Jul 26
If Chromecast
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Jul 26
Jul 25
Chromecast, the nifty $35 HDMI dongle from Google, was being offered alongside a free three months of Netflix promotion that had been offered on a limited basis. That promotion has already run out, with Google stating that the free service offer has been cancelled. Shortly after that, the Chromecast itself sold out entirely.
The Chromecast brings video streaming to one’s living room in a very small form factor, with the dongle being about the size of your average USB drive and plugging directly into the TV. With a price tag of only $35, the device already stood apart, but the Netflix promotion perhaps pushed it over the edge – three free months of service was a value of about $24, reducing the overall cost of the device to nearly nothing.
There was a very short period between the device’s announcement and the time it went live for sale on the Google Play Store. The shipping time was originally set for immediately, but switched over not too long after to a shipping time of 3 to 4 weeks. As our friends at Android Community noted, the Chromecast is now sold out at Google Play, as well as Best Buy and Amazon.
It is not surprising, then, that the Netflix promotion has already run out. Google told the LA Times in a statement, “Due to overwhelming demand for Chromecast devices since launch, the 3-month Netflix promotion (which was available in limited quantities) is no longer available.” It followed this up with confirmation that those who bought the device before the promotion ended will still be able to redeem their free Netflix service.
If you head over to your local Best Buy, you might still have luck grabbing one in person, but otherwise you’re looking at a few weeks of waiting, and you won’t be getting a Netflix promo code with it. Curious about the device, but not sure if it’s your thing? We have everything you need to know about it for you over in our SlashGear 101.
SOURCE: Android Community
Chromecast sells out as Google cancels Netflix promotion is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 25
Chromecast config file hints at HBO Go app testing, prodding reveals DIAL details
Posted in: Today's Chili
Google’s Chromecast dongle has already blown through its supply of Netflix discount codes and now that they’re in the wild all sorts of people are taking a look at how the devices work. For example, CJ Heres of GTV Hacker points out a configuration file that appears to list testing apps for Chromecast. While most of the services named in the file are those already announced (Netflix, Revision3, Google Play Music, Pandora etc.) and other devs working on support for AOL On and Songza, there’s also an entry for HBO Go. Google told Wired yesterday streaming from the website should work out of the box, however other sites they mentioned will work, like Hulu and Rdio, are not listed in the file, so we may see official app support sooner rather than later.
DIYers may have other reasons to be interested however, as Leon Nicholls posted on Google+ about his findings on how the device works as a DIAL server. His tests suggested there is potential for controlling it from outside of Chrome based on how it responds to some commands. Hit the source links for more info, and let us know if you’ve found any other services that already work.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google
Source: Pastebin, Google Chromecast config (TXT), CJ Heres (Twitter), Leon Nicholls (Google+)
Jul 25
Three free months of Netflix with the purchase of Google’s $35 Chromecast dongle sure sounded too good to be true. Turns out it was — or at least too good to last longer than a day. Google’s pulling the plug on the promotion, telling The Los Angeles Times that it couldn’t keep things going, “due to overwhelming demand.” So good on those folks who got in early, and while the streaming plug-in still has a pretty sweet price point, it’s not quite the $11 post-subscription deal it was yesterday.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Google
Source: LA Times
Jul 25
Even though Chromecast is, like, technically on sale, it’s basically impossible to get one because so many people are trying. Wait times for the product are about a month on Amazon right now. Well sadly, the amazing deal
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Jul 25
At its event yesterday, Google announced Chromecast. A $35 HDMI dongle that lets users “cast” content from their nearby devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers to the TV. By no means is Chromecast itself a “smart TV,” it doesn’t […]
Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It Original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Jul 25
Google’s Chromecast, a little gadget that plugs into an HDMI port on the back of your TV to let you watch Internet or browser-based video, just launched yesterday. We haven’t had time to fully process it for a review yet, …
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Jul 25
Do not worry that your Google TV will be losing support now that Chromecast has been introduced – on the contrary. This week none other than Google’s Sundar Pichai spoke up in an interview confirming and denying several points on Chromecast specifically, making clear the idea that Google TV and Chromecast will exist as separate entities. In fact, Pichai, explained, Google TV will continue to expand as “full-fledged Android for television”, complete with Chromecast support.
