Vizio’s SmartCast products, including its affordable Sonos competitors, now work with Google Home

When it comes to a digital assistant in the home, there are two big players ─ Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home. However, Google Home has a big advantage in the entertainment field since it can connect to Google’s Chromecast ecosystem, including those from third-party manufacturers. Now, that includes Vizio’s collection of SmartCast products.

Vizio’s SmartCast products include home speakers, TVs as well as soundbars and surround-sound systems. Pricing on these devices, for the most part, is also quite reasonable. Soundbars land as low as $130 or so, while some of the smaller TVs are priced as little as $215 (for a refurbished model).

WiFi audio is superior to Bluetooth in a number of ways which is one reason we love products like those from Sonos. However, Sonos products tend to be quite expensive where many of Vizio’s options land at a fraction of the price without any major compromises. Plus, they still work with most popular services such as Spotify and Pandora, as well as thousands of other Google Cast compatible apps and services.

Just like Google’s Chromecast products, these products all have ‘Chromecast built-in’ which enables casting from your smartphone with compatible services, and also with Google Home. Currently, only a handful of services are supported, but those include YouTube, Netflix, Google Play Music, Spotify, Pandora, and Google Photos. Odds are, that list will expand over time as well.

[9to5-press-release]

VIZIO SmartCast Devices Now Compatible With Google Home
Google Home Users Can Now Enjoy Hands-Free Control of their VIZIO SmartCast TVs, Displays, Sound bars and Speakers

Irvine, CA – January 18, 2017 – Today, VIZIO, Inc. announced today that VIZIOSmartCast devices including TVs, displays, sound bars and speakers are now compatible with Google Home, Google’s new voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant. With Chromecast built-in, VIZIO SmartCast devices allow Google Home users to use their voice to control their entertainment. Using simple voice commands, Google Home users can adjust volume up and down, play, stop and skip music tracks on any Google Home supported services. Google Home users can even power on their displays by asking to play entertainment on the big screen when the “Quick Start Power Mode” function is enabled on their VIZIO SmartCast TV/display1. The VIZIO SmartCast collection, spanning P-, M-, and E-Series TVs and displays, as well as a full range of home theater sound bars and standalone wireless speakers, is available at VIZIO.com and retailers nationwide.

The VIZIO SmartCast connected ecosystem allows for consumers to enjoy added convenience through Google Home voice control. To hear a song on their VIZIO SmartCast speaker or sound bar, users can just say, “Ok Google” followed by their song request from Google Play Music, Pandora, Spotify² and more³. If the “Quick Start Power Mode” feature is enabled on their VIZIO SmartCast TV/display, Google Home users can tell their display to play a movie even when the display is off. The display will then power on and begin loading the requested content from apps like Netflix⁴ and YouTube.

“Controlling VIZIO SmartCast devices from Google Home is a significant milestone for consumers and their ability to manage their entertainment experience,” said Matt McRae, Chief Technology Officer, VIZIO.  “Using a simple voice command to stream a movie from Netflix to a VIZIO display or stream music from Spotify to a group of VIZIO speakers is an eye-opening experience and shows off the power of VIZIO SmartCast.”

Launched this past year, VIZIO SmartCast is the brand’s newest ecosystem of connected entertainment products, delivering a new way to discover and access content throughout home. With Chromecast built-in, every VIZIO SmartCast display, sound bar and speaker makes it easy for consumers to easily stream from thousands of mobile apps they already know and love directly to their VIZIO SmartCast device. By simply tapping the Cast button from within their favorite apps like Netflix and YouTube, content is then streamed directly from the Internet to any VIZIO SmartCast device via the respective WiFi network.

Consumers can also utilize the VIZIO SmartCast app to transform their iOS or Android mobile devices into powerful touchscreen remotes to fully control their VIZIO SmartCast devices, as well as use text or voice search to seamlessly search and browse content across multiple apps at once. Once users find a title, they simply tap their desired streaming service like Hulu or Vudu to begin streaming content directly to their VIZIO SmartCast display. By casting content over WiFi directly to their VIZIO SmartCast device, users can then continue using their mobile devices for other activities without interrupting the stream to the big screen.

For more information about VIZIO SmartCast visit VIZIO.com/smartcast.

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