Google Chromecast

[John Duncan]

I didn't know where to put this. But who wouldn't want one of these...?

 

[Dave_]

Just one! At that price i'll be putting one on every TV.

Hurry up and launch them in the UK Google....

 

[John Duncan]

OK, two then.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I got excited about the potential of this and the spare HDMI port on the side of my projector.... until someone pointed out the massive bandwidth involved to stream anything in high-enough def to enjoy it on the big screen.

 

[Joe Cox]

I'll probably buy one (as and when)... but how much I'd actually use it, I don't know.

 

[simonlewis]

If they are HDMI powered can't they be purchased from amazon.com ???

 

[simonlewis]

Amazon.com

 

[Dave_]

If they are HDMI powered can't they be purchased from amazon.com ???

They were available on Amazon US yesterday, but they sold out almost immediately, just as they did on play.

 

[Oldboy]

At that price I would definately be interested in getting one of these as it would mean I could bypass my Samsung 55F8000 tvs bizarre mirroring option which seems to only favour Samsung devices which is very disappointing indeed and as I've got a Google Nexus 4 phone I would hope the functionality would be great.

Good point made by simonlewis...is there any reason why we couldn't just import one? I can't see it being region specific so must be worth investigating.

 

[Oldboy]

If they are HDMI powered can't they be purchased from amazon.com ???

They were available on Amazon US yesterday, but they sold out almost immediately, just as they did on play.

I'm not surprised at that price but I'm sure more will be available soon...hopefully.

 

[Dave_]

Good point made by simonlewis...is there any reason why we couldn't just import one? I can't see it being region specific so must be worth investigating.

Other than the fact its sold out ATM no. You can (and I often do) buy from Amazon US, DE, FR etc.

 

[Oldboy]

Good point made by simonlewis...is there any reason why we couldn't just import one? I can't see it being region specific so must be worth investigating.

Other than the fact its sold out ATM no. You can (and I often do) buy from Amazon US, DE, FR etc.

I buy from Amazon US and DE but I was a little wary there might be some sort of region locking in place for this one but as it's Google I was pretty sure it wouldn't be locked as they don't tend to do this with their products. I will keep an eye on it and perhaps order one for when they are back in for pre order unless a UK release and price are announced soon of course.

They must have sold that allocation on Amazon in record time!

 

[paulyboy233]

Although out of stock on Amazon.com, i added one to my 'cart' and went through to purchase, only to be told......

Important Message
Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player cannot be shipped to the selected address.

 

[The_Lhc]

I could bypass my Samsung 55F8000 tvs bizarre mirroring option which seems to only favour Samsung devices

You say "bizarre", I say "entirely to be expected".

 

[Oldboy]

I could bypass my Samsung 55F8000 tvs bizarre mirroring option which seems to only favour Samsung devices

You say "bizarre", I say "entirely to be expected".

Not at all...it's very much hit and miss as my friends Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 can do it yet my other friends Galaxy S4 can't and neither can my Google Nexus 4. If it was limited purely to Samsung devices I would agree with you but that's not the case as it's just hit and miss with Samsungs own devices which is bizarre no?

 

[philipjohnwright]

It only mirrors stuff from phone/tablet that is being played within Google Chrome doesn't it? So all those dedicated Apps like iPlayer and YouTube are redundant, limiting it's appeal somewhat (to me at least).

 

[Oldboy]

It only mirrors stuff from phone/tablet that is being played within Google Chrome doesn't it? So all those dedicated Apps like iPlayer and YouTube are redundant, limiting it's appeal somewhat (to me at least).

Yes but some apps such as YouTube are supported and I wouldn't be surprised if more are in the future but you can still mirror iPlayer in your browser over wi-fi so it's not that big a deal infact it may even be better as you aren't limited in any way so all tv catch up services are available for example.

 

[Dave_]

It only mirrors stuff from phone/tablet that is being played within Google Chrome doesn't it? So all those dedicated Apps like iPlayer and YouTube are redundant, limiting it's appeal somewhat (to me at least).

It doesn't, just do mirroring. If the app ( or website) is chromecast enabled it will pull that content directly from the net and the phone/tablet/browser essentially just becomes the remote.

All video streaming stb type devices pretty much suck ATM because they all lack services/apps/channels and rely on kludges (airplay mirroring/dlna/media servers etc) to push content from another device to make up for the missing functionality

Chromecast seems to be addressing this.

 

[AnotherJoe]

Miracast is a better option - if your laptop/phone/tablet supports it.

A Miracast receiver is built into most of this years tvs/bds (a dongle costs about £50 if your tv doesnt)

Miracast senders are things like compatible with Intel Widi (laptops), Android 4.2+ and Windows RT 8.1

 

[Dave_]

Miracast is a better option - laptop/phone/tablet supports it.

No it isnt IMO.

Thats just pushing content from another device. I can already do that and not what I want. It defeats the point of having an internet connected box to me.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Hmmm, am reading some interesting discussions about the power needed for some apps, and whether HDMI is sufficient.

Look forward to some proper Chromecast reviews, inc. with projectors....

 

[Joe Cox]

Hmmm, am reading some interesting discussions about the power needed for some apps, and whether HDMI is sufficient.

Look forward to some proper Chromecast reviews, inc. with projectors....

It takes power from USB, no?

 

[John Duncan]

I thought it went in an HDMI slot?

 

[simonlewis]

Thats strange because amazon.com clearly states that a USB power cable is included in the box.

 

[Oldboy]

I thought it went in an HDMI slot?

On the Amazon site for it they state that "Box includes Chromecast, HDMI extender, USB power cable, and power adapter".

Judging from that I would say that it simply connects via HDMI and draws it's power via USB although the inclusion of a power adapter may point to another solution but some clarification would be nice from Google...perhaps you guys could get an answer from Google on the subject?