OT Awesomeness

Eggcelsior

Awhile back, folks were talking about Roku and Apple TV. I was researching stuff for mine when I heard about this bad boy on the Radio ka ka, Radio go go, Radio ga ga.



Pretty cool and only 35 bucks. It wasn't supposed to arrive until November but Good Guy Google shipped super early.

Now I'm ready to cast!



Played with Netflix and YouTube. Just a tap on my phone and "POP", it's on my TV.

Hells yeah!

travisstrick

I'd appreciate a solid review on that thing. I almost pulled the trigger but the ship time was never. 

GreenhawK

So your phone is the remote?  Does it work with Hulu Plus too?  If so, are you planning on getting rid of your cable? I have been interested in doing something like that.

I also will be looking for your review.

Kosko

Will it work with apple stuff? I know I can get an Apple TV , but that thing is only 35 bucks!! Let us know how you like it.

Bustersdad

@Eggcelsior, how do you like it so far...just picked mine up from Best Buy last night, have not had a chance to play with it.  Think it's only Netflix right now.

terry_b

I've had it for a few weeks and I love it. It supports Netflix and Youtube natively. It's super easy to browse Netflix movies on my iPhone and cast it to the TV. It's also easy to cast youtube videos from my phone. Of course....most videos casted have been BGE user videos. 

It is really liberating to cast a youtube video and the whole family can view it on the TV vs crowding around a laptop.

Casting from a browser tab also works really well. I played a video on HBO2GO on my laptop and it did a really great job casting it to the TV. The lag was hardly noticeable, but you do need a very strong Wifi router. I have the ASUS RT-N66U.

Here was an interesting situation: My brother in law is a soccer nut (We are South Africans) and there was a big soccer game. We didn't have the station on our DISH plan. So he logged into his Uverse service on his laptop, started watching the game and we casted it to our TV and it worked it really well.

The product will continue to get better, HBO is planning on supporting it. Bitcasa also plans to support it. Other developers plan to support it as Google made the programming interface public. It actually runs on Android.

At $35 you really can't go wrong.

Eggcelsior

Right now it does Google Music and Google Play, Netflix, and YouTube. Like @terry_b said, you can cast anything from the chrome browser on a computer. Many companies have stated they plan to support it, such as Amazon video, Hulu, and HBO Go. I only see the list growing.

It will work with iOS and OSX devices. The setup was the easiest part. You plug it into the HDMI port and supply power via the USB on your TV or the included plug-in adapter(similar to cell phone chargers). Flip to that source and there is a screen telling you to go to a set-up website. This site instructs you to download the chromecast app through which you log the cast dongle into your network. Took me 1 minute.

Ultimately, just with what I listed above and with what terry_b said makes it worth the 35 bucks. It is going to do much more and it works with any TV that has HDMI. This makes it a rained-out vacation day lifesaver, since I now have kids. That last point alone makes it worth 35 bucks.

SmokeyPitt

That is pretty sweet!  

I just found this review:

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/14/honest-chromecast-review/

Eggcelsior

SmokeyPitt said:

That is pretty sweet!  

I just found this review:

http://gigaom.com/2013/08/14/honest-chromecast-review/

This is a good review. There is also a nice review from a developer on Amazon(top review).

It mentions something I forgot. This bad boy streams from a cloud server, not your device(except when streaming from the chrome browser) which saves device battery life. Video streaming is the biggest battery crusher for most people.

Botch

I tried to get one 3 weeks ago but also saw the long delay; glad to hear they're catching up!  I already have a Roku, but its the browser I'm interested in.  

Eggcelsior

It's currently available on Amazon with a 7-10 day turn around.

SmokeyPitt

Eggcelsior said:

This bad boy streams from a cloud server, not your device(except when streaming from the chrome browser) which saves device battery life. Video streaming is the biggest battery crusher for most people.

Ahhh...I didn't get that at first.  I thought it was just streaming the content directly from your phone.  So the video stream is coming directly from netflix to the little dongle, and your phone is just the "control" user interface.  That is sweet.  In for 1. 

yzzi

Once Amazon is supported I'll pull the trigger. I have a Roku, use it all the time since we cancelled the cable and just stream now.

terry_b

Since the device is so portable there are a bunch of interesting use cases. For example, lets say you're on vacation and the kids want to watch a Netflix movie in the hotel, you can just plug it into the HDMI port, quick setup and you're good to go.

nolaegghead

I just got this email this morning:

Hello,

We now have delivery date(s) for the order you placed on August 30, 2013 (Order#xxx-xxx-xxxxxxx):
   
   "Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player"
    Estimated arrival date: September 23, 2013 - September 25, 2013

If you want to check on the progress of your order, take a look at this page in Your Account:

nolaegghead

I already have 3 Roku boxes and one HTPC....main reason I want this is for the portability, and it'll live on the man-bear-cave TV.  My old Macbook Pro lives in the cave and for all those times were we're drunk as skunks and saying "Check this **** out.." then pulling up some streaming content on youtube or whatever...I can project right into the TV and that dumps the audio into the 7.1 Harmon Kardon system. 

It will be used heavily.

BREWnQ

I just set one up for my buddy last night. Seemed pretty cool.  Until it supports DLNA I don't really have  use for it.  I think it can be hacked but I need something easy that the wife can use.  My buddy said he found his at BestBuy and they had several in stock so you guys who want them now you may want to just keep checking with BB.

Eggcelsior

nolaegghead said:

I already have 3 Roku boxes and one HTPC....main reason I want this is for the portability, and it'll live on the man-bear-cave TV.  My old Macbook Pro lives in the cave and for all those times were we're drunk as skunks and saying "Check this **** out.." then pulling up some streaming content on youtube or whatever...I can project right into the TV and that dumps the audio into the 7.1 Harmon Kardon system. 

It will be used heavily.

While drinking heavily.

nolaegghead

that's a forgone conclusion....