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Chromecast makes streaming easy
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A new device from Google makes it easy to stream video from several popular services to a high-definition TV. Chromecast is tiny enough to dangle from a keychain when not in use, but it packs a big punch for a low price.
At merely US$35, Chromecast is irresistible. Using your home Wi-Fi network, it streams some of your favorite shows from some of your favorite services, including Netflix and Google’s YouTube. It takes only a few minutes to set up, and the device worked flawlessly.
Chromecast joins Roku, Apple TV and several other devices meant to project Internet content onto TVs. In the early days of online video, people were content watching movies on desktop or laptop computers. But as these services become more popular and even replace cable TV, there’s a greater desire to get them playing on television sets.
That’s especially true when your computer is a phone or tablet and has a smaller screen.
Chromecast, which is about the size of a thumb drive, plugs directly into the HDMI port of an HDTV. A USB cable must be inserted at the other end of the Chromecast and connected to a power source, either a wall outlet or a USB port on the TV.
It was easy to sync Chromecast with my Android phone, and it was an even nicer experience with Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet. There’s something to be said for turning my touch-screen device into a remote control for Netflix.
I watched an episode of Netflix’s original series “House of Cards” in high definition without a glitch. Same goes for watching the BBC’s “Empire of the Sun,” a free offering from Google’s online Play store. But other titles there cost money, as does a Netflix subscription. Chromecast is merely a physical conduit to the services I’d already signed up and paid for.
Even though I already have a Netflix app on my smartphone, I had to download a Chromecast version of it, as well as the main Chromecast app from Google. That’s a one-time affair, and it’s a snap to get them up and running after the initial installation.
To watch a movie, I simply choose it from the Chromecast Netflix app. Once it’s playing on the big screen, I was able to easily pause, play and forward through my content with a swipe of the finger. “House of Cards” continues to play even after I power off my phone completely, as the video passes through my Wi-Fi network, which remains on. I do have to turn my phone back on to regain remote control over the viewing experience.
It works similarly with the Chromecast app for Google Play and YouTube.
More apps are coming. For Hulu Plus, HBO Go and other services without apps yet, it’s possible to simply stream that content on Google’s Chrome Web browser, assuming you have accounts with them. You can then have whatever is on the browser project onto the TV.
In practice, though, I was never able to successfully connect a desktop or a laptop computer, each running the latest version of the Chrome browser, to the Chromecast device. There are apps and browser extensions and not-fully supported operating systems that all need to be in sync to pull it off. In my tests, using two different Macs and a Windows computer, they never were.
Plenty of devices allow much easier local content streaming. Chromecast isn’t one of them. But at US$35, Chromecast is cheaper than other streaming devices, which run about US$100 each.
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