Google’s tiny video streamer brings Netflix, YouTube and more to your living room – but is it too limited?
The Google Chromecast is something of a reworking of the abortive Nexus Q – a Google media cube that was announced but never went on sale. Rather than pile on the features, Google has kept the Chromecast simple: it’s a tiny, cheap dongle that lets you watch Netflix, YouTube and Google Play videos, as well as display web pages, on your TV.
So is this device, a third the price of an Apple TV, the cheapest and easiest way to make your dumb TV smart?
Google Chromecast review: User interface
Set-up could not be simpler. After getting the Chromecast connected to your Wi-Fi network (you do this using a smartphone or computer and follow on-screen instructions; it takes perhaps three or four minutes in total), it’s very much good to go.
To watch a video, you’ll need an iPhone, iPad, Android device or a computer running Windows, Mac OS or Chrome OS. So should you want to watch a film on Netflix, you’ll need bring up the Netflix app on your phone, or open Netflix in your Chrome web browser, choose whatever it is you want and then hit the “cast” icon that should now be on the screen. You’ll be asked which device you’d like the video cast to, and once you’ve selected the film will start playing on your TV.
If you have a TV with CEC-compliant HDMI ports, the Chromecast will even turn on the TV and switch it to the correct input channel.
Playback can then be controlled from the device that was used to select and start the video. It’s not a perfect system – there’s a slight delay from the moment you press something and the action taking place, and there’s also the possibility of you forgetting which device you used to start off playback, what with us having so many computers, phones and tablets in our houses these days – but it works well enough and keeps the price down.
To cast a web tab, you need to add an extension to Chrome. This results in a cast button appearing in the top right of the browser window. Hit this and the tab will appear on your TV.
Sound and video works, albeit with some lag and, for the latter, stuttering. To be fair to Google, the web-casting feature is still officially in beta mode, so there’s definite room for – and an expectation of – improvement in the near future.
Google Chromecast review: Performance
Video playback supports up to 1080p quality, although this depends on the source material and the speed of your broadband: older YouTube videos at 240p will look pretty ropey and soft, while new Netflix material like Orange Is The New Black is gloriously sharp and clean.
If your broadband speed isn’t up to much, the Chromecast will use adaptive streaming to avoid buffering, and this can also result in softer, non-HD images (we never experienced this, but in theory it could happen).
5.1 Surround Sound is supported by Chromecast but without a dedicated audio output you’ll need a TV with a digital audio output of some kind to experience it.
Google Chromecast review: Conclusion
The Chromecast is, for the money, an incredibly tempting deal for anyone with Netflix, or a love for YouTube, and the inability to watch these on their TV. It’s easy to setup, even easier to use and we’ve found it reliable in our couple of weeks of using it. Web casting is a little spottier, but hopefully this will improve as it moves out of beta.
Specifications
| Length | 72mm |
| Width | 35mm |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Weight | 30g |
| Connectivity | 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n |
| Video Resolution | 1080p (Max. output) |
| UK Launch | TBC |
guys plz comment on the posts that you read and plz follow this blog keep supporting and stay tuned for latest news tips and tricks...
Thanks for your Support.
No comments:
Post a Comment