If you are looking for an economical way to give your TV a smart boost, the $35 Google Chromecast will surely inspire you. Chromecast came out suddenly and offered something amazing and got many people excited. Chromecast is a new Google product, a little dongle which ends in an HDMI port rather than the usual USB socket.
Google Chromecast is a little, USB-powered dongle which connects to an HDMI port on your TV or a monitor. Chromecast uses ‘Google Cast screen sharing technology’ to show Internet content. This technology also shows local content from devices running the Android, iOS and Chrome platforms. Chromecast is something a bit different than the usual ones because it’s not a clean screen mirroring device. Even though it can mirror some screen content as well.
Google launched Chromecast in United Sates in July 2013 and later launched it in United Kingdom in March 2014. The setup of the Google Chromecast is very simple, the first step is to plug it into a free HDMI socket on your TV and supply power to it by the micro-USB socket. The next step is to Next to install the Chromecast app on your iOS, Windows device or Android device, and run the setup routine to add the Chromecast.
For streaming Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer , from your mobile and desktop devices on to your TV screen you just have to plug Google Chromecast in to your TV. After you plug in the Google Chromecast into your TV it will let you streaming Netflix, YouTube and BBC iPlayer.
Setting Up Chromecast
Setting up the Google Chromecast is the easiest part. After you open the box, you will find four basic things for the Chromecast. Number one there will be chrome dongle, Number two a USB power cord and wall block, Number three a small instruction manual, and Number four an HDMI extension in the box.Then you have to look at your TV stand and entertainment system, and decide the place where you are going to set the Chromecast. If you want good sound, you will have to use an input on your AV receiver but if you don’t want great sound and just want to start casting, any HDMI port which delivers video and audio will work.
You can use 90 degree HDMI adapter like RiteAV – HDMI Right-Angle Adapter or Chromecast HDMI Adapter by eResource for better power supply. The best part with Chromecast is availability of different accessories for it.
Google Chromecast with YouTube
The browser for Chrome, Google Cast extension allow you to play local media files on your Chromecast. Simply drag a video,photo, or sound file that Chrome can play into a new browser tab and tap the Google Cast extension. It will often send you back to the ‘Ready to Cast’ screen, of course it’s an early beta product. You would definitely have some performance problems, especially when using an under-powered computer. My MacBook Air might choke after a few minutes, but my desktop might keep chugging. This is obviously for the reason that the computer is rendering the media and sending it to the Chromecast dongle, for grabbing, there is no copy for the Internet. But It’s still not bad, and we can hope that this is something which Google will fix in updates to the Google Cast APIs. In the future we would love to see programs for Windows, Mac and Linux which will play slideshows and video on your Chromecast devices.
Google Chromecast Design
The latest Google Chromecast dongle is comparatively larger than a USB flash memory stick. The reason behind its design is pretty obvious, it does not only have to incorporate a chunky full-size HDMI socket, it also crams in a Marvell Armada 1500-Mini 88DE3005 processor. We can say that it is not a dumb stick, it is a mini computer. However in the upcoming days, Chromecast is not about getting either Android nor Chrome on your TV.
Google Chromecast Apps and Streaming Performance
Google does not offer a remote control to act as the middle man between streaming services. Here instead of a remote control you can use a phone or tablet to act as the middle man between streaming services like Netflix and your TV. Google Chromecast plays well with Android of-course because it’s a Google product but the same time it works equally well with Apple iPhone 5S, iPad Mini and iPad Air.
In use, Chromecast reacts very much same like AirPlay. You stream anything you are watching or listening on your device from within supported apps. While TV episode, movie or any other media which you choose is playing on the TV, several of these apps will allow you to go off a browse in app directories. Some of these even run in the background so you can leave the app as it is and read, your emails or use the internet.
Chromecast Setup
The setup of the Google Chromecast is not hard in fact it is pretty easy. You have to install the Chromecast app on your iPhone, iPad or Android, then connect to a Wi-Fi network the dongle pumps out when it’s not already connected to a device. You then teach the dongle your home Wi-Fi security code within the app. And then you’re connected.
Google Chromecast Comparison with its Competitor
The Google Chromecast cannot be compared with its competitor, Apple TV and the Roku 3. The price of the Chromecast is less than its competitors, but it also loses out on most other counts as well. For example The Roku 3 and Apple TV offer more content than the Google chromecast. Even though The Roku 3 and Apple TV are more flexible, and are just plain better suited to everyday use in your living room but at the same time they cost almost three times of Chromecast’s price. It means this is not a good idea to compare Google chromecast with the Roku 3 and Apple TV.
However at the same time we can compare Chromecast with the Roku LT ($50). Roku LT has a great user interface, and can be controlled by Android and as well as by iOS devices. By using the Roku app on your phone you can view photos and listen to music stored. Furthermore it can handle personal media files stored on a PC using the Plex app. The most common complaint about the Roku LT is that it doesn’t have a YouTube app, unlike the Roku 3. Although Roku has promising that a YouTube app is coming soon on Roku LT .
Chrome Extension
A part from the Google Chromecast there is a Chrome extension as well. Chrome extension allows you to mirror content from a Chrome browser tab to the Chromecast. It works a bit in a different way because you are feeding the data that is being displayed on TV from your browser to the Chromecast dongle. Chrome extension follows the URL path as it appears that the Chromecast takes the tab’s data, but the content in the tab comes from the Internet. This means that if you are playing local content in a browser tab, like a movie on your hard drive, you are sending it from your computer to the Chromecast. If you are watching the Hulu, it will be able to get the stream from the Internet. The Chrome extension, as well as the APIs it uses, are still in beta so you should not expect too much from it because the things can get a slightly particular here.
Chrome extension allows you to cast one tab and also switch to another tab. It also allows you to do things like pause a video or song or scroll a webpage you will need to be focused on that task. Furthermore other folks on the same Wifi network can be added to the playing queue, cast their own content and normally have a huge fun and excitement.
Conclusion
After taking all things together we cannot declare Chromecast as a Google TV, and not something like a Roku. The Google Chromecast is a medium between the two (Google TV and Roku) any how it is an excellent technique to get your content on to your TV. Since the platform supports Android and iOS, and also the Chrome browser and OS, it is handy for many people. We can expect gigantic things from this small dongle as it features with an open set of APIs for developers to use. If you are annoyed with your old system you can get this cheap solution. The Google Chromecast offers you to get content from the web on your TV without any wires or irritation. The best thing in the Google chromecast is that it sets up without any difficulties.
These are the few reasons for the Google chromecast popularity. People want the chromecast because it supports the expensive electronics which the people already have. And thus Google chromecast is a great addition to your living room.