What prompted me to purchase the second generation of the Chromecast was to see if the promise of better Wifi reception would improve the one pain point that I had with the original Chromecast not being able to stream Vudu HDX (1080p) video.
I had the original Chromcast plugged into the side HDMI port of the TV and it could not overcome a crowded 2.4 GHz band and possible interference from the TV and being mounted to a wall.
So I hooked up the second generation Chromecast to the same HDMI port and I did some basic traffic monitoring tests to see how the throughput was better the original and second generation.
1st Gen Chromecast on 2.4 GHz Band
The movie could not maintain a steady connection and would buffer multiple times during the sample run.
2nd Gen Chromcast on 2.4 GHz Band
When I hooked the second generation Chromecast to the 2.4 GHz band I was able to stream Vudu HDX video without any buffering during the short test run. The graph shows a more constant connection with no major valleys.
2nd Gen Chromecast on 5 GHz Band
The 5 GHz band also passed with flying colors with no buffering during the test and a higher throughput than the 2.4 GHz band.
Google did deliver on its promise that the second generation Chromecast will provide a better Wifi experience. The new device was able to solve the main pain point that I had with the original not being able to stream 1080p video to the device and I say it is worth a look if you are in a similar situation.
