Google’s Chromecast Ultra: More than just a Stadia consorta

I didn’t originally plan to begin this teardown with a language lesson, but it turned out that way. Skip ahead a couple of paragraphs if you insist on bypassing it

As regular readers may already realize, likely to their dismay, I’ve spent the bulk of my nearly-30-year to-date tech journalism career attempting, among other things, to inject rhymes into writeup titles (and content, for that matter) whenever possible and management-blessed (or at least tolerated). Occasionally, I succeeded modestly. Often, I failed miserably. The challenge was particularly acute this time. See for yourself: visit RhymeZone for a listing of how many (or more accurate, few) options exist for rhyming pairings with the word “ultra”. I could have cheated and stuck “streamer” after “ultra” to expand the rhyming options list, but where’s the fun in that?

The Chromecast Ultra streaming receiver we’ll be dissecting today is (or more accurately was) among other things the “kit” partner with Google’s Stadia controller (also on my teardown pile), the usage nexus of the company’s now-defunct online-streamed gaming service. So, what popped into my head next was the word “consort”, specifically the noun defined as (among other things) an “associate”. But I needed something ending in an “a” to even sorta-rhyme. Fortunately, at least for me (your opinions may differ, understandably) the similar-meaning “consorta” also exists, at least in the Swiss Romansh language.

Thus concludes the etymology. Thanks for indulging me (see, another rhyme)! Now for the “meat” of the writeup. As I recently mentioned in my third-generation Google Chromecast teardown, I ended up reordering the publication cadence from the originally planned chronological sequence; the 2018 Chromecast 3 came first, after the 2015 Chromecast 2, followed by today’s 2016 Chromecast Ultra. That said, the calendar-year proximity between the Chromecast 2 and Chromecast Ultra may explain why the latter retained the former’s magnet-augmented HDMI connector and metal-augmented back-of-body, dropped from the Chromecast 3 successor.

As with the Chromecast 3, I wasn’t able to find a “nonfunctional, for parts only” device to tear down; instead, I resigned myself to picking a functional (albeit well-used) alternative off eBay:

for only $19.46 ($12 plus sales tax and $6.35 for shipping), shown here as usual accompanied by a 0.75″ (19.1 mm) diameter U.S. penny for size comparison purposes:

The backside printing is a bit less faint this time compared to that in the Chromecast 3, but it’s still dim. Here’s what it says around the circumference, if your eyes are as old and tired as mine:

Model NC2-6A5-D
FCC ID A4RNC2-6A5-D
IC 10395A-NC26A5D
CAN ICES-3 B
NMB-3 B
Made in China
HDMI
Designed by Google
1600 Amphitheater Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
UL US LISTED
ITE E258392
6B11CYFWMB

The earlier “magnetic” image’s hinted-at tint may have tipped you off that the HDMI connector has an atypical orange-ish color (for a possible reason I’ll explain shortly) with this device:

The power supply’s micro-USB connector’s equally uncommon color scheme is similar:

Zooming out, here’s what the latter connector is attached to:

And zooming back in:

Flip the wall wart 180° to check out its specs:

And now rotate it 90° and…wait, what’s this (it’s “only” 100 Mpbs-supportive, BTW)?

The Chromecast Ultra differs from its conventional Chromecast siblings in that it, to quote the spec sheet, “supports all resolutions up to 4K Ultra HD and high dynamic range (HDR) for superior picture quality” (at up to 60 fps, too, content source- and display support-dependent). Here’s the twist: it apparently only delivers a 4K output if the original power supply is in use (thereby explaining, I suspect, albeit in an undocumented manner as far as I can tell, the usage-reminder color match between the micro-USB input power connector and the HDMI A/V output connector). Note that the Ethernet port doesn’t actually need to be in use, as this photo I just snapped of another Chromecast Ultra I own, connected to my master guest bedroom UHD TV (whose date and time settings beg for configuration) and to my LAN over Wi-Fi, reveals:

What I’m guessing is that, in actuality, the Chromecast Ultra is looking for a USB cable that supports both power and data transfer capabilities. Would a different supplier’s PSU with a functionally compatible integrated Ethernet port (as well as an adequate USB PD output, of course), thereby also satisfying the power-plus-data cable requirements, also work? Dunno.

