I have one plugged in which I received as a free gift. TBH I'm glad it was free as I am struggling to find any use for it.
The problem is that it's late to the party and the apps are very limited. I already have BBC iPlayer on my SMART TV, as well as being available on three PVR's I own and the same again for Netflix. In addition one of the PVR's also has 4OD Demand 5 and ITV player which the Chromecast doesn't have.
Then there is my Apple TV which I can use to Airplay direct from my Mac to the ATV. Last but not least I also have a NAS and given all three PVR's are DLNA compliant it makes the Chromecast something of a Cinderella product.
The problem is that it's late to the party and the apps are very limited. I already have BBC iPlayer on my SMART TV, as well as being available on three PVR's I own and the same again for Netflix. In addition one of the PVR's also has 4OD Demand 5 and ITV player which the Chromecast doesn't have.
Then there is my Apple TV which I can use to Airplay direct from my Mac to the ATV. Last but not least I also have a NAS and given all three PVR's are DLNA compliant it makes the Chromecast something of a Cinderella product.
From Wikipedia: "The word "Cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes were unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect"
In this case, one of the key attributes you seem to have failed to recognise is the Chromecast's user interface. Do any of your alternative products allow multiple users, equipped with their own smartphones or tablets, to simultaneously browse YouTube and add videos to a shared play-list for display on the TV?
I bought a Chromecast a few months ago, but I wish I had bought one ages ago.
Most of the stuff I watch is streamed from the internet and I previously used a combination of my YouView box and my laptop plugged into my telly. The YouView box has quite a slow user interface and is a bit clunky and plugging in the laptop (and then controlling it) was a bit of a pain.
I now use my Chromecast from my Android phone and tablet for iPlayer, Netflix, NowTV, Blinkbox and YouTube, which all have Android apps with Chromecast support (i.e. the streaming goes directly to the telly not via your phone/tablet so your phone/tablet just becomes a remote control).
The picture quality is as good as an HDMI-connected laptop and controlling playback is really easy (except for the NowTV app, which can be a bit buggy).
You can cast the entire screen of your phone which is fun when you bring your phone's camera app up - you get live pictures broadcast from your phone's camera to your telly. You can also cast Chrome browser tabs, which can sometimes be useful.
My only complaint is some lack of support. 4OD is the most annoying omission for me. Also, Blinkbox works from my Android tablet, but not from my Android phone (it's not just me - Blinkbox state that this is the case).
My Chromecast seems stable - I don't think it has ever crashed or been restarted. I only have used it from Android and the Mac OS version of the Chrome browser. I don't know if it works as well from iOS or Windows.
I use my chromecast a lot combined with my iPad and samsung phone/tablet.
Also use via the chrome tab option from a windows 8 desktop and via a dlna server on there.
Have not experienced any problems with it.
Use it for catchup, youtube, netfix and dlna.
Watching shows broadcast on the net like twit.tv with a chrome tab.
Use it for playing music through the tv and hifi with google play music and movies.
Only have access to bt sport access via the app, so scaling to the tv is a joy.
Great and easy for reviewing your personal pics and videos on your devices.
Just love that you can start chromecasting, minimise and then use other apps on your device.
I also use it to monitor my home cctv cameras, it has many uses.
As above, the quality of output is excellent too.
From Wikipedia: "The word "Cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes were unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect"
In this case, one of the key attributes you seem to have failed to recognise is the Chromecast's user interface. Do any of your alternative products allow multiple users, equipped with their own smartphones or tablets, to simultaneously browse YouTube and add videos to a shared play-list for display on the TV?
Listen Cinders, you can only comment on your own user experience. The only person that uses either a smartphone or tablet in our house is me, so multiple users aren't really an issue. :-P
Listen Cinders, you can only comment on your own user experience. The only person that uses either a smartphone or tablet in our house is me, so multiple users aren't really an issue. :-P
You seem remarkably well-provisioned in the PVR department...
In any case, the superiority of the Chromecast user interface applies even in the single-user case. I haven't seen a better way of consuming YouTube content. Not so much of an advantage for BBC iPlayer, but it's handy having it in the same place, so to speak. The other players are all crap anyway.
Oh, and I don't have Netflix, but if someone who does visits me, they can just cast their smartphone app to my Chromecast.
