I bought The Chromecast for RS.1500. You can grab one for that same price at your local electronics store or online at Amazon or Google Play. When it was initially launched Google sweetened the pot by adding 3 free months of Netflix to the deal – even if you were already a subscriber. That added RS.1500 value made it a no brainer for me. Unfortunately they halted that deal less than 24 hours after the launch. Big bummer. Still, RS.1500 for this dongle that can help you cut the chord is a steal.
THING THAT ROCKS
It’s hidden. You can’t even see it! It’s behind my TV doing all sorts of wondrous things without even taking up any visual space in my living room. I think that’s awesome. One end is plugged into an HDMI port and the other end is plugged into a USB port ( for power) on the back of my TV. No. Messy. Wires. It works with my phone. It is nice not to have another stupid remote on my coffee table. I control the device with something I already have in my pocket – my smartphone. Can you tell that I hate clutter?
Great picture. It hooks up to the back of my TV via HDMI. That means that it’s able to produce a hi definition picture. I was worried that with my super slow cheapo internet ( RS. 999 a month) I was going to have issues getting a crisp and clean picture on my 42 inch TV. That hasn’t been the case at all. The Chromecast is delivering a fantastic quality picture to my telly.
It makes Netflix Awesome. My wife and I used to watch our streaming movies and TV shows on our computer. It wasn’t awful. But now it feels totally different. We watch more Netflix than ever before ( not necessarily a good thing) . I’ve always heard great things about Roku but was too cheap to buy one. I’m sure it is lovely but since I’m already used to accessing my Netflix account via mainly my computer and smartphone it is nice to still have those as my main interface to watch via Chromecast.
Other folks can use it. My mom came over to babysit our little tikethe other day. We hooked her up to our wifi and she was able to watch a couple of shows while the baby slept. She used our account because she isn’t a Netflix subscriber but she also could have easily used her own. That’s a pretty cool feature. I’m pretty sure it isn’t nearly as easy to use another account on Apple TV or Roku.
The thing that stinks:
Sometimes the remote ( my phone) doesn’t work properly. This is definitely the most annoying thing I run into. It’s awesome that I can control what I watch with my phone. But then if I reply to a text or check my twitter feeds while watching, it can mess up the remote connection. I usually have to log back in to Netflix in order to then pause or stop the show. I haven’t read that others have experienced this problem so it could just be my silly HTC phone.
Streaming options are currently limited. Right now you can watch Netflix, YouTube, or videos you purchase from the Google Play store. Don’t worry though – more options are coming. Very soon the Chromecast will support Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Vimeo, and more so this is one negative aspect isn’t something I’m very worried about.