I'm not sure if this is the right place.

I have a Sony Bravia KDL-40EX503 TV (registered November 2010) and want to know if a Chromecast will work with it.

I have a Samsung tablet and a W10 laptop and wondered if the TV is too old for the Chromecast or will it work OK?

If your TV has HDMI input it will work, you also need a USB for power if the TV doesn't have one you can use a USB mains adaptor.

Thanks. Yes, the TV has 4 HDMI ports, and it has a USB 2.0 port. I was pretty sure it would work OK but didn't want to go ahead and spend the money if it wasn't going to work. I presume I can stream from the tablet OK using it?

As far as the TV is concerned the Chromecast is just another video/audio source, just like a DVD/Blu-Ray player, Sky box or Freeview PVR. The only compatibility issue you are likely to encounter is the video output format of the Chromecast, which is unlikely to be any problem.

It is the Chromecast that handles all the clever stuff so what TV it is plugged into is irrelevant really. And as for streaming that depends on whether the apps on your tablet are Chromecast aware or whether you can successfully connect the tablet to the Chromecast to mirror what is on the tablet to the Chromecast and then on to the TV.

Without knowing the exact model of tablet you have it is difficult to be 100% precise but there is a load of information on the Chromecast website that might help.

https://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/ch...chromecast.com
https://support.google.com/chromecas...#topic=3058948

Thanks everyone for your help. It's a Galaxy Tab A that's only a couple of months old.

I'll have a look at the support forums and see what they say before deciding.

If the tablet is running Android 4.1 or later it should be possible to install the Android app as shown here

https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/2998456

Just expand the section for whichever Chromecast device you plan to get and then the Android section.

You should be fine. We've got an older Sony KDL32v4000 in the playroom and that has a Chromecast hooked up to it no problem.

I'm sure I read somewhere you should use the Chromecast's own PSU though - maybe the current output on a TV one may not be sufficient? Nigel Goodwin as an engineer with Sony expertise may be able to confirm.

I've only ever had occasion to connect ONE Chromecast for a customer, and that worked fine from the TV's USB socket.

However, I've just checked a couple of Sony TV's and it says 'maximum 500mA' on the USB socket - what does a Chromecast take?.

The specs on the Google website are as useful as a chocolate fireguard when it comes to power consumption.

https://support.google.com/chromecas...46409?hl=en-GB

Basically it doesn't tell you how much power they draw. All it says is that a first gen Chromecast plugs into a TV USB port and the second gen Chromecast comes with a 5V 1A PSU. Which could mean it draws more than 500mA but who knows?

Taking a look on line for USB specs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB

Of USB 3.0 it says "The Battery Charging Specification requires that the physical ports themselves be capable of handling 5 A of current[citation needed] but limits the maximum current drawn to 1.5 A."

I guess the question is what purpose the USB sockets on the TV exist to do - if it's simply to provide data handling, then they may not need to be capable of handling the higher current draw.

Given the Chromecast's "data" interchange is via the HDMI, then I'd assume the USB element is solely for power supply - in which case I wouldn't chance running its power from the TV's usb and instead use the supplied PSU.

I don't think TV ports are USB3.0?, nor are they specced for use as battery chargers.

If you plug a device in to charge from a USB port, it informs the port of that fact - and assuming it's capable of higher charging currents it will adjust itself accordingly.

As far as I remember, this is done via a simple resistor inside the phone (or other device)?


The USB ports exist to connect a flash drive, or (usually for just one of the ports) an external HDD (usually with an external PSU).

Which, if I've understood your comments correctly Nigel, means the USB port probably shouldn't be used to power accessories such as a Chromecast, as it hasn't been designed to act as a charging point.

It really depends what amount of power it needs

Panasonic's DX902 has three USB ports, one is v3.0, don't know about the rest of the DX range.

But they don't need to be specced for charging - however if they are, they need to be to a certain standard.

And I think the unanswered question is whether the USB ports which manufacturers are installing on TVs are specified for use as chargers (and therefore can accept the higher current draw and could be used to power a device such as a Chromecast) or whether they are only specified for data interchange use, in which case they aren't and using them as such may damage the TV.

It's been a while but I've finally managed to pick up the Chromecast, plugged it in today and it works perfectly, the included power cable means there's no issue with power consumption through the TV.
I need to finish tweaking it and setting it up properly but as just a quick test it was fine...

Oh, and if anyone's interested Tesco are doing an extra 250 clubcard points with it at the moment.

"the included power cable means there's no issue with power consumption through the TV"

But if you power it via USB you are in effect, powering it for free....

Completely untrue - the TV set draws extra power from the mains in order to supply the extra power added by the Chromecast. Depending on the relative efficiencies of the two PSU's one 'may' be slightly cheaper than the other - but it could be either (or none).

There's no 'magic' device that powers things for free

However, where you 'may' win is that the Chromecast powers down with the TV if fed from it's USB socket - if you don't power down the external PSU then you're going to lose out there.

"Completely untrue"

No, not impossible but likely. Be honest.

Never had any problem with the Chromecast (or Roku Streaming Stick for that matter) being powered from the USB ports on the TV - the Amazon Fire TV stick on the other had is very fussy and only likes it's own charger (1.8A) or a tablet charger.

The only advantage I've seen for powering a Chromecast from the mains is that it can turn the TV and on and change the input on a TV with HDMI-CEC (although IME that doesn't work on LG TVs although it works fine on Sony sets).

Nope - impossible - taking extra power from the TV means the TV takes extra power from the mains, not the slightest doubt about it.

If there is nothing plugged into the USB socket on the TV then the power consumption of that socket is zero. Only when a device requiring power is plugged in does it start providing power. That power has to come from the mains, exactly the same as if you were using the devices external PSU.

So yes plugging a USB powered device into a TV will increase the TV's power consumption and is not a free source of power.