By: Jasper Lynn

Jasper Lynn — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 19:30:18 +0000

Honest Review from a Developer – Reposted 0

By: Shauna Morgan

Shauna Morgan — Sun, 20 Sep 2015 19:08:37 +0000

An Actual Chromecast Owner I actually ordered a Chromecast the day it was announced from Google. However the next day, I was told that they were available for purchase at bestbuy. I was anxious to try it out so I went and bought another one and gave it a try.Setup was easy and within 5 minutes, I was watching a youtube video on my 65″ TV. The quality was VERY good. I tried a 1080p video first “Big Buck Bunny” and it looked, played and sounded wonderful. Next, was playing music from my Google Play music app. Same result, the music sounded great.I moved on to my Macbook Pro, and again, the videos was clear, without lag, no audio sync problems at all. Same for my Windows PC.Those considering buying the Chromecast should consider what the Chromecast actually is and does, instead of what they wish it could do. So here are some facts:1. The Chromecast is not a streaming device of local digital content. In other words, it does NOT play digital music and videos that is stored locally on your network drives or computers. However there is a work-around for this:Use PLEX Media Server. If you don’t already have it, here’s the link:[...]Once you download it and point it to your files,it will act as a proxy and allow your music and videos to be played on your HDTV using the Chromecast through the Chrome browser. Simply launch the PLEX Media Manager in Google Chrome browser. Pick a file to play, Hit the Google Cast button and you’ll get seamless playback of your own files. [Edit: Please see comments to see an alternative method].2. The Chromecast is not a DLNA or Miracast device or Apple’s airplay. This is a lot like my number 1 fact, but I wanted to make this clear. If you want device mirroring (display whatever is on the device’s screen), the Chromecast, is NOT for you. The video and music does NOT stream from the controller device (Your computer, tablet, smartphone). Chromecast works by fetching the content from a website or cloud service itself, NOT from the device you’re using. Here’s what’s cool about that:A. You could start playing a video using your smartphone,tablet,computer as a “remote” and still be able to browse the web, play a game, check your social apps, write a book report, put the device to sleep,turn the device completely off (I tried this myself), or leave the house, and the video WILL still play without issues.B. Your battery life is saved! Because your phone, tablet or computer (not plugged in)is not actually streaming to the Chromecast, your battery consumption is minimal. You could Play dozens of movies over several days and still have most of your battery life remaining (Of course this would depend on what else you do with the phone, tablet or computer and how long your device can stay in standby).C. Every device connected to the Chromecast on the same network can take control of playback, adding to the queue (what’s going to play next). Pause, fast forward, rewind, etc. So if your roommate, friend, parent, sibling, spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend has to leave with their device, you don’t have to worry.D. You can play content from thousands upon thousands of sources using your computer. Using Google Chrome, nearly every webpage, that has content can be viewed using Chromecast. Of Course, this depends what protocols the site is using. If the site has trouble playing on your computer, then it probably won’t work well on the Chromecast, either.3. Chromecast IS cross platform (works with multiple devices). As I said, I tried it with several devices with different operating systems. At the time of this review, it works on Windows PC’s, Macbooks, and android devices. The app for iOS devices is coming soon. Everyone knows the Apple App store has stringent policies and at times, it can be a long process. Look at the Onlive game streaming app. We won’t get into how Apple has been trying to eradicate google applications from it’s ecosystem anyway. I’m sure the app is waiting for approval. Just be patient. [Edit: Please see comments for a reply to it working on iOS devices].There are several youtube videos that can show you how to set it up or how well it works. I made a video myself:[...]Watching my video isn’t required, but it does help to verify what I’m saying.4. The device you use with the Chromecast, must be on the same WIFI network. The important word here is WIFI. If you are trying to use it, with a ethernet (wired) connected device, even though it’s on the same network, it will NOT work! Yes, that sucks, but not being able to use sink water in your gas tank, kind of sucks to. If that’s a deal breaker for you, then you shouldn’t purchase it. It’s how they chose to implement it’s use. It is, what it is. [Edit: Please see comment section].5. The Netflix 3 months free limited time offer is over! I received 3 months…

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By: Jasper Lynn

By: Shauna Morgan