Sit back, watch together
With Chromecast, you can easily enjoy your favorite online entertainment on your HDTV—movies, TV shows, music, and more from Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Google Play Movies and Music, and Chrome. No more huddling around small screens and tiny speakers. Chromecast automatically updates to work with a growing number of apps.
Remote free
Chromecast works with devices you already own, including Android tablets and smartphones, iPhones®, iPads®, Chrome for Mac® and Chrome for Windows®. Browse for what to watch, control playback, and adjust volume using your device. You won't have to learn anything new.
Plug in and play
Get started in 3 easy steps: plug Chromecast into any HDTV, connect it to WiFi, then send videos and more from your smartphone, tablet or laptop to your TV with the press of a button
Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player
Chromecast is a digital media player developed by Google. The device, a 2.83-inch (72 mm) HDMI dongle, plays audio/video content on a high-definition television by directlystreaming it via Wi-Fi from the Internet or a local network. Users select the media to play from Chromecast-enabled mobile apps and Web apps, or through a beta feature called "tab casting" that can mirror most content from the web browser Google Chrome. The device was announced on July 24, 2013, and made available for purchase on the same day in the United States for US$35, along with a limited-time promotion for three free months of Netflix.
Measuring 2.83 inches (72 mm), Chromecast plugs into a television's HDMI port, while the power is supplied by connecting the device's micro-USB port to an external power supply or a USB port. The device connects to the Internet through a Wi-Fi connection to the user's home network. Chromecast works in two ways, both of which stream content to a television. The first employs mobile apps and Web apps. The second, called "tab casting", can mirror almost any content displayed by the web browser Google Chromerunning on a personal computer.
- The primary method of playing media on the device is through Chromecast-enabled mobile apps and Web apps, which control program selection, playback, and volume. The media is streamed by the Chromecast within a local version of the Chrome browser, thus allowing the controlling device to be free for other tasks, such as answering a call or using another application, without disrupting playback. Both Android and iOS mobile apps are supported, as are Web apps running on computers using Google Chrome (onWindows, OS X, and Chrome OS) through an extension.
- Tab casting mirrors the content of a Chrome browser tab on a television. The quality of the image depends on the processing power of the computer, and minimum system requirements apply to video streaming. Content that uses plug-ins, such as Silverlight and QuickTime, is not fully supported, as the stream may lack sound or image.Google lists the feature as beta.
At Chromecast's release, YouTube and Netflix were available as Android, iOS, and Chrome Web apps. Google Play Music and Google Play Movies & TV were also available, but originally only as Android apps. Google advised other interested developers to create and test Chromecast-enabled apps, but not distribute them until the company released the production version of the device's software development kit. While that admonition remained in force, Chromecast-enabled applications for Hulu Plus and Pandora Radio were released in October 2013, and HBO GO in November. Jeff Lawrence, founder and CEO of PlayOn, said that Google was giving "most favored developer" status to major streaming companies, a move he found understandable from Google's perspective, but frustrating to other developers given the lack of a concrete timeline.Google invited developers to a two-day hackathon on December 7 at its Mountain View headquarters, offering the opportunity to test drive the SDK's "upcoming release".The session attracted 40 developers from 30 companies and was followed by 10 additional apps, including Plex, Avia and Realplayer Cloud. Mario Queiroz, Google vice president of product management, said that "hundreds of developers” have registered with the company to add Chromecast capabilities to their apps.
Google opened the SDK to all developers on February 3, 2014. Rish Chandra, Chromecast product manager, said that Google used the intervening time to improve the SDK's reliability and accommodate those developers who sought a quick and easy way to cast a photo to a television without a lot of coding. Google also made the SDK a part of the Google Play Services framework, thereby giving users access to new apps without having to update Android itself.
Chromecast was made available in the US for purchase online on July 24, 2013. To entice consumers to purchase the device, Google initially offered buyers free access to the Netflix service for a three-month period. Chromecast quickly sold out on Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, and the Google Play Store, and within 24 hours, the Netflix promotion was ended due to high demand for the device. On October 19, 2013, the Chromecast mobile app was released outside of the US for the first time. Google has committed to launching the device more broadly internationally with the intent of adding to the library of compatible apps, ultimately setting consumer expectations that every app will be "castable".
Chromecast
Everything you love, now on your TV.
Nilay Patel of The Verge gave the Chromecast an 8.5/10 score in his review, saying, "The Chromecast is basically an impulse purchase that just happens to be the simplest, cheapest, and best solution for getting a browser window on your TV." Speaking of the adapter's potential, he said, "it seems like the Chromecast might actually deliver on all that potential, but Google still has a lot of work to do." In particular, Patel pointed to Apple's AirPlay protocol as an example of an established competitor with many more features. TechCrunch's review of the device said, "Even with a bug or two rearing its head, the Chromecast is easily worth its $35 pricetag." Gizmodo gave the device a positive review, highlighting the ease of setup and sharing video. In comparing the device to competitors, the review said, "Chromecast isn't Google's version of Apple TV, and it's not trying to be... But Chromecast also costs a third of what those devices do, and has plenty of potential given that its SDK is just a few days old." David Pogue of The New York Times praised the device for its $35 retail price, saying, "It's already a fine price for what this gadget does, and it will seem better and better the more video apps are made to work with it." Pogue noted the limitations of the device's screen mirroring feature and said using only mobile devices as a remote control was not "especially graceful", but he called Chromecast the "smallest, cheapest, simplest way yet to add Internet to your TV"
Supported Operating Systems
- Android 2.3 and higher
- iOS 6 and higher
- Windows 7 and higher
- Mac OS 10.7 and higher
- Chrome OS (Chromebook Pixel, additional Chromebooks coming soon).
- Stream online video, music to your TV using your smartphone, tablet, or laptop; Available for Windows computers running Windows 7 or higher.
- Supports Netflix, YouTube, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Google Play Movies and Music mobile apps as well as select content through Chrome browser
- Works with Android, iOS, Chrome for Mac, and Chrome for Windows
- Easy setup: Plug into any HDTV and connect to your home WiFi network
- Box includes Chromecast, HDMI extender, USB power cable, and power adapter
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