Glad it's finally launched here in the UK, however seems we get screwed on the price as usual £30 is a fair bit more than the $35 in the states... Anyone got any good app suggestions?
It's launched with iplayer and netflix support, which I'm pleased about. I want one but I don't have a TV so I have no need for it.
Netflix support has always been there, iPlayer is the only new addition for the UK. Plex is supported for local content, as are all of the Google Play apps. Chrome tab mirroring is there as well, but that seems to be less useful at home. I think (hope) we'll see a fair few additions for the UK on-demand services over the next few weeks. I've had one since December when I picked one up in the states (for $30... sigh). I'm pleased that the US ones don't seem to be restricted in any way when using UK content.
No, we aren't getting screwed on the price. People always forget that US prices exclude taxes etc $35 for Chromecast in the US, works out around £21/£22. Add tax, import fee, shipping and price becomes £35. The Chromecast I imported in October breaks down as: Still, happy to see it in the UK now as it means more UK apps.
True, but those taxes are only 5-10% depending on the location and online purchases can often be tax free (depending on retailer and location, it's complicated), so the VAT and duties levied on our side of the pond are significantly higher. Put simply, whether it's down to mark-up, taxes or a bit of both, you're paying a fair chunk more in the UK than you are in the US. Whether that means we're getting screwed is another discussion altogether.
It's down to taxes. Those taxes stop us Brits having to pay extortionate health care insurance fees though. I used to pay $350 a month for my health plan, which included a $15 copay on meds (more than a prescription here !) $100 copay for the doctor, no dental plan and $500 copay for an ER visit/ambulance ($500 each). I think if more Brits lived out in the USA and got used to life there they would be begging to come back.
Meh, I've lived in both - don't have a strong preference for one over the other. Living in the UK and doing your shopping in the US is definitely the way to work it though
Yeah my ex gf went to HOSPITAL for falling on some ice and came out a few hours later with a $900 bill, and she's fully insured! That's a lot of VAT! Anyway, anyone using a chromecast? If so, thoughts?
Isn't a HDMI miracast dongle a better option, it will play anything off of the phone/tablet for not a lot more? I use miracast to my TV a fair bit though it's all built in.
I've been thinking of buying a Roku 3 to go with Plex, but how does the Chromecast compare to it? Does it play 1080p etc? I'm guessing the Roku 3 will be better/faster, but is it worth paying 3 times as much?
The issue I had with the states was that you either have everything (nice car, nice apartment/house, health insurance etc) or you have absolutely and utterly nothing. There is no true middle class out there, you're either livin' the dream or you're fudged. I was on the good side of it before I became unwell. Then I found out that I was pretty screwed. Lost my job, lost my apartment, couldn't pay the medical insurance so I completely lost my meds and therefore all health and ended up broke and coming back with nothing. And yeah, it is really nice to have the ability to dip your fingers in all the pies, so to speak. My friends out there always help out if I fancy something cheap. Still love the Steam game. You simply send your buddy some money over Paypal when the sales are on and bingo bongo, you end up with the same games for $ pricing rather than £ I had a BMX accident where I basically scalped my elbow three days into being there for the first time. I had to have surgery to stretch the skin over the hole once they were done (it even scraped a line in the bone). Got a bill through for $7000. Thankfully it said "This is a receipt not a bill" but yeah, was laid out like one. My cousin (whom I must say I don't like very much, he's a dick) had a heart attack out in the USA and wasn't insured.. Helicopter etc.. Got a bill for $60k. Lost his restaurant and everything. Mind you, gotta say I didn't lose an awful lot of sleep. This is the guy that would make it his life objective to tell me and my brother (as 7 year old children) what a dick head our dead dad was. How he got out of family parties alive still remains a mystery..
