I posted this review elsewhere and am reposting it here. Sorry if it talks down a bit to you but it was originally posted on a sports forum. So I had to post for people who are not as technologically savy.
So far I have used it for a few days and I must say I am liking it much more than I expected. Especially, considering the limited access options at this time. Set up is an outright breeze, they made it about as idiot-proof as possible.
Streaming data to the device (or mostly VIA the device) is brainlessly simple. Could you imagine the frustration that could have been saved if Microsoft had invented this and integrated it into powerpoint. My gosh, I can't count the hours spent in the XP days trying to get a laptop to play right with a projector.
About the device itself:
The device itself is a dramatic departure from anything else on the market because it uses an app-centered framework instead of being device-centered. What I mean by this is the following: with AppleTV(or GoogleTV), you are interacting with the device. You selected movies on the device, streamed media to the device, browsed files on the device, etc. Your interaction centers around the device(i.e. AppleTV) The device centered framework allows a degree of independence because app support isn't as essential. The downside is that you are interacting with a separate device so it's function is not transparent. You have to learn that devices interface, in some other cases apps have to be written for that device, etc. With an app-centered framework you basically add a function on top of the apps you already use. When done properly the device becomes 100% transparent and you don't notice it. There is no learning new interfaces, no separate apps dedicated to the device, etc. The downside is that the function has to be added into the normal apps which means tighter third part support. Google elected to go the second route for a few reasons. The first and foremost was the abject failure that was GoogleTV and the NexusQ. AppleTV does better than GoogleTV because of its closed ecosystem environment, which removes some of the hurdles present in an open ecosystem. That being said even AppleTV isn't exactly talked about in glowing terms. It isn't doing horrible but when you own company calls it a "hobby" you aren't doing great. Google read the writing on the wall and, I think time will show, wisely went the harder route. This put them in a chicken-and-the-egg situation. To get content providers on board you need a sizable user base, to get a user base you need content providers. What Google had to work with was YouTube and the PlayStore, so they logically leveraged those. At the time of writing, Netflix is the only third party so far and lets be honest netflix is the most polyamorous third-party out there. They would put Netflix on your dog if you coded it properly. That being said, at launch Pandora was confirmed. Since launch, RDIO and Hulu have said they have plans to release. More inportnatly, some hackers have opened up the Chromecast config file and have shown that HBOGo, PostTV (Washington Post), AOL On, Qello, Revision3 and Songza are all in the final testing phases of integrating chromecast into their apps. Note that neither Hulu nor Pandora are in this file, so likely these others are farther along but just chose not to announce. So expect many more content providers soon.
This device isn't for everyone at this stage but when it comes to easily and seamlessly getting video from a device onto your television I think you would be hard pressed to find any that do it more easily.
Setup:
Setup to be honest was quite frankly so easy that even the most tech-neanderthal could pull it off. Heck, I used my cell phone to set it up which should be a recipe for disaster but honestly when it was done I was left thinking "That's it? That was too easy. Surely I messed something up" The only requirement is that whatever device you are using to set it up is connected to your wifi network. So that it can get the name of the network it should connect to. Much ado was made about the Chromecast requiring a USB power plug adapter. Many said that this meant it wasn't a dongle. The fact is the current HDMI spec doesn't support power over HDMI, so the USB plug for power was necessary. In my case though, I didn't even have to use the power adapter. On my TV I just plugged the USB cable into the TV's own USB port. This port provides enough power to power the Chromecast.
After that it was easy. I powered up the television and switched inputs to the proper HDMI port. Then just following the simple on screen instructions: visited the listed website on my phone where I installed the chromecast app. My phone then found the device (the chromecast lets you know it's name on the TV screen). Connected to it and confirmed I was connected to the right one by comparing the passcode shown on the TV to the passcode in the app. Entered the password for my wifi and changed the devices name to one I would remember. Done. It sounds like a lot but it really isn't. Quite frankly, it is about as idiot proof a setup as I think they could make it.
(I blacked out my network name)
Using the device:
It doesn't get much easier than this. With the chromecast and powered up. I went into youtube and searched for a Calipari video (I originally posted this on a forum devoted to Univ. of Ky sports). Opened the first one in HD that I came to. When it opened I pressed the new button that appears:
Boom! We have Calipari in HD on the TV (the delay is under 1 second):
Similarly, in the Chrome Browser, installing the Chrome Extension adds this button:
You can use this button to stream a tab in chrome to any chromecast device. This feature is clearly needs some work as it is network limited. I had trouble restreaming ESPN3 to my television. These problems though were mostly network related because it it complained of slow wifi network speeds. This is likely because like Apple AirPlay the video goes to my PC then to my TV doubling the network traffic. WiFi bandwidth here isn't great either because I only have a Wireless G router and live in an area where there are 30-70 other network visible at any one time (can you say heavy network congestion). I think if I had a wireless N network, this feature would have worked more or less flawlessly. As for setting up streaming, it is just as easy as YouTube. Have the media opened in a tab, click the button above and it will display that tab on the TV. If you Full Screen any video on the page, the video is streamed full screen to the TV as well.
In conclusion I must say, the most amazing thing for me about this device is that I DON'T think about it. They have taken something that is in general at least somewhat complex and taken its logically most simple conclusion. It's basically 100% transparent and that is something they should be commended for; let alone the $35 price point.
