New toys
For Christmas my parents gave me their old TV, since moving into my first house I've been using a computer monitor as a TV. Which hasn't been that bad if I'm honest, the distance from my sofa to "TV" was never more than 3m so when watching on a 22 inch screen even full HD video looked lovely and was pleasing to watch.
Out with the old
That said, I was using a computer monitor as my TV, clearly that means that I had a computer set up nearby driving it, the problem with a computer driving what you watch is that you have to get up and operate said computer because computers usually don't have an interface to them that lends itself for operation from your arm chair (does anyone under the age of 80 even have an arm chair these days?)
The reason it doesn't is that your typical computer is equipped with a keyboard and mouse, which even when wireless isn't desirable because they are precision tools but when interacting with a display at a range of 3m+ precision isn't what you need.
What you need is something simple and robust that is independent of range. Once solution is to implement the Google Chromecast and use your mobile device(s) such as your smart phone or tablet as a remote control.
Unboxing
As of January 2015, the Google Chromecast is on sale for £30. Until the end of January, the purchase of a Chromecast also has four offers:
- £15 of Google play credit
- X-men on Google movies
- 90 days of Google play music subscription
- Three months now TV
The current package makes for an exceptionally good deal. The X-Men movie is worth £2.49, 90 days on Google play is worth £20.96 (3 off £6.99) and finally the now TV subscription is worth £29.97 (3 off £9.99).
The Chromecast comes in a very neat, simple glossy cardboard box.
The outer sleeve is removed to reveal another similar cardboard box. Opening this box gives you the first glimpse of the Chromecast dongle.
Underneath the dongle tray are the final three components to make the Chromecast work (and two of these are optional).
The Chromecast is powered over USB: the lead approximately 1.5m long when fully stretched out, which means that you should have no problem reaching any USB port on your TV regardless of the HDMI port location. For slightly older TV's (like mine) without a USB port, an AC-DC plug is provided.
The final item is a HDMI Extender. This is really useful for giving you a bit of extra length to reach your mains plug, also if the area around your HDMI port is quite congested due to the design of the TV, it again gives you some breathing room for the dongle (like you can see in the picture below, there was very little room directly below the HDMI ports due to the shaping of the TV). But its primary purpose is to boost the Wi-Fi signal the dongle recieves. Having used the dongle when there has been high internet traffic causing a bandwidth issue for iPlayer and witnessing the drop in resolution during playback, I can say it is unpleasant on the eye to see such a drastic change unexpectedly. So to ensure there is no bandwith issue, I use the HDMI extender and would recommend that you also use it.
When the Chromecast Dongle is installed with the HDMI Extender, and with the USB powering lead plugged in this is how it looks on my TV (only has two HDMI inputs).
Now that the Chromecast is installed, the next steps are all about getting it registered on to your Wi-Fi network. It should be noted that if you want to install a custom ROM on your Chromecast, now's a good time to do that.
When you are ready, you'll need to switch your TV to the correct HDMI input to use the Chromecast as a source. You'll need to download the Chromecast app to your phone, tablet or computer to get started.
In the same way that you pair your phone with your car using bluetooth, the next few steps involve pairing your Chromecast to the Wi-Fi network and record it on your Google Account.
Once the Chromecast is on the network, it will do an update. These updates can be about 1 GB so this may take a few minutes depending on your broadband connection.
The Chromecast will automatically reboot itself and apply the updates so you should eventually be greeted with a screen like this:
Now you can start casting. You can cast from desktop using Chrome (once you've installed the Google Cast plug-in), cast from your android device (you've already installed the Chromecast app) and then you can cast within an app such as iPlayer or Netflix to beam your video to your TV. For the latest list of apps that you can use with your Chromecast check the Chromecast website.
It should be noted that the video stream isn't going via your tablet (or phone), a dedicated connection is setup between the Chromecast and your Wi-Fi. So you can then continue to use your tablet to watch whatever you want. I've found that if you cast from Chrome on your computer, you can't close Chrome or turn the computer off, it seems some connection is still maintained.
The final item is a HDMI Extender. This is really useful for giving you a bit of extra length to reach your mains plug, also if the area around your HDMI port is quite congested due to the design of the TV, it again gives you some breathing room for the dongle (like you can see in the picture below, there was very little room directly below the HDMI ports due to the shaping of the TV). But its primary purpose is to boost the Wi-Fi signal the dongle recieves. Having used the dongle when there has been high internet traffic causing a bandwidth issue for iPlayer and witnessing the drop in resolution during playback, I can say it is unpleasant on the eye to see such a drastic change unexpectedly. So to ensure there is no bandwith issue, I use the HDMI extender and would recommend that you also use it.
When the Chromecast Dongle is installed with the HDMI Extender, and with the USB powering lead plugged in this is how it looks on my TV (only has two HDMI inputs).
Now that the Chromecast is installed, the next steps are all about getting it registered on to your Wi-Fi network. It should be noted that if you want to install a custom ROM on your Chromecast, now's a good time to do that.
When you are ready, you'll need to switch your TV to the correct HDMI input to use the Chromecast as a source. You'll need to download the Chromecast app to your phone, tablet or computer to get started.
In the same way that you pair your phone with your car using bluetooth, the next few steps involve pairing your Chromecast to the Wi-Fi network and record it on your Google Account.
Once the Chromecast is on the network, it will do an update. These updates can be about 1 GB so this may take a few minutes depending on your broadband connection.
The Chromecast will automatically reboot itself and apply the updates so you should eventually be greeted with a screen like this:
Now you can start casting. You can cast from desktop using Chrome (once you've installed the Google Cast plug-in), cast from your android device (you've already installed the Chromecast app) and then you can cast within an app such as iPlayer or Netflix to beam your video to your TV. For the latest list of apps that you can use with your Chromecast check the Chromecast website.
It should be noted that the video stream isn't going via your tablet (or phone), a dedicated connection is setup between the Chromecast and your Wi-Fi. So you can then continue to use your tablet to watch whatever you want. I've found that if you cast from Chrome on your computer, you can't close Chrome or turn the computer off, it seems some connection is still maintained.
Final thoughts (on the extras)
Having had access to Google Play Music for 90 days I've found that for the most part it's been unused. The biggest reason for this for me is that I don't have a large data allowance (only 500 Mb), for someone with a 3+ GB allowance that could use it on the go. The NowTV subscription is in same boat. It wasn't made as clear as it could have been, but what you actually get is 90 days Entertainment pack access. The entertainment pack gives you access to TV shows, such as Game of Thrones, but not access to films which is slightly disappointing. Furthermore I found that the collection available whilst broad didn't have anything particularly impressive until Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead came out. So in my opinion I can't recommend NowTV - I find Netflix has a better selection.
Final thoughts (on the dongle)
One sentence : I bloody love it. The ability to just fling whatever at the TV is certainly extremely convenient. I did discover when trying to watch something from 4oD. They don't have an app, so I tried watching the video when casting the tab from Chrome. But that proved horrifically laggy, so in the end I had to just use the other HDMI cable in the TV to connect it to the PC. No major issue there. Casting a normal webpage is a little laggy but acceptable.
Generally I absolutely love the Chromecast and can't wait to buy more to plug into the rest of the TVs and monitors around the house.
