Google Chromecast review: simple, fast internet TV. Google’s media adapter plugs straight into your TV to stream YouTube, Netflix and BBC iPlayer...
Chromecast is Google's media streaming stick that plugs straight into a TV to make it smart.
Google’s Chromecast is a small dongle that plugs into a spare HDMI port on your TV to stream media from the internet to the living room screen using your smartphone, tablet or computer as a remote.The tiny stick requires a connection to your home Wi-Fi network, and is powered by USB like most smartphones and tablet computers. It promises to stream content like Netflix, YouTube and the BBC iPlayer straight from the internet using your Android, iPhone, iPad or computer as a remote. It looks like a big USB flash drive, is discreet and is designed to be plugged into the back of a TV and forgotten about. It comes with a USB power adapter, but can be powered directly by USB ports on most TVs, saving the need for yet another power plug. Setting up the Chromecast is straightforward. An app called Chromecast is available for iOS or Android that connects to the streaming stick via Wi-Fi and allows you to configure the settings for your home Wi-Fi network. From there, the Chromecast automatically logs on to the internet via Wi-Fi and waits until you command it to do something with one of your other devices.
Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer Google Play and RealPlayer Cloud
- What the Chromecast does, it does very well. Streaming from Netflix or YouTube is easy and works great, and so does streaming music from Google Play music or other Chromecast-enabled apps like RealPlayer Cloud or Plex.
- However, what you can do with Chromecast is quite limited at the moment. Beyond Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer and a small handful of apps like Real Player Cloud, your options are currently limited. There is no ITV player, 4oD or Amazon Prime Instant video streaming for instance, or any of the other catch up services right now.
- The Chromecast is capable of mirroring a Chrome browser window from a computer, however, which makes it possible to display video from unsupported services or anything else that can be viewed in Chrome on the TV.
- In practice, the video quality is low and the display can lag and skip frames, so it is not a real alternative to a dedicated streaming app for things like 4oD.
I think this is a great opportunity for social networks such as players Netfilix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer and more as the USB allows your TV to access these sites via wifi. This would increase the number of subscriptions and attract a larger audience to get the USB so that they can experience the new social players.
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