Chromecast Review

I have been using the Chromecast device for a few months now. After finding the, pretty much sold out, Google Chromecast at my local Best Buy I can honestly say that it is a $35 well spent.

The day after this device was announced I decided that I wanted to check it out. After seeing that is was sold out on Amazon and the Google Play store I checked Ebay. They were listed for 1.5X or more than what retail price was. I expected as much and decided to check Best Buy's website. They also said that they were sold out online but you could check the local stores for availability. Early in the morning their site said that one of my local stores had it in stock but by the afternoon it was saying "Not Available" at the same location. I called the Best Buy 800 number and had them check 2 locations and was told that both were sold out and they should have more in a few weeks. I decided to stop in anyway on my way home. I had no idea what department they would be in so I headed where the mobile section was. I started looking at tablets and as I glanced to my left I saw two Chromcast boxes sitting at the end of the display. I figured they could be empty displays but was excited when they were the real deal. Even the associate that came over to ask me if I needed any help was surprised to see me with one. I fought the urge to buy both of them and left the other one to another fortunate hunter to find.

I got it home and setup was a breeze. You just plug it into and empty HDMI slot on your TV, plug one end of the USB cable into the device and the other in either into a USB slot on your TV or into the wall with the adapter provided. Next you have to set it up by either going to this website or by using the app from the Play Store. Once connected you name your device and connect it to your Wi-Fi and you are ready to go. Once the playback starts on the television you can continue using your mobile device as you normally would. The media doesn't actually stream from the device, instead it tells the Chromecast where to pull the video from and it plays it through the HDMI connection.

There are only a few apps compatible with the Chromecast at the moment. Netflix, YouTube, Play Music, Play Movies and recently Hulu Plus was added. I tried the YouTube and Netflix apps first and they were a breeze to use. Once the video starts you touch the broadcast button and then select which Chromecast device you want to broadcast to. My Sony TV automatically switches to the correct HDMI input and begins playing the video. At this point your phone, tablet, or computer (whatever device you initiated from) simply becomes the remote to control your playback, pause, fast forward, and rewind. The process is pretty much the same on the Netflix and YouTube apps. The Google Play Music app displays the album art in a screensaver format with the song and artist at the bottom of the screen. For computer use you have to use the Chrome browser and install the GoogleCast extension.

After using the Chromecast for a few months I appreciate how convenient it is to have the ability to send video to your television without having to do anything more than click an icon. I only have one device so far but I do plan on buying another one soon as they are well worth the $35.