Google Chromecast, anyone use one?

[Placebo]

Had a 50Kr voucher that needed using on Cdon by the 28th so decided to get a Chromecast, ended up being £22.27 with free delivery which I thought was pretty good, wondered if anyone else has one and has any tips of good apps/hacks etc. etc.?

 

[Chris Davies]

Use one all the time at home. I've got an old Samsung TV in the bedroom with no internet capability. The router has its own media server functionality (and has a USB HDD connected to it), which I access on my Android phone using LocalCast (free), which I then mirror to the ChromeCast (within the app).

Works fantastically well for me. It was choppy at a friend's house but I think that's because the wifi signal wasn't strong enough - this is with signal strength being at 90% and above. Never have so much as a dropped frame at home, and this is with 720p-1080p material (including MKV files).

Never had to hack it now that apps are allowed to access ChromeCast functionality!

(By the way, are your FIFA 14 sliders still in beta? )

 

[Placebo]

Aha that sounds great, seems it'll do what I need, will do to play Netflix/Amazon Prime whilst we're at the apartment, save turning the PS4 on as it's the only thing it's used for these days! And will probably be our primary media player when at the summerhouse

BTW what do you use to fast forward/ rewind / navigate etc. etc.?

(By the way, are your FIFA 14 sliders still in beta? )

Yes, yes they are

 

[Chris Davies]

Well I mostly use the app I mentioned, which has skip backward/forward functionality.

There's very few other apps I use with it (amongst those are Netflix and BBC iPlayer) but they function perfectly. I think the biggest factor on its success is wifi signal, I've never had anything but joy with it.

You can "cast" a Chrome browser tab or your mobile screen too with the Chromecast app, which works but not quite as well I've found (saying that, casting from a desktop/laptop browser tab seems much better than it was a few years ago - it was unwatchable but now I see very few drops).