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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.
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.
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..
So close. Write the word phonetically, and use that spelling to determine. Yooessbee begins with a consonant, hence 'a' instead of 'an'.
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.
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?
That didn't take long. It's already sold out.