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Chromecast Gets a Hardwired Ethernet Adapter
Mark Wilson writes: Google's Chromecast has gained quite a following of people looking for a cheap, simple way to stream content to their TVs. Part of the device's appeal is its easy of use and extensibility through the use of apps, but it is reliant on a steady Wi-Fi signal. If this represents a problem in your home, there's now a solution. The new Ethernet Adapter for Chromecast does very much what you would expect — it adds a wired Ethernet port to Google's streaming dongle. This is great news for anyone with a flaky Wi-Fi signal, or those looking to use Chromecast beyond their router's normal range.
Finally, it was always annoying when the movie cuts out when I start making the popcorn...
I can hardly wait until they start manufacturing these with a USB Type-C connector for use with my USB Type-C equipped Laptop/Cellphone/Tablet and this is no longer a newsworthy item.
moox. for a new generation.
True, but it's actually a USB power adapter with a Ethernet port on it. The USB-Ethernet adapter is in the power aadapter and the single USB cable goes to the Chromecast.
So it's not a dinky adapter dangling from your Chromecast (and slowly unplugging it if your HDMI ports are the wrong orientation), but it accepts Ethernet at the power adapter and asingle cable goes to the Chromecast. Quite elegant a solution, really.
Chromecast all but requires another smart device running (continuously) to control it. You can't control it directly.
Google TV, on the other hand, AKA "Android TV Sticks", are a full-on Android device, just like your phone or tablet, but without the screen. You control it with something like a mouse/keyboard.
You can turn off your phone/laptop while using a Google TV. You can browse the Internet on your Google TV, without using anything else to help. You can plug in a keyboard/mouse and use it like a computer! You buy apps on it from Google play, just like any other android device, and it's very compatible!
I just loved my first TV stick that I bought on Amazon (MK808b) for $35! I just bought an MK809 when my MK808b finally died after 3 or 4 years of daily use, and it has (so far) been a nice upgrade. Faster processor, better wifi reception, more memory/storage. Still runs just fine off the power from the USB port on the side of my TV...
PS: To control one of these, you want a "flying mouse remote". It's a keyboard that "mouses" by waving it in the air.
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
This is wonderful. The Chromecast's 2.4GHz 802.11n tops out at 72Mbps -- barely better than 802.11g. And while it is begrudgingly slogging in that 72Mbps data, it also is hogging timeslots from devices that could be at ~150 or ~300Mbps if the channel weren't full.
I couldn't reliably stream HD video from the Chromecast app on my Samsung S5 to the Chromecast on 802.11g*. Frames were dropped frequently enough to be a real usability problem, and various disconnects happened enough to make it useless.
I expect that this new adapter will solve the problems with the device that I was experiencing. (Not that it owes me much: I paid $23, shipped, for it on Black Friday, and it came with $20 of Play Store credit that I surely would've used sooner or later anyway.)
*: Incidentally (yes, really incidental) I moved the wireless network that my Chromecast and my phone use from 802.11g to 2.4GHz 802.11n this very afternoon. The streaming of BBC iPlayer via a VPN got a lot better: It didn't freeze or outright stall. It's still a bit rough, though. The phone syncs at 144Mbps, and the Chromecast can't go more than 72. I'd love to say that bandwidth shouldn't be a problem in these modern enlightened times, but apparently it is.
**: As an unreferenced footnote, fixed devices such as Chromecast should always have a hardwired option. Every other*** fixed device on my network is hard-wired; why should the Chromecast not be? I've never carried the Chromecast between TVs, although it's easy enough to do so.
***: Except for the Wii, because that costs extra and its wireless burden is not all that burdensome.
****: The other option I was exploring today was setting up a dedicated access point just for the Chromecast. I've got the hardware, and a bit of room on the outskirts of the ISM band, but fuuuuuu.
*****: TL;DR shut up and take my money
Kid-proof tablet..
Why do you need a $35 full Android device if you can already buy a $15 full Android device? The Chromecast does things for me that my other Android devices don't, and that has value for me. Just another Android stick? Meh, I don't need it. If I want something like that, I'll hook my old phone up to TV with MHL and control it over VNC from my newer phone.
It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
I don't recall what ports the Nexus Player has - anyone know if this will work with one of those?
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
An usb?
An? I recognize that English can be tricky even for folks born in such countries, but sheeshL
Again: "an usb"?
Is there any pronunciation of USB that does elicits an "an"? Or have I been saying U S B wrong all of these years by spelling it out, and should be instead saying "uhsbah"?
