You guessed it, didn’t you? Conspicuous by their absence are Android TV and Chromecast. The old design was more likely to block access to adjacent HDMI slots, though it did include a cable extension if that was a problem.Apple TV+ supports a wide range of platforms including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and some latest sets from Samsung, Roku, LG, Vizio, and Sony. ![]() The biggest change is the physical design, which now hangs freely away from the TV’s HDMI port through a bit of extra cable, and the device is available in three colors. What’s the difference between the old and new Chromecasts? It’s not the most elegant naming scheme, but think of it this way: Chromecast is basically a cheap product for adding Google Cast capabilities to devices that don’t have them built in already. There are also Google Cast-enabled home speakers, which stream Internet music from the same apps that Chromecast supports. Android TV devices, for instance, are Google Cast-enabled, giving them all the same capabilities as Chromecast. Google Cast is the underlying technology, which appears in other products beyond Chromecast. What’s this “Google Cast” I keep hearing about? Chromecast also supports media servers such as Plex for streaming from a networked PC or NAS box. Google doesn’t build this capability into its own software, but third-party apps such as BubbleUPnP and AllCast can serve this purpose. While mirroring can be useful for watching content that doesn’t support Chromecast natively, it does have some downsides: The quality of the stream can be unreliable, and it’s a major drain on battery life.Ĭan I play back locally stored photos, videos, or music? Laptops and desktop PCs can mirror any open browser tab in Chrome with the Google Cast extension installed. There’s no way to mirror from iOS devices. Screen mirroring is supported on phones and tablets running Android 4.4.2 or higher, and is optimized to work best on a subset of these devices. Can I mirror my device’s display on the big screen? But so far, very few app makers have gotten on board. Chromecast’s main advantage is that it supports considerably more apps.ĭown the road, Amazon may have an answer to Chromecast with Fling, which promises to let app makers easily port their Cast-enabled functions to Fire TV. You’ll find this capability in some smart TVs as well. But even this is becoming less of a differentiator as more apps support Chromecast.ĭoes anything similar exist on other media streamers, such as Roku or Amazon Fire TV?īoth Fire TV and Roku support casting videos from YouTube and Netflix, using an open protocol known as DIAL. If there’s an advantage to AirPlay, it’s that it works with most apps without developers needing to do anything to support it. Casting has virtually no impact on battery life either, since it’s not responsible for beaming the actual content. Your iPhone or iPad must remain connected to the network, and it can’t play any other video or music while AirPlay is in use.īy comparison, Chromecast merely sends a set of instructions to the television, which then starts streaming straight from the Internet, so you’re free to use your phone or tablet however you want. In most cases, AirPlay works by beaming the video or audio directly from an iOS device to the television over Wi-Fi. How is this different from Apple TV’s AirPlay? The Chromecast companion app offers a starting point for search and recommendations. (A similar update is coming to iOS.) You’ll find a deep dive into the apps strengths and quirks here. The full list of supported apps is here.ĭoes it have universal search, like other streaming players?Īs of this week, Google’s Chromecast app for Android lets you search across streaming services and get recommendations from the apps you already have. And beyond just streaming media, Chromecast has apps for viewing photos, sharing presentations, and playing games. ![]() ![]() (It’s complicated.)Ĭhromecast also supports a fair number of streaming-music services, such as Pandora, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. One noteworthy exception is Amazon Video. Most of the major streaming-video services are on board, including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, HBO Now, Showtime, and Sling TV. Just look for the Cast button among the website’s playback controls. If you have a laptop or desktop running Google’s Chrome browser, you can also cast from the websites of some streaming services, provided you first install the Google Cast extension. This works with both iOS and Android apps.Ĭasting a baseball game from MLB At Bat’s Android app. Select a video and playback begins on your television a few seconds later. Supported apps display a Cast button, which you can press to connect with Chromecast. ![]() But instead of including a traditional remote control, Chromecast uses the apps that are already on your phone or tablet to send video to the television.
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