Chromecast

ylexot

ylexot

Super Genius
Hands-on with Chromecast, Google's wireless HDMI streaming dongle
We should've known this was coming after Google and Netflix informed us back at CES they were working on their AirPlay competitor, the DIAL wireless streaming protocol. Today, with the revelation of the new Chromecast HDMI dongle, you'll be able to stream more content more easily to your home's biggest screen -- all for just 35 bucks.
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I've already ordered one. At $35 and three months of free Netflix (even for current subscribers), that brings the price down to ~$11 for me. So why not?
 
Tilted

Tilted

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ylexot said:
Hands-on with Chromecast, Google's wireless HDMI streaming dongle
I've already ordered one. At $35 and three months of free Netflix (even for current subscribers), that brings the price down to ~$11 for me. So why not?
Click to expand...

I ordered one as well, thinking much the same thing regarding the cost. I haven't looked yet, I hope my TV has a USB port so I don't have to run a power cord from it to an outlet. I don't much like clutter. :frown:

For now the functionality of it is fairly limited, but over time that should change. The market needs some more streaming devices to create competition and to push functionality expansion and figure out what's going to work when it comes to conveniently (and hopefully more economically) delivering content to the big screens we have in our living rooms / bedrooms.
 
glhs837

glhs837

Power with Control
So, can I stream my pics and video that are on my phone? Or just net content? Also, can I use it to stream a Googe Hangout, that would be awesome when on the road.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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glhs837 said:
So, can I stream my pics and video that are on my phone? Or just net content? Also, can I use it to stream a Googe Hangout, that would be awesome when on the road.
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The best I can tell (and I've not been able to confirm these things to my own satisfaction yet), this is what you can do:

(1) Stream content directly from the internet (i.e. not first to your phone / tablet and then to the TV) for applications / platforms that support such functionality. For now that seems to be YouTube, Netflix, and the Google Play store. Your phone or tablet will function as a controller for that content, but the Chromecast will retrieve the appropriate content itself.

(2) Mirror whatever you can access through a Chrome browser onto the TV. I think you can do this from Android phones / tablets, iPhones / iPads, and Windows or Mac computers. I think the limiting factor for mirroring content - for streaming content that isn't from one of the apps referred to in (1) - is the Chrome browser. I don't think you can open any app on your phone or tablet and mirror it to the TV.
 
goughrmak

goughrmak

New Member
Tilted said:
I ordered one as well, thinking much the same thing regarding the cost. I haven't looked yet, I hope my TV has a USB port so I don't have to run a power cord from it to an outlet. I don't much like clutter. :frown:

For now the functionality of it is fairly limited, but over time that should change. The market needs some more streaming devices to create competition and to push functionality expansion and figure out what's going to work when it comes to conveniently (and hopefully more economically) delivering content to the big screens we have in our living rooms / bedrooms.
Click to expand...

If you have a "newer" (don't have a good definition for that), the HDMI port "could" be powered, which means you don't need the power from the USB port.
 
blazinlow89

blazinlow89

Big Poppa
I was looking at a CX-919 dongle which has really good reviews as well an RJ 45 to USB (amazon), as well as some nice features. I'm going to order this one as well.
 
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C

czygvtwkr

Guest
I'd get one but my Toshiba TV is very picky about the HDMI handshake, about half of the HDMI devices I have tried to use on it don't work, but they work fine on my other TV which is a Samsung.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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goughrmak said:
If you have a "newer" (don't have a good definition for that), the HDMI port "could" be powered, which means you don't need the power from the USB port.
Click to expand...

Is that part of what the HDMI CEC protocol they refer to allows?

I'm not familiar with it, but I'm guessing most of my TV's HDMIs don't support it.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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I'm pretty interested in the new Nexus 7 they showed off as well. I wish they'd make the screen a little bigger though.
 
ylexot

ylexot

Super Genius
Tilted said:
I'm pretty interested in the new Nexus 7 they showed off as well. I wish they'd make the screen a little bigger though.
Click to expand...

The rumor is that Samsung it's working on the next Nexus 10. Haven't seen a rumor on when that would come out though. Since the last one came out in November, I'd guess that's when the next one will come out too.
 
somdfunguy

somdfunguy

not impressed
I tested a bunch of mpg and avi files last night. Most worked but some didn't. That may be my pc though. I was running it from my Plex VM which is Linux. Ill copy the files Over to my windows vm and see how that works.
 
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Tilted

Tilted

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Mine arrived on Saturday. I only played with it for a few minutes before loaning it to a friend so they could check it out. I still think it will evolve into an important and cost-effective device, but it was having major buffering issues (on Netflix) when I tried it. Maybe that was a temporary issue, or maybe I need to tweak the set-up somehow (though it isn't clear to me how I would), but I don't typically have buffering issues with streaming stuff (including Netflix). It also concerned me that it got pretty warm in just a few minutes.

I'll get it back in a week or so and try to do some more things with it. I remain optimistic for now.
 
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