So far I have used it for a few days and I must say I am liking it much more than I expected. Especially, considering the limited access options at this time. Set up is an outright breeze, they made it about as idiot-proof as possible.
Streaming data to the device (or mostly VIA the device) is brainlessly simple. Could you imagine the frustration that could have been saved if Microsoft had invented this and integrated it into powerpoint. My gosh, I can't count the hours spent in the XP days trying to get a laptop to play right with a projector.
About the device itself:
The device itself is a dramatic departure from anything else on the market because it uses an app-centered framework instead of being device-centered. What I mean by this is the following: with AppleTV(or GoogleTV), you are interacting with the device. You selected movies on the device, streamed media to the device, browsed files on the device, etc. Your interaction centers around the device(i.e. AppleTV) The device centered framework allows a degree of independence because app support isn't as essential. The downside is that you are interacting with a separate device so it's function is not transparent. You have to learn that devices interface, in some other cases apps have to be written for that device, etc. With an app-centered framework you basically add a function on top of the apps you already use. When done properly the device becomes 100% transparent and you don't notice it. There is no learning new interfaces, no separate apps dedicated to the device, etc. The downside is that the function has to be added into the normal apps which means tighter third part support. Google elected to go the second route for a few reasons. The first and foremost was the abject failure that was GoogleTV and the NexusQ. AppleTV does better than GoogleTV because of its closed ecosystem environment, which removes some of the hurdles present in an open ecosystem. That being said even AppleTV isn't exactly talked about in glowing terms. It isn't doing horrible but when you own company calls it a "hobby" you aren't doing great. Google read the writing on the wall and, I think time will show, wisely went the harder route. This put them in a chicken-and-the-egg situation. To get content providers on board you need a sizable user base, to get a user base you need content providers. What Google had to work with was YouTube and the PlayStore, so they logically leveraged those. At the time of writing, Netflix is the only third party so far and lets be honest netflix is the most polyamorous third-party out there. They would put Netflix on your dog if you coded it properly. That being said, at launch Pandora was confirmed. Since launch, RDIO and Hulu have said they have plans to release. More inportnatly, some hackers have opened up the Chromecast config file and have shown that HBOGo, PostTV (Washington Post), AOL On, Qello, Revision3 and Songza are all in the final testing phases of integrating chromecast into their apps. Note that neither Hulu nor Pandora are in this file, so likely these others are farther along but just chose not to announce. So expect many more content providers soon.
This device isn't for everyone at this stage but when it comes to easily and seamlessly getting video from a device onto your television I think you would be hard pressed to find any that do it more easily.
Setup:
Setup to be honest was quite frankly so easy that even the most tech-neanderthal could pull it off. Heck, I used my cell phone to set it up which should be a recipe for disaster but honestly when it was done I was left thinking "That's it? That was too easy. Surely I messed something up" The only requirement is that whatever device you are using to set it up is connected to your wifi network. So that it can get the name of the network it should connect to. Much ado was made about the Chromecast requiring a USB power plug adapter. Many said that this meant it wasn't a dongle. The fact is the current HDMI spec doesn't support power over HDMI, so the USB plug for power was necessary. In my case though, I didn't even have to use the power adapter. On my TV I just plugged the USB cable into the TV's own USB port. This port provides enough power to power the Chromecast.
After that it was easy. I powered up the television and switched inputs to the proper HDMI port. Then just following the simple on screen instructions: visited the listed website on my phone where I installed the chromecast app. My phone then found the device (the chromecast lets you know it's name on the TV screen). Connected to it and confirmed I was connected to the right one by comparing the passcode shown on the TV to the passcode in the app. Entered the password for my wifi and changed the devices name to one I would remember. Done. It sounds like a lot but it really isn't. Quite frankly, it is about as idiot proof a setup as I think they could make it.
(I blacked out my network name)
Using the device:
It doesn't get much easier than this. With the chromecast and powered up. I went into youtube and searched for a Calipari video (I originally posted this on a forum devoted to Univ. of Ky sports). Opened the first one in HD that I came to. When it opened I pressed the new button that appears:
Boom! We have Calipari in HD on the TV (the delay is under 1 second):
Similarly, in the Chrome Browser, installing the Chrome Extension adds this button:
You can use this button to stream a tab in chrome to any chromecast device. This feature is clearly needs some work as it is network limited. I had trouble restreaming ESPN3 to my television. These problems though were mostly network related because it it complained of slow wifi network speeds. This is likely because like Apple AirPlay the video goes to my PC then to my TV doubling the network traffic. WiFi bandwidth here isn't great either because I only have a Wireless G router and live in an area where there are 30-70 other network visible at any one time (can you say heavy network congestion). I think if I had a wireless N network, this feature would have worked more or less flawlessly. As for setting up streaming, it is just as easy as YouTube. Have the media opened in a tab, click the button above and it will display that tab on the TV. If you Full Screen any video on the page, the video is streamed full screen to the TV as well.
In conclusion I must say, the most amazing thing for me about this device is that I DON'T think about it. They have taken something that is in general at least somewhat complex and taken its logically most simple conclusion. It's basically 100% transparent and that is something they should be commended for; let alone the $35 price point.
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