The Chromecast is a media streaming device from Google, allowing you to play your favorite content from Netflix, Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, and countless other services on your television. The device is a small HDMI dongle, and retails for $35.
Amazon is reportedly working on two new Fire TV models, and they’ve leaked today in a couple new images (via AFTVNews). Both will reportedly be packing support for 4K HDR video at 60 fps.
But one of them looks a lot like a Google product you might be familiar with…
A couple of months ago it was discovered that an update broke the ability to power a Chromecast with a smartphone’s hotspot. While that seems like a minor thing, it annoyed quite a few customers. Recently, an update to Google Play Services finally fixed this problem, restoring the ability to use Google’s streaming device on a hotspot.
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There’s a huge battle going on in the living room between the various streaming platforms on the market. Google has long tried to make itself heard in this field, but most of its efforts aren’t very successful. That is, until four years ago. Chromecast finally launched Google into the market, but it’s still facing a constant battle with the ever-popular Roku.
Exactly 4 years ago today, Google officially unveiled Chromecast to the world. The accessory was marketed as a tiny HDMI dongle that we were supposed to plug into our TVs in order to more easily watch YouTube and Netflix videos, as well as to stream Chrome tabs to the big screen from our computers. Chromecast was a breed all of its own, and as funky and weird as it was back in 2013, it’s rapidly changed the way that millions of people consume media…
While most people pay for in-home Internet and WiFi service, some people rely on their mobile phones to connect to the web. Until recently, those use used their mobile data at home were able to also connect their Chromecasts and stream content to their TVs. Thanks to the most recent Play Services update (11.0.55), it would appear that Google has now blocked all Chromecasts from working on Android’s mobile hotspot.
One of a few fallbacks of using a Chromecast as your primary method of consuming television is that not all video services are supported. Most of the mainstream options, like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and others work fine, but there are definitely exceptions to the rule. If you’re trying to stream Amazon Prime Video for example, you have to cast the entire tab from the desktop Chrome browser on a Mac or PC, which until now has resulted in poor performance in most cases.
Well, that’s changing. A new feature recently added to the Dev Channel of the Google Chrome browser basically sends the video stream for these unsupported streams directly to your Chromecast…
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New data from comScore shows that Roku leads the market in streaming TV boxes, with an 18% market share, giving it close to the combined totals of its closest rivals, Amazon’s fireTV and Google’s Chromecast. Apple TV completes the top four, with a 5% share …
In today’s world, we have so many different entertainment options to choose from when we want to watch something on TV. The stress of deciding on what to binge watch is only made worse when trying to decide how you will watch it. Google has two great offerings that allow you easily stream almost anything out there: the Chromecast and Android TV. Which do you think is better?
Google seems to love having more than one of everything, and that includes its experience in the living room. You can connect Google to your TV in one of two ways, with Chromecast or with Android TV. Which, though, is the better option? I’ve been using Android TV and a Chromecast over the past few weeks, and that’s exactly what I intend to answer.
To test out the best of both worlds here, I’ve been using a Chromecast Ultra hooked up to a LeEco Super X4 43-inch 4K HDR TV along with an Nvidia Shield TV hooked up to the same unit. Of course, the TV itself also has Android TV built, in, but in this case, I’m comparing based on the Shield.
If you’re a fan of British TV shows, the BritBox streaming service – launching in the U.S. today – offers access to both old-time classics and brand new series’ for $6.99 per month. You can watch it on Android devices and the web, with Roku and Chromecast support coming soon, reports Variety.
One of the best things about Google’s hardware ecosystem is that everything plays together quite nicely. This is especially true between Google Home and Google’s Chromecast ecosystem, and Google is making it more compelling than ever to take advantage of that with a new promo…
In this day in age, there are dozens of different ways to stream movies, TV shows, and live events. The difficulty, though, is that some events and shows limit who and where people can watch them. One of the hardest events stream live, without physical cable, is the Oscars…
There are a lot of fantastic aspects of Google Home, but one that commonly taken for granted is its built-in speaker. Not only is it loud and 360-degree, but it’s also a fairly high-quality speaker. Of course, this was by design as Google Home can be used with some streaming services such as Spotify, Google Play Music, Pandora, and YouTube Music. However, there are many apps that Google Home doesn’t natively support. Luckily, there’s a way around that if you have an Android phone.
Brookstone, that store in your mall that features a lot of over-priced tech and massage chairs, has their own line of speakers. The company has announced that they are releasing an updated version of two of their speakers — the Big Blue Studio and Big Blue Party. While the previous generation only featured Bluetooth, both of the new Big Blue speakers will now also have Chromecast built-in…
According to a post made buy an LG staff member on the LG Music Flow support community (via AP), LG’s line of Music Flow speakers will soon be updated with support for both Chromecast multi-room functionality and the Google Home voice-activated speaker. This comes almost two years since the speakers first became available, and after lots of feedback was provided by various users of said forum (and more people on the Google Product Forum, too)…
One of Google Home’s greatest strengths is its ability to cast content from YouTube, Spotify, Google Play Music, Netflix, and more to a TV or set of speakers just using your voice. However, that functionality can be just a little bit touchy at times, not always working on every device. Now, Vizio has announced that its collection of SmartCast products are all now compatible with Google Home.
Google unveiled the 2nd generation Chromecast a little over a year ago now, but now we’re getting a new look at what the device could have looked like had it launched in some alternate reality. A Google patent that went public last week — first filed in 2015 — shows a sleeker “media streaming device” with a Chrome logo affixed on the front and an integrated power cord…
Google’s Chromecast is one of the most popular products the company makes, as well as being one of our personal favorites. The simple and easy experience of casting content from your device is smooth and fun, but in some cases, it’s nice to use the features built-in to your TV.
As our homes get smarter, the peripherals around them become more connected and useful. Audio as a category is no exception, and JBL is today announcing a new speaker that will fit right in inside your smart home environment…
Ahead of CES, LG has revealed the Chromecast-enabled 34UM79M 21:9 UltraWide display that is said to be the first of its kind to offer Google’s streaming platform built-in. FreeSync technology and 1ms response times will makes this 34-inch monitor a notable release for gamers. The UltraWide layout will offer enough room for two different sources to be shown at once. This feature will be extra attractive to avid streamers and those invested in Google’s ecosystem.
Early this year Google rebranded the Chromecast app to Google Cast, a new name to better suit the ecosystem of devices compatible with the technology. At the time it made sense, keeping Google’s physical and unique Chromecast family separate from the speakers and TVs which also packed the technology. Now Google is going back on that.
Google has sold tens of millions of Chromecasts since its unveiling in 2013 and over that time we’ve had four models release — the Chromecast, second-gen Chromecast, Chromecast Audio, and most recently, the 4K-capable Chromecast Ultra. Now, Google is once again pushing its streaming hardware yet again through several new adverts on YouTube.
Over 100 million hours of videos are consumed daily on Facebook and now you can easily stream that video to the big screen via the hardware you probably already have. Facebook announced today that streaming from the web browser or iOS app via AirPlay to your Apple TV or Chromecast is now available. To watch a video from Facebook on your TV:
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