You seem remarkably well-provisioned in the PVR department...
In any case, the superiority of the Chromecast user interface applies even in the single-user case. I haven't seen a better way of consuming YouTube content. Not so much of an advantage for BBC iPlayer, but it's handy having it in the same place, so to speak. The other players are all crap anyway.
Oh, and I don't have Netflix, but if someone who does visits me, they can just cast their smartphone app to my Chromecast.
Again both my smartphone and tablet can cast straight to my TV. I tried my Chromecast with Youtube this evening and it genuinely is no better at doing the job than either my TV PVR or any of my other gadgets.
I don't think I'm any better provisioned on the PVR front than Mr Average.
Are you using "cast" in the same sense as everyone else?
I think it's called 'Throw' on my Xperia. Example, whatever I select from YouTube on my phone I then swipe upwards and the media starts playing on my TV.
Comments
The problem is that it's late to the party and the apps are very limited. I already have BBC iPlayer on my SMART TV, as well as being available on three PVR's I own and the same again for Netflix. In addition one of the PVR's also has 4OD Demand 5 and ITV player which the Chromecast doesn't have.
Then there is my Apple TV which I can use to Airplay direct from my Mac to the ATV. Last but not least I also have a NAS and given all three PVR's are DLNA compliant it makes the Chromecast something of a Cinderella product.
In this case, one of the key attributes you seem to have failed to recognise is the Chromecast's user interface. Do any of your alternative products allow multiple users, equipped with their own smartphones or tablets, to simultaneously browse YouTube and add videos to a shared play-list for display on the TV?
Most of the stuff I watch is streamed from the internet and I previously used a combination of my YouView box and my laptop plugged into my telly. The YouView box has quite a slow user interface and is a bit clunky and plugging in the laptop (and then controlling it) was a bit of a pain.
I now use my Chromecast from my Android phone and tablet for iPlayer, Netflix, NowTV, Blinkbox and YouTube, which all have Android apps with Chromecast support (i.e. the streaming goes directly to the telly not via your phone/tablet so your phone/tablet just becomes a remote control).
The picture quality is as good as an HDMI-connected laptop and controlling playback is really easy (except for the NowTV app, which can be a bit buggy).
You can cast the entire screen of your phone which is fun when you bring your phone's camera app up - you get live pictures broadcast from your phone's camera to your telly. You can also cast Chrome browser tabs, which can sometimes be useful.
My only complaint is some lack of support. 4OD is the most annoying omission for me. Also, Blinkbox works from my Android tablet, but not from my Android phone (it's not just me - Blinkbox state that this is the case).
My Chromecast seems stable - I don't think it has ever crashed or been restarted. I only have used it from Android and the Mac OS version of the Chrome browser. I don't know if it works as well from iOS or Windows.
Also use via the chrome tab option from a windows 8 desktop and via a dlna server on there.
Have not experienced any problems with it.
Use it for catchup, youtube, netfix and dlna.
Watching shows broadcast on the net like twit.tv with a chrome tab.
Use it for playing music through the tv and hifi with google play music and movies.
Only have access to bt sport access via the app, so scaling to the tv is a joy.
Great and easy for reviewing your personal pics and videos on your devices.
Just love that you can start chromecasting, minimise and then use other apps on your device.
I also use it to monitor my home cctv cameras, it has many uses.
As above, the quality of output is excellent too.
Listen Cinders, you can only comment on your own user experience. The only person that uses either a smartphone or tablet in our house is me, so multiple users aren't really an issue. :-P
In any case, the superiority of the Chromecast user interface applies even in the single-user case. I haven't seen a better way of consuming YouTube content. Not so much of an advantage for BBC iPlayer, but it's handy having it in the same place, so to speak. The other players are all crap anyway.
Oh, and I don't have Netflix, but if someone who does visits me, they can just cast their smartphone app to my Chromecast.
Again both my smartphone and tablet can cast straight to my TV. I tried my Chromecast with Youtube this evening and it genuinely is no better at doing the job than either my TV PVR or any of my other gadgets.
I don't think I'm any better provisioned on the PVR front than Mr Average.
I think it's called 'Throw' on my Xperia. Example, whatever I select from YouTube on my phone I then swipe upwards and the media starts playing on my TV.