When I finally got my Chromecast with Google TV I was really excited I was one of those people who thought the Chromecast needed an app and a remote control However, I soon discovered the problem

Don't get me wrong, Tom's Guide really likes the Chromecast and Google TV overall They were immediately listed on the Best Streaming Devices page, and my colleague Adam Ismail wrote that they are the best streaming devices he has ever owned

My one complaint, however, is that the home screen is organized in a way that doesn't sit well with me

I understand the premise of the Chromecast with Google TV interface People are always looking for something to watch, but in my experience the app itself does a pretty good job

I don't know about you readers, but when I start using a streaming device, I know which apps I want to use and I want to access them ASAP, and the Chromecast with Google TV does this partially because it has dedicated buttons for YouTube and Netflix Roku similarly has four buttons for popular apps However, if these apps are not important to you, these buttons may feel like advertisements (memorably, Roku's app buttons include ESPN+, which always makes me chuckle)

However, the Chromecast with Google TV interface makes you click twice down (or three times to the right) to get to the actual app In the meantime, the interface advertises content you might want to watch Then, when you click right to get to the app section, you have to click down one more time

As someone who owns a Fire TV Stick 4K, Apple TV 4K, and Roku Ultra, I've seen what each major streaming platform looks like

If you have used a Roku or Apple TV, you have experienced what I consider the ideal streaming device home screen It has a grid of app icons that you can reorganize as you wish In my experience, Apple is a little better without ads, but that's a story for another article

Amazon is about to roll out a new Fire TV interface, and while I'll reserve judgment when it arrives, I don't always think very well of these devices Because, like Google TV's Chromecast, they make you click twice on the bottom to get to an app and navigate through past shows and movies that they think you might want (or that the company is getting paid to promote, I don't know)

If the Chromecast with Google TV home screen worked a little better, it might have been less frustrating When something is suggested that I don't want to watch and want to remove to get another recommendation, which most recently happened with Zack Snyder's awful adaptation of "Watchmen," I can't really get rid of it

Holding down Select to bring up the secondary window and clicking the "dislike" button signals that your opinion is accepted and the block will continue to appear on the home screen If you tell any app that you dislike one of its prompts, the item should disappear immediately; do you have any other suggestions for the Chromecast with Google TV?

My colleague likes the Chromecast with Google TV for the same reasons I do - cast, app, and remote - so I think this is an easy fix Just give this device the old standard Android TV interface You put the apps on the top row, and other rows for other content

But Google probably won't do that - they've shifted their focus from the old Android TV interface to this new design - so I have a compromise Bring the Apps row up one line and replace it with the Top Picks For You row This is very easy and allows me to continue to promote the content on the top line

In the meantime, reconnect your Apple TV 4K and keep a Chromecast with Google TV nearby in case you want to cast something