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Google Chromecast Reviewed; Google Nixes Netflix Discount
adeelarshad82 writes "While it's more limited than the Roku 3 and by no means Google's answer to Airplay, Chromecast sets itself apart from other similar products simply based on its price and potential of bringing Internet HDTV streaming to many more people than before. Priced at only $35, it's a direct stick that plugs into your HDTV's HDMI port and lets you stream media from Netflix, YouTube, and Google Play through your smartphone, tablet, or notebook. Unlike the Roku Stick, it uses a separate micro-USB port instead of MHL to power it. This on one hand means you need to run a cable from the stick to a USB port, making it much less neat than it would seem. On the other hand, it means the stick works with any HDTV, whether it has an MHL-capable HDMI port or not. Once connected, the setup itself is fairly simple and entirely app-controlled. Past the setup, your streaming content choices are currently limited, though Google released an API for the Chromecast, so more apps could support it in the future. For now Android users can stream media from Google Play Movies and Music, as well as Netflix and YouTube whereas iOS users can watch Netflix and YouTube via the Chromecast. From a computer, users can stream media from Netflix, YouTube, Google Play, and Chrome. Unlike Apple TV and AirPlay, Chromecast doesn't let you stream your locally stored media. In fact Google Play Music gives an error message when you try to play music you loaded on your device yourself and not through the Google Play store. All in all, at $35 it's the most affordable way to access online media services on your HDTV."
El Reg also got their hands on one. Alas, one perk of grabbing the Chromecast is gone: Google ended the free three month Netflix bundle that was worth almost as much as the cost of the Chromecast itself after sales were much higher than expected (so high it looks like they ran out of them after only a day). Update: 07/26 21:20 GMT by U L : iFixIt posted a teardown of the Chromecast.
What makes this better than any of the countless similarly priced Android-based media players out there?
Circumcision is child abuse.
From Wired's Dongle Style review:
Yes, you can play local video. At least some of it. A not-strictly-speaking legitimate copy of Black Mirror in MKV file format played magnificently on our television when we dropped it in a Chrome browser window.
Likewise, if you’re running it in a browser, Amazon Instant video, Hulu, Rdio, and HBO Go all just work. As did video from Wired, Gawker media, and Flickr slideshows. We ran photos from Facebook fullscreen. We watched a live Flash stream of a Braves game on an extremely shady bootleg site that spawned approximately a gazillion Chrome windows in the background.
Good luck getting one though.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
1. Make a splash with all the tech review sites by announcing your new $35 product comes with three free months of Netflix, guaranteeing that you'll get tons of press.
2. Stop the offer after one day, without warning.
3. Profit! By taking advantage of all the people that will only find the initial review when they check out your product, and so won't know the deal is off.
4. Whisper "don't be evil" al the way to the bank...
#DeleteChrome
It's a cute device, but not really ready for public consumption. Its restricted (or incomplete?) support means you can only use what Google lets you rather than any video on the source device.
I'm sure they'll improve the compatibility, but until then it's just a device that streams Google approved content.
if it doesn't even allow playing a musical recording that I composed, performed, and recorded myself, I don't see much potential for "hackable".
that's the only thing i can see using it for if i didn't have an apple tv and a Mac
if you don't pay for cable you can stream live sports to your TV now instead of watching it on a computer
I want a cheep device that simply mirrors my screen (from whatever device, like a VNC viewer) to my TV over my LAN. Give me that and I'll be a happy camper.
...it would be one way to get NetFlix under Linux by plugging the ChromeCast into your Linux PC's HDMI port??
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
Can't you just power this thing with a cell phone charger with micro USB end. No need to 'find a USB port'.
pictures^W videos of the grandkids trip to the zoo taken with ur iphone on ur parent's HD teevee with a dongle that you can carry around in ur pocket
BOOM! HEADSHOT! GAEM OVAH!
Does anyone know, does this create a hole for HDCP, or does it send the content in encrypted form if the device requests it?
That is a very poor workaround, that plays the video locally then does some messy screen casting to give you compression artifacts/chop/stutter and lip sync issues:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/24/4553368/hands-on-googles-35-chromecast-a-streaming-tv-stick
Perhaps most interesting of all, we got to try a new beta feature of Chrome that lets you stream the contents of a web browser tab itself to your TV via the Chromecast. It's not particularly impressive yet: scrolling doesn't come close to keeping up with your finger, and there's visible compression artifacts whenever there's rapid motion: it's a lot like streaming game services like OnLive and Gaikai, but with a lot more delay. ... Video plays with only a bit of chop and stutter, and lips don't quite sync up with the audio, which could be maddening for some.
