Anybody got a Chromecast?

[Askew]

So, I wanted to find the cheapest/most portable way possible of getting Netflix onto a TV so I can take it with me, this looks good, my phone is a Nexus.

 

Anyone using one? Is it a good Netflix horse?

[Vitalius]

It's a great Netflix horse. I love it! You'll need decent WiFi. It works with N.

[Askew]

It's a great Netflix horse. I love it! You'll need decent WiFi. It works with N.

 

Holy fast response Batman you should be a dispatch operator.

 

My WiFi's up to it, have 100Mb down and N router is in this room.

[TheNinjaNextDor]

It's awesome, I have two.

[Askew]

@TheNinjaNextDor @Vitalius

 

I know it says you 'cast' things from your phone to it, what does that really mean?

 

I think it means that the phone is basically used as a remote with browsing capability, then when you select something the Chromecast uses the WiFi to stream it from the internet?

 

I can't imagine the phone streaming from the WiFi and then passing it to the Chromecast?

 

This thing has literally only just appeared in the UK, now I'm watching MKBHD's review, and have just seen it's knocking on a year ago!! :huh:

[Vitalius]

I know it says you 'cast' things from your phone to it, what does that really mean?

 

I think it means that the phone is basically used as a remote with browsing capability, then when you select something the Chromecast uses the WiFi to stream it from the internet?

 

I can't imagine the phone streaming from the WiFi and then passing it to the Chromecast?

It means that it takes whatever is on your phone and puts it on the Chromecast's display (your TV).

So say I open Netflix on my phone. I click the video I want to watch. There will be a tiny box on the bottom right that I can click then click "Cast to [Chromecast name]" and it casts it. So it would stream Internet to Phone to TV (IIRC). That actually means it goes from the Internet to the Router to the Phone (over WiFi) back to the Router (again, over WiFi) then to the Chromecast (again, over WiFi). 

That's why you need good WiFi strength/signal. Your phone sees the Chromecast through the network. It's not directly connected to it.

You can also stream from your Chrome browser though as well.

[TheNinjaNextDor]

@TheNinjaNextDor @Vitalius

I know it says you 'cast' things from your phone to it, what does that really mean?

I think it means that the phone is basically used as a remote with browsing capability, then when you select something the Chromecast uses the WiFi to stream it from the internet?

I can't imagine the phone streaming from the WiFi and then passing it to the Chromecast?

This thing has literally only just appeared in the UK, now I'm watching MKBHD's review, and have just seen it's knocking on a year ago!! :huh:

You use the phone to select what you want to watch, then all you do is press a button and select the Chromecast you want yo stream to. It works like the Shield, really well too. You can also use the phone to skim etc.

[xyza]

Apparently you can use Lakitu for twitch tv streams on chromecast, I don't have one so I can't verify

[Brandonsr]

I bought mine day one. I will be honest, I rarely use it. I only bought it due to the cheap cost, but the few times I have used it the thing performed great.

 

I've streamed a few movies that I had stored on my computer. The playback was smooth and sound was in sync.

[nsyedhasan]

I believe @TheSLSAMG has one. He should be able to tell you about it.

[Vitalius]

One important thing: I have a major issue with my Chromecast and streaming from the Chrome browser. If I just cast a tab, the entire TV screen is pink and unviewable. If I cast the entire screen (which is an experimental feature of Chrome), it works but the quality is terri-bad. Choppy video and tinny audio. 

That may just be because I am using it over Powerline, but whatever. I'll fix it one day.

[SadTech]

Roku boxes are really nice, I have played with the roku 3 and I really like it.

 

I also hear great things about the chromecast.

[Askew]

It means that it takes whatever is on your phone and puts it on the Chromecast's display (your TV).

So say I open Netflix on my phone. I click the video I want to watch. There will be a tiny box on the bottom right that I can click then click "Cast to [Chromecast name]" and it casts it. So it would stream Internet to Phone to TV (IIRC). That actually means it goes from the Internet to the Router to the Phone (over WiFi) back to the Router (again, over WiFi) then to the Chromecast (again, over WiFi). 

That's why you need good WiFi strength/signal. Your phone sees the Chromecast through the network. It's not directly connected to it.

You can also stream from your Chrome browser though as well.

 

I just watched this video.

 

He says that when you use gplay or youtube the cast button makes the chromecast look up the content itself and stream directly from the web bypassing the phone, with the phone just issuing action commands.

