Very cool. My Chromecast arrived in the mail today from Amazon. Dirt simple easy to install and activate, and we've already watched on TV several YouTube videos and an episode of a show we missed. Wow. We have it plugged into an HDMI port in our receiver, so it's simple to activate, too. Well worth a paltry $35. Really.
Chromecast
Chromecast is the easiest way to enjoy online video and music on your TV. Plug it into any HDTV and control it with your existing smartphone, tablet, or laptop. No remotes required. Cast your favorites from Google Play, YouTube, Netflix, and Chrome to your TV with the press of a button.
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So this would effectively be a wireless HDMI cable (albeit one that would work with my phone as well as the laptop that's currently connected to my TV)?
I enjoy mine, but the wireless in our house is currently too flaky for tab mirroring, which is starting to piss me off. I know it's not the device, because it worked fine back at our apartment, and because all of our other devices are having similar problems.
+Scott Randel More or less, yeah. Right now it only works with select services, but they'll be expanding that number as time goes on.
Personally, I'm tempted to get one because it's so cheap, but I already have a PS3 that does what it does already and I'm about to get a PS4 that'll do the same so I don't really need it.
Yeah, +Scott Randel, pretty much. If you have a cable already, it might not be as necessary.
It essentially works with a few services directly (YouTube, Netflix), but anything in a Chrome browser window can be mirrored up as well (which let us watch the "Face/Off" premiere last night — SyFy has its own streaming video, but I can maximize the screen, route it through Chrome …).
Apparently there's an API for this that some of CyanogenMod's crew have figured out how to Chromecast ANYTHING in Android, but for some reason or other they can't implement it into a public release yet.
+Gary Roth I think they're trying to land more content deals before they allow open season. There are rumors that they're working on getting content directly from a couple of cable networks for the Chromecast.