WD TV, Roku aren't that expensive and handle local streaming flawlessly.
The main thing I see, stripping away all the hype, is the price point for this device. And as to the hype I actually did not know what this thing did before I happened to go on iFixit today and decided to actually see what it was.
Because what it is is damn near nothing. It is a consumer grade Raspberry Pi that may or may not catch on fire at some point. Ok ok, Google has some damn fine engineers so I'm guessing that it won't but we've seen other titans struggle with such issues, coughapplecough.
But actually it is less than the Pi unless you a Netflix coupon as more, which I do not, I really question this thing's purpose. Turn's your TV into a SmartTV! is the hype I see. I do not remember seeing any talk about how SmartTVs took off so...yeah. Back to that price point argument.
Want to try having a SmartTV for only $35, a bit of free Netflix, and access to giving Google and the NSA more of your ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H...ah you get the idea.
While I've had a bit of fun here I honestly question if this will take off. The media conglomerates that have been allowed to morph into entities that control content creation, content delivery, internet delivery, that have clear conflict of interest issues for the consumers are going to fight tooth and nail to let anyone on their jungle gym. We however will see if this see if this latest experment in totally free as in a birrrrrrddddd now capitalistic armageddon will somehow not morph into a greater clusterfuck for us citizens...I mean consumers...hell I mean terrorists.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
Unlike the Roku Stick, it uses a separate micro-USB port instead of MHL to power it.
NO IT DOES NOT!! If you have HDMI 1.4 it does not require a separate power source. Slashdot editors should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this kind of crap!
I really hope the hacking community gets behind this thing. (At $35 I expect they will.) If someone can figure out how to get XBMC to run on it then my Christmas shopping is done.
If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
Why would anyone buy this locked down piece of crap from Google, when they could simply buy a generic Android 'stick'? Isn't the whole point of Android in the first place to ensure good free apps exist that would do EVERYTHING you would need from an Android stick attached to your TV set? Why on Earth would a proprietary solution from Google be better?
Even if most products are NOT hits, everyone HOPES for one, and an organization as big as Google should at least PLAN for the possibility of one -- and at this price, SOMEONE in the googleplex should have figured out that it had a good chance of actually being one. They should have either a) had an infinite number of Netflix discount codes available, or b) CLEARLY publicized "First N customers get 3 free months of Netflix!" And then be prepared to reach N in a matter of minutes.
For as many PHDs as Google has, it's continually surprising how much stuff like this they screw up.
(Sorry for the caps. I'm tired and don't feel like writing tags. Dear Slashdot, its 2013. Please get a rich text editor for comments -- bold, ital, underline, strikethrough, lists, blockquote, and link oughtta do it.)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Anyone else played with the Favi SmartStick? I got one last year and it seems to do about all that this does (albeit for about $15 more dollars) and more. It hast the play store so I can download many apps and it has internal storage for playing local files. Is there something I am missing about this that makes it even as good, much less better, than the SmartStick?
> I have idea what the decoding capability is like ...
... useless paper weight for everything but netflicks and youtube. This is just google pushing verticle integration.
> it could possibly be very limited
Okay, you know nothing about it. I'm with you so far.
> misleading
And you go ahead and call it crap, and accuse them of false advertising (fraud).
Let me guess - you vote democrat.
I gotta hand it to Google -- this is brilliant. The average person spends (how many?) hours a day watching TV and currently Google has no insight into how that time is spent. So what do they do? They develop a man-in-the-middle dongle that allows them to gather up all of your TV viewing habits: what shows and for how long, which commercials you'll sit through, etc. Similar to Hulu but on a much larger scale and without the ability to watch anonymously. Bravo Google you've done it again.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is something that Google heavily lacks. Fine engineers.
Google engineers are some of the worst and lest talented people in the planet. Just look at how crappy and inefficient their "Android" source code is.
On the hardware side, they don't design anything. They just sub-contract to other companies. They don't even allow Motorola engineers to do any real work.
You are nothing but a moron Google fanboy
AppleTV and its tight hooks into anything iOS or OSX related will give you features not present in the ChromeCast stick.
My AppleTV is connected to a flat screen via HDMI, but the audio is being AirPlay'd through my AirPort Express router, with a set of Klipsch speakers connected via the 3.5mm headphone jack on the back of the router. As with all things Apple, It Just Works.
The process for displaying photos or video via AirPlay to an AppleTV, from OSX or iOS devices is tightly and seamlessly hooked into everything.
I love Google for creating ChromeCast, but it's a completely different animal, and lacks the polish that exemplifies Apple anything.
THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
As with all things Apple, It Just Works.
Nope, not a fanboy at all.
If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.