Onward: let’s get inside. Specifically, there’s a seam along the edge, visible in this photo of the device’s micro-USB input:

and, rotating roughly 180°, this shot of its hardware reset button and (to the left) status LED:

I decided to try popping apart the two device halves absent preparatory heat application this time, which still proved successful:

That’s some seriously dry thermal paste in-between the top-half case insides and Faraday Cage:

which may at least in part explain the Chromecast Ultra’s reported propensity for overheating (especially, I’m suggesting, as the device ages and the paste dries out). This guy’s alternative “fix” involved sticking supplemental heatsinks to the outside top case (the video is worth a viewing if only to check out the measured temperature drop post-augmentation):

Next, let’s get that Faraday Cage off:

(No) surprise: more thermal paste!

Let’s apply some isopropyl alcohol to clean off that gray goo, so we can see what’s underneath:

Hold that “what’s underneath” thought until we get the PCB out of the remaining lower-case half. Two screws removed (I’ve already confirmed there are no more at the bottom of the PCB; read my Chromecast 3 teardown for the embarrassing-to-me details of why this was necessary):

followed by the bracket that holds the HDMI connector in place:

At this point, the PCB began to elevate itself out of the remaining case half, so I redirected my attention away from the HDMI cable:

and to the first-time revealed PCB bottom half:

Look, it’s another Faraday Cage!

And here’s (in the center) the metal plate that the HDMI connector magnetically mates with when not in use, along with (at upper right) the reset switch and LED light guide assemblies:

At this point, the HDMI cable disconnected itself (gravity-encouraged) from the other (upper) side of the PCB:

Next to go, Brian-encouraged this time, was the Faraday Cage:

And after one more thermal paste wipe-off session:

let’s get to identification. At the upper-left edge are the reset switch and status LED. Along both lower edges are the PCB-embedded antennae. The large rectangular IC at the right is a Samsung K4F8E304HB-MGCH 8 Gbit LPDDR4-3200 SDRAM (there’s nothing underneath the cage frame above it, trust me; I subsequently ripped it off to check. Also, there’s nothing below the frame at bottom). And in the lower left is another, smaller rectangular IC, labeled as follows:

MARVELL
W8997-A0
637BETP

which I think is now the NXP Semiconductors 88W8997 (NXP having acquired Marvell’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity assets in late 2019) and implements the Chromecast Ultra’s dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi facilities.

Back to the now-case-free PCB topside, and more Marvell-branded chips come into view:

The one in the center is a real head-scratcher, labeled as follows:

MARVEL
DE3009-A0
633ARTE TJ

Do a Google search on “Marvell DE3009” (I’m assuming “A0” refers to the design stepping version) and you’ll find, unless you’re more adept than me…nothing, save for a Google suggestion that perhaps I meant “DE3005” instead. The DE3006, specifically the 88DE3006, was used in the Chromecast 2 and (in Synaptics-renamed form) the Chromecast 3, so on a hunch I did a search on “Marvell 88DE3009” instead. This was more fruitful, but only a bit; there was a short discussion on iFixit’s website concurring with my suspicion that it was a Google-only implemented device, along with a terse mention on WikiDevi indicating that post-Synaptics’ acquisition of Marvell’s Multimedia Solutions Business in mid-2017, the 88DE3009 was renamed the Synaptics BG4CDP (not that I can find much about it, either, save that it’s supposedly dual-core and runs at 1.25 GHz). More knowledgeable reader insights are as-always welcomed!

The markings on the small IC to the left of the DE3009 and peeking out from the frame edge are too faint for me to discern, other than that the first line is again “MRVL”. Below the DE3009 is a Toshiba TC58NVG1S3HBAI6 2 Gbit NAND flash memory. In the upper right corner of the PCB, again peeking out from under the frame, is a small IC with a Marvell logo mark in the upper left corner, along with the following:

52K
00B0G
624AK

And below it is another Marvell-sourced mystery IC:

MRVL
823AA0
634GAC

As I mentioned earlier specifically regarding the DE3009, reader insights on any of the chips I’ve been unable to identify (along with those I’ve sorta-kinda-maybe ID’d), along with any other thoughts on this teardown, are appreciated in the comments!

—Brian Dipert is the Editor-in-Chief of the Edge AI and Vision Alliance, and a Senior Analyst at BDTI and Editor-in-Chief of InsideDSP, the company’s online newsletter.

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• The Google Chromecast Gen 2 (2015): A Form Factor Redesign with Beefier Wi-Fi, Too
• Google’s Chromecast with Google TV: Car accessory similarity, and a post-teardown resurrection opportunity?
• The Google Chromecast with Google TV: Realizing a resurrection opportunity
• Google’s Chromecast with Google TV: Dissecting the HD edition

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