to a wall in a bathroom
Wasn't an advert
It quoted the guy mentioning putting one in the bathroom
I made a reply about initially trying Alexa then switching to Google and then mentioned I was planning on doing the same as the bathroom guy using one of the clip type brackets you can find on e bay. As I said it wasn't an advert
I can see that none of your posts have been removed from this thread. I don’t know about any post with your recommendation.
If you wish to recommend an item to help another PHer then feel free.
ETA I have a previous gen echo dot in my bathroom, using a clip type bracket I purchased from Amazon. It is powered via the shaver socket.
If you wish to recommend an item to help another PHer then feel free.
ETA I have a previous gen echo dot in my bathroom, using a clip type bracket I purchased from Amazon. It is powered via the shaver socket.
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