Google Chromecast Review

Chromecast is a small, $35 dongle that you can plug into your TV that enables you to stream online entertainment from your device into your TV. It's great for watching Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, and surfing Google Chrome on a big screen. Just plug the dongle into an HDMI port in any HDTV, get the Chromecast app on your Android or iOS device, and set your TV onto the correct input. After you've done that, you get a step-by-step instruction on how to set it up.

For more information on setting up Chromecast, visit:

https://cast.google.com/chromecast/setup


For Netflix:

Viewing Netflix is an awesome thing to do on Chromecast, because instead of giving the "It's almost over." excuse, I now can see the progress of the movie/show on the mobile device while it's being shown on the big screen. Also, I can switch control between devices. Don't understand? Say I launch Monster's Inc. on my Windows laptop, I can easily plop down on my couch, and instead of bringing my laptop over, I can control the Monster's Inc, right on my mobile phone.

Google Play:

Streaming with Google Play Movies is a great tack-on feature, but it has its downsides. First of all, volume control for Play Movies is not possible, which brings in your TV remote. Wasn't that supposed to be gone with Chromecast? For me though, that's not too much of a problem, because it's not often that I watch from Play Movies. If you only use Play Movies, it may cause you to hesitate for a second.

Chrome:

Streaming with Chrome has to be the worst of all apps and sites that you could stream with. First of all, when listening to music on internet radios like Pandora or iHeartRadio, I encountered lots of bugs, mostly changes in music speed for a second or two.

Also, watching a video straight from Chrome decreased the video quality quite a bit, and added skips, just like the good old days.


Overall, I'd give Chromecast a strong 7.5 out of 10.