Because Webster calls it \ËOEyü-(ËOE)es-ËbÄ"\, and I can't argue with that. (Fucking /. Unicode ruining linguistics yet again, but the link is good.)
Say it out-loud: "A USB," vs. "An USB.": (IE, "A yoo-ess-bee," vs "An yoo-ess-bee")
If the former still sounds more-wrong than the latter, then good luckl with my language!
Kid-proof tablet..
So the chromecast supports ethernet of the usb port. Nice planning a head.
Now will your phone talking to WiFi be able to talk to chromecast, to is the chromecast switch to being to being a WiFi "router" too?
I have complained to Google earlier with 6 different wifi network segments, all with different routers and CCSID, but sharing same IP range, so routing would not be an issue... Chromecast required all devices talking to be on it's CCSID. So, chrome could not discover chromecast unless on same CCSID.
Dear AC,
For all intents and purposes, local Chromecast traffic does not route. It relies on Ethernet broadcast to do its magic (whatever that Ethernet may consist of).
So, the Chromecast must be on the on the same logical LAN as the rest of your network. Can't/won't/don't want to do that? Learn some iptables magic or naff off (good luck!).
Every device in this field is similar in this behavior.
Kid-proof tablet..
Actually, I'm going to get one of these.... not for any of the reasons mentioned above, but because the native chromecast does not support WPA2 enterpise. For this reason, I had to add a WPA2 PSK AP to my network just for the chromecast. A wired connection would preclude this work around.
"BadTimes will make you fall in love with a penguin" - Laika
WTF?
In many countries, there is no such thing as cable. In others cable is limited to a few blocks of a few cities. America is not the whole world.
Meanwhile, my Chromecast has become useless. Not sure whether it is sabotage by Samsung or blunders by Google, or maybe ineptly implemented copyright protection: I can use the (Samsung) phone to point the Chromecast at Youtube, but as soon as I actually try to watch a video, connection is lost!
It was not like that a few months ago (we loaned the Chromecas to a neighbour for a few months).
I dont watch much on TV, cos it is much easier to use a desktop computer anyway, and I never watch American films, but occasionally it is a family activity. These days far less frequently as the providers seem not to understand that viewers get bored of strugging to view crap.
Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
USB is pronounced Ooosb! An Ooosb!
Strictly speaking English grammar rules (I see you refer to Webster and I have no idea what American grammar rules are but you used English) state that if it begins with a vowel it should be "an" and if it begins with a consonant it should be "a". Last time I checked U was a vowel so strictly speaking it should be an.
All that aside I will admit that an USB sounds odd, but it's correct English grammar as taught to me at my school in England when growing up.
So close. Write the word phonetically, and use that spelling to determine. Yooessbee begins with a consonant, hence 'a' instead of 'an'.
/s/cable/DSL, if you wish.
In my country cable is fairly uncommon but does exist. Sometimes a row of public housing has it, or a city block because there were a trend of installing cable in the 80s or whenever ; else by large most every housing has a phone line and at least one antenna connector on the wall to plug a TV in.
There no consistency in where you will find phone plugs in the home (if phone line was installed 40 years ago in a 100 year old house for instance), so the DSL modem (which contains a router, wifi and ethernet switch if not more) may be located damn anywhere but it's common anyway to have it next to the TV.
I guess that millions people run some consumer electronic device over wifi whereas a short ethernet cable would do it, out of ignorance or lack of care. Perhaps in some case two boxes of consumer shit, one stacked on top of the other communicate in wifi. That's a bit ridiculous as the latency is a bit worse and it's a waste of 2.4GHz spectrum.
I am constantly using chromecast from different wifi (and wired) netorks, there is no need te be on the same wifi network as long as the broadcast traffic reaches the chromecast and your other devices (i.e. they are in the same "ping domain"). For instance at home my chromecast is connected to one wifi network (2.4GHz), my phone connected to another (5GHz, different AP and SSID) and my Plex server is connected with a wire. This all works as a charm.
No cable? Just wifi for your broadband connection? I can see that in countries that have yet to build a physical infrastructure, but I find it hard to believe countries in Europe have no cable, coaxial, phone, fiber cable, or otherwise.
I'd take a single rape over a lifetime of slavery any day...although that would qualify as "the worst day of my life" lol
Wouldn't it be nice if this was a PoE dongle?
To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
Yes, the rule is if the word starts with a vowel sound, not if it is spelt with a vowel.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
My first thought was that this might fix all those MAC gymnastics needed to get Chromecast working on in a hotel room - at least cheaper than bringing a second router/AP to plug into the hardwired outlet..
