Google Chromecast Review - An Awesome $35 HDMI Dongle
by Brian Klug on July 29, 2013 9:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Media Player
- Android
- Mobile
- HDMI
- Chrome
- Tablets
- Chromecast
Conclusions
Chromecast is everything the Nexus Q should’ve been. As its spiritual successor, the Chromecast finally delivers on the promise of an accessory to the Google Play and Chrome ecosystem for the TV. Chromecast works, and it works well, the Netflix and YouTube apps I’ve used from Android since getting it are quick to control the playback functions and reliably discover the Chromecast all the time.
After spending a week tearing my hair out over Miracast (which frankly has the worst interoperability in the entire industry), having Chromecast actually just work was a breath of fresh air. The Chromecast cloud-to-cast architecture makes a lot more sense than other models which try to decode on the phone, then re-encode and ship it over the same network, doubling compression artifacts, increasing battery drain, and requiring good signal. I can see why Google would not even bother including Miracast on the Chromecast at this point, and without a vast improvement to Miracast I frankly don’t even want it anymore.
For the price, the Chromecast is an amazing device that plays surprisingly well with the services it’s compatible with, and for everything else there’s always that browser tab streaming mode. I’d like to see more services added, but for now I’m totally pleased with how it works, so much so that I already bought a second Chromecast to hook up my second 55-inch TV.
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dvinnen - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
Looking at it, the WiFi chip supports bluetooth 3.0. If google enabled controlling it via bluetooth it would be awesome for travel. Not sure that is possible though with he bluetooth specBrazos - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
I assume this would work if plugged into a HDMI port on my AVI receiver (so I can enjoy sound thru my stereo)? Only problem might be the wireless connection due to it's location in the rear of the receiver. HDMI extension cable?Brian Klug - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
That's exactly what I did, even on the floor/close to it (bottom shelf of the media cabinet) it works fine.-Brian
savagemike - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
Would love an article on the miracast week you've had. Been thinking about trying that out and would love to hear more about the pitfalls.Given the new golden-child Nexus 7 (2013) apparently supports it that would be a great context for an article.
joeballow - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
I do plan on getting one, but I wish they made a wired version with ethernet instead of wifi. I live in a crowded apartment building and prefer to hard wire anything that isn't mobile. It seems they could hit the same price point by dropping wifi and adding ethernet unless wifi is already integrated into the chip? If that's the case I'd pay $10 more for a wired/wireless version.LeftSide - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
Just got mine in the mail. It's quite useful for $35, and if more developers get on board it could be great.Alketi - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
Brian, if your attached pictures are any indication, you WANT a bright LED behind your TV screen.It provides a constant level ambient lighting, which allows your eyes to adjust, rather than be carried solely by the brightness of each TV/Movie scene.
Brian Klug - Tuesday, July 30, 2013 - link
Well that's true, but not when I'm in my bedroom and the TV/lights are off and I'm trying to sleep, and the Chromecast lights up a corner of the room. Seriously, the thing is BRIGHT!-Brian
ioconnor - Monday, July 29, 2013 - link
What does this thing do? All I got from skimming was that it wasn't some other product. And that whatever it is suppose to do might not be done. Yet.Better yet go back to talking about computers. That I can understand.
Kepe - Thursday, August 1, 2013 - link
Eh.. Perhaps you should read the article properly before commenting you don't understand it.