 

Some things (browser) he demonstrates streaming from the phone itself.

 

Are you sure that Netflix doesn't just issue the lookup commands like youtube? I'd rather not empty my phone's battery streaming through it to the Chromecast if it's capable of streaming the video itself..

[Askew]

I have one and it works really great. But beware if you have a dual band WiFi. You will have to separate them into two bands with 5GHz and 2.4Ghz separately. Otherwise the chromecast will have trouble accessing your network.  

 

I have a dual band router, but 2.4Ghz is disabled, the whole house uses 5Ghz N.

[Fred Castellum]

Holy fast response Batman you should be a dispatch operator.

 

My WiFi's up to it, have 100Mb down and N router is in this room.

Yeah suree but the cops still gotta drive fast enough to make it matter lol.

[TheNinjaNextDor]

I just watched this video.

He says that when you use gplay or youtube the cast button makes the chromecast look up the content itself and stream directly from the web bypassing the phone, with the phone just issuing action commands.

Some things (browser) he demonstrates streaming from the phone itself.

Are you sure that Netflix doesn't just issue the lookup commands like youtube? I'd rather not empty my phone's battery streaming through it to the Chromecast if it's capable of streaming the video itself..

I'm not sure, but I've streamed for hours and only lost around 5% on my battery.

[Askew]

Yeah suree but the cops still gotta drive fast enough to make it matter lol.

 

I live 10 min drive away from 2 police stations, one fire station and one major hospital with ambulance dispatch.

 

Response is very fast in my area for everything especially police

 

There is also a British army base behind my house, the army firing ranges are nearby and I can hear gunfire periodically from 10am-3-4pm most weekdays.

[Askew]

I'm not sure, but I've streamed for hours and only lost around 5% on my battery.

 

That indicates to me that the phone is not doing the streaming, and this was definitely with Netflix right?

[TheNinjaNextDor]

That indicates to me that the phone is not doing the streaming, and this was definitely with Netflix right?

Yep, I've tried Netflix and Hulu with the same results.

Now I get what you're saying, yes the phone does not stream, you can turn it off and the stream continues.

[Fred Castellum]

I live 10 min drive away from 2 police stations, one fire station and one major hospital with ambulance dispatch.

 

Response is very fast in my area for everything especially police

 

There is also a British army base behind my house, the army firing ranges are nearby and I can hear gunfire periodically from 10am-3-4pm most weekdays.

Lucky bastard, I've only got hospitals near me. I'd have to fend for myself

[Vitalius]

That indicates to me that the phone is not doing the streaming, and this was definitely with Netflix right?

Yep, I've tried Netflix and Hulu with the same results. Now I get what you're saying, yes the phone does not stream, you can turn it off and the stream continues.

Huh. Cool. Thanks. I didn't know that. 

[Vitalius]

Might wanna turn 2.4 GHz just for chromecast because it does not support 5GHz at all. 

... 

Here. Which was posted in March. 

My Chromecast is connected to my 5.0GHz WiFi and it's always worked AFAIK. We've used it to stream various things and the Pink issue didn't start until I got on Powerline. Before that, it worked fine as well (even on 5.0GHz). 

Just saying.

[Vitalius]

Most likely it is using the 2.4 GHz band from your WiFi. But this doesn't mean it's getting the data over the 5ghz band. The chromecast is still on the 2.4 connection you have it setup on. Once you setup the device on your network, it can get receive from any device on your network.

My WiFi is split based on frequency. i.e. Ultimus 5.0 (the SSID) is separate from Ultimus 2.4. It's only connected to 5.0. The SSIDs are hidden. Though they have the same password. 

I'm not sure how it would be using the 2.4 in that case, but ok. *doesn't understand*

[Askew]

Might wanna turn 2.4 GHz just for chromecast because it does not support 5GHz at all. 

 

Oh what the hell that's not good...

[Askew]

My WiFi is split based on frequency. i.e. Ultimus 5.0 (the SSID) is separate from Ultimus 2.4. It's only connected to 5.0. The SSIDs are hidden. Though they have the same password. 

I'm not sure how it would be using the 2.4 in that case, but ok. *doesn't understand*

 

The only way to be sure is to temporarily disable the 2.4Ghz band and perform a test with the Chromecast to see if it still operates.