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
The Google, Apple, and Amazon cults aren't worth joining. A good system should be able to play anything.
I agree in principle. So where is this system that can play anything? Or do you mean to say there are no good systems?
It would be real nice if Chromecast supported Power over Ethernet with the hardwired port.
If Chromecast required all devices to be on the same SSID (CCSID?), then how would wired devices work? They don't have a SSID.
6 different wifi network segments, all with different routers and CCSID
It sure is a shame when a company blatantly alienates .0001% of the market with the design of their low priced consumer goods.
Some things simply didn't need to be "improved". Give me a real remote and a built-in Ethernet connection anyday like my WDTV Live has.
It is true that some things don't need improvement but remote controls are not on that list. I should NOT have to own or use a different and usually crappy remote for every device. I should NOT have to have a universal remote which has no way to determine the state of the device it is controlling.
Device manufacturers need to get together and come up with a standard for remotes that includes TWO WAY communication (to and from the remote) from every device AND the devices need to be able to talk to each other AND they need to use RF instead of IR in most cases. Yes this will be more expensive and I'm fine with that. I have a Logitech Harmony and it's not bad but ultimately it fails because it has no way to query the devices for their state so it gets confused rather often. Every stupid DVD player and TV has just an IR receiver but no transmitter which is inexcusable in 2015. It's not hard and not terribly expensive so I fail to understand why this hasn't happened yet.
And you can't see your backlit phone screen in a darkened room?
He's saying that there is no tactile feedback so you have to actually look at the touchscreen to use it. Otherwise you have no idea what "button" you are pressing. It's one of the serious problems with touchscreen interfaces in general. My car has a touchscreen GPS. Since it lacks buttons you have to take your eyes off the road to use it while driving which is dangerous. However I have physical buttons for my radio so I can change channels without looking. That's a non-trivial advantage of physical buttons.
Unless the buttons are lit, a real remote is worse than a phone.
No it is not. I know exactly where the buttons are on my remotes by touch even with the lights off. Having back-lit buttons is helpful but if you are familiar with the remote it isn't actually necessary. Furthermore since there is no tactile feedback from the phone you have to take your eyes off the screen to use its virtual "buttons" whereas you do not with a remote that has physical buttons.
The problem with most remotes is that they communicate one way and so they have no idea what the state of the device they are controlling is in. It is LONG past due that remotes should be able to query the state of the device(s) they are controlling. Until that happens all remotes are and will remain shit.
That didn't take long. It's already sold out.
In this case, U == hard Y.
A unicycle.
An umbrella.
This message has been brought to you by Hooked on Phonics.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Y is both. Y was the original trans-gendered member of The Letter People.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
Except that you can ping things that are not in your subnet. I think "ping domain" means everything that can be pinged by you. Which maybe means the whole internet minus some computers behind firewalls and NAT routers.
What's sheeshL?
Bi-gendered or non-binary, not transgendered! Transgendered would be a consonant transitioning to a vowel.
"Come and meet the letter people....."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
If that's a typical home network, the 2 different radios and the ethernet are all one collision domain, so yeah, Chromecast and similar devices will work just fine. If you have separate network segments (think separate IP subnets) then you have issues and need to do gatewaying and other assorted hacks.
Heh! I knew someone would get the reference. I also suspected someone would correct my use of the trans-gendered phrase but I am not so good at remembering which one is which and worrying about it. Bi certainly makes sense. Hermaphroditic would work I think?
I was kind of shocked that *I* remembered it after all these years. I was a bit older then and had a younger sister so that is where I heard it from. I suppose Schoolhouse Rocks is next on the list.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
I also suspected someone would correct my use of the trans-gendered phrase but I am not so good at remembering which one is which and worrying about it.
Dont' worry, no offense taken on my part, when actual transpeople can't remember all the gender-whatever terminology. Especially for the non-binary stuff. Close enough to figure out. I'm one of those who thinks we (transgendered people) shouldn't go postal about terminology use by people who mean well, but just can't keep track of it all.
Hermaphroditic would work I think?
Not anymore, the "intersex" community frowns upon the h-word. that would only be used in the past for those who are physically intersexed. The Intersexed folks can be "very" prickly about terminology. Worse than the transcommunity I'd say. Technically I'm also IS, but the visible part of my condition was relatively minor so I don't identify as IS.
I was kind of shocked that *I* remembered it after all these years. I was a bit older then and had a younger sister so that is where I heard it from.
The song sticks in you head that's for sure, heard background music in a commercial recently that reminded me of it and I had "the letter people song" in my head all day after that. I think I was maybe 10 or 11 when I first heard it, home sick from school, couldn't find anything good on TV, flipped around the few channels we had and it was on PBS. I actually liked it, it had a bit of an actual storyline, even though I was not in the age group for the show. I may have been high on cough syrup something.
I suppose Schoolhouse Rocks is next on the list.
Thank you! That reminds me that I should add "Interplanet Janet" to the spotify playlist for No Man's Sky when it comes out.
Chromecast sticks are useful in the office where you have a wall mounted TV and you want to display your laptop screen on it. No need to fiddle with the HDMI cable (or DVI -> HDMI, or VGA -> HDMI, or DP -> HDMI). They're also cheap enough that you can carry one "just in case".
Heck, at $35, they're cheaper then some A/V cables...
Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
But Americans often drop the consonant, e.g. new is pronounced "noo", whereas a native English speaker says "nyoo".
So no surprise if someone pronounces it an "oo-ess-bee" port.
it's an usb ethernet dongle.
like, woah!
But its an OTG usb ethernet dongle!
Yes, people have been doing this for ages, with a Y-adapter and dongle.
You can get both parts for less than $5 delivered on ebay etc. The only trick is figuring out which ones have the ASIX chip (or, more likely, a clone).
See https://productforums.google.c...
This new option is certainly more elegant.
I am nearing the age of sixty. It is funny how it creeps up on you. Anyhow, when I was younger things were just starting to see some publicity where alternative sexual lifestyles or trans-gendered people were the subject. Often those comments and opinions, even on the news, were either outright derogatory or vocally tinged to where the disdain was palpable. I am mixed racially which is, in some areas, worse than being either black or white or native American. Fortunately I stayed on base and then went off to prep school where I lived on campus.
As an aside, wealthy children can be bigoted bastards. They just phrase it better and can hide it from public view better.
Whilst at school I developed a close relationship with someone who had confided their sexual preferences to me. I was, I admit, a little alarmed - I did not want to catch the gay or be associated with it because it would reflect poorly on me. At the same time, I knew that they had not changed, they were the same person they always were. Also, it was relatively obvious that they were either gay or just very effeminate and emotional - but keep those in context.
I have been told that I have "good gayday." I have also been told I must be gay for having said 'gaydar.' To be honest, I may have meandered home with a transsexual woman after a long night at the bar and enjoyed myself but I should not speak out of church I suppose.
I guess my point is that, since then, I have always had a sort of affinity for those who were socially lower than the normal people. I have made it a point to NOT be overly sympathetic and engage in reverse bigotry. (I can think of no other way to put it.) I treat you like I want to be treated until such time as that social contract is violated.
I find that I am more comfortable, the people more honest (usually - though I have seen lots of needless drama but I suspect that happens anywhere), and have spent most of my time on the outskirts of the GLBT community. For some reason I am just attracted, again that is the best choice of words, to people who are somehow seen as different or even seen as unacceptable. Maybe it is a conditioning of my youth? I fit in nowhere, I fit in everywhere. Well, until I went into a different room...
I am not really sure why I shared the story. I guess it fills in some information about me and why I am hell bent on things like equality and consideration of merit instead of attribution due to an inborn trait. I do not want affirmative action, that is telling people that they can not do it on their own and that they have to have help. I will not be the token nigger. I can not.
Another interesting thing that comes to mind is that I spent 8 years in the Marines (two separate occasions -- got to love that GI Bill) and we had a number of gay people. They were known about. It was even talked about. There were jokes made by everyone - and I mean everyone - and nobody cared because we joked about everyone with all traits. We were a fine group. If a bunch of "ignorant jarheads" can be nonjudgmental enough to not care who is in the dirt beside them and judge based only one their comrade's willingness to stand with them and their ability to do so then why can't an enlightened group manage the same thing? *sighs*
Anyhow, I often share a story about a gay Marine who was out of uniform and at the bar with me. Someone called him a fagot one too many times. The result was messy and he ended up shirtless and shrilling loudly, "How does it feel to get your ass beat by a fag? Do you like being my bitch now, punk?" Over and over again... All while continuing to beat this poor (surprisingly large) redneck into a puddle. We both spent the rest of the weekend in the brig and nothing came out of it except that and some KP duty. Solidarity... I had nothing to do with it except to laugh my ass off but he was not going to go to the brig alone on my watch. Yay! Captain's Mast!
The story is best told in a much longer way. I am too lazy to type it all out. I figured I would share some because it seemed the appropriate thing to do.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."