At the moment you are able to “fling” some content from your Android device to a Google TV device, YouTube and Netflix supporting this sort of functionality on devices like the Vizio Costar (as shown hooked up to a massive TV at Google I/O 2013 below.) What’s suggested by multiple sources speaking almost immediately after the Chromecast event yesterday is that Google TV will be getting Chromecast support.
“I’m still gainfully employed working on +Google TV – no it isn’t dead, and yes it will support Cast.” – Warren Rehman, Google TV
Google TV Developers channel on Google+ notes also that the two teams will high-five into the future.
“With the exciting news about Chromecast we are getting a lot of questions mostly wondering if Google TV is dead.
No, in fact partners are continuing to launch new Google TV-enabled HDTVs and boxes. As we announced at I/O, we are working with partners to bring the latest experience of Android and Chrome to devices later this year. We believe there is ample room for both products to exist and succeed.” – Google TV Developers
Chromecast is made to work with flinging and basic mirroring of content only. It does not work with Miracast technology, nor does it have the speed required for gaming, according to Sundar Pichai, due to too much latency in the speed Chromecast can connect.
Sound like a good idea? At the moment it would appear that you’ll be seeing the same little buttons to fling as you would in the current standard Chromecast experience. To see the full Chromecast experience in a rather basic way, have a peek at SlashGear’s What is Chromecast? to learn more!
Google TV is not dead: Chromecast will co-exist is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 25
SlashGear 101: What is Chromecast?
Posted in: Today's ChiliGoogle’s Chromecast device is a Web media player, introduced by the company just a bit over a year after they first showed of a machine with very similar capabilities: the Nexus Q. Where the Nexus Q came into play as a bocce-ball-sized TV “box”, Chromecast is the size of a USB dongle, small enough to fit in your pocket. It connects through a television’s full-sized HDMI port and you’ll be able to pull it up with the input button on your television remote, the same as you would a DVD player.
Instead of playing physical content, like DVDs or Blu-ray disks, Chromecast uses the internet to pull content from web-based apps. Chromecast does not have a remote control included in the box it’s delivered with when you buy it because it’s able to connect with basically any smart device you’ve got in your home – or in your pocket.
Size: 72(L) x 35(W) x 12(H) mm
Weight: 34g
Video Output: 1080p
Connectivity: HDMI, Wi-Fi
RAM: 256k
Processor: N/A
OS: Chromecast
You’ll plug Chromecast in to your TV, plug a microUSB power cord (included in the box) into Chromecast to keep it powered up, and press the single physical button on Chromecast to send out a wireless signal that effectively says, “I’m ready to go!”
Turning the television on and the input to the HDMI port you’ve plugged Chromecast into, you’ll see a screen that directs you to google.com/chromecast/setup. Note that this URL may change over time, but this is the first place you’ll be sent in this initial launch of Chromecast when this article is first posted.
This one-time setup connects Chromecast to the web – if you’ve got a password on your Wi-Fi network, you’ll need to enter it. You can do this setup process from any device with an internet browser, while actually sending content to Chromecast is limited to the following:
• 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).
At the moment you’ll be able to use Chromecast to connect with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Movies, and Google Music. Using Chromecast’s “Cast” protocol, you’re able to “fling” content from your control device (laptop, smartphone, tablet) to your TV.
So you’ll open up YouTube, for example, and play a video, but you’ll also be clicking the Cast button that, (once you’re set up), appears in the upper right-hand corner of your Chrome web browser or app. From there you’ll be able to control said media as it plays OR continue on with your regularly scheduled web browsing as the media plays on your TV.
Once the media you’ve chosen on your phone, tablet, or notebook has been flung to Chromecast, you no longer have to worry about it. If you DO want to control it again, you’ll have only to return to the app you were in and change it up. You can also choose to send something new to Chromecast, this immediately stopping the current media from playing, moving on to the next piece of media in kind.
There are also interesting side-loading features you can use if you’re not all about working with one of the few apps supported by Chromecast so far. At the moment Chromecast has a BETA mirroring feature that works with Chrome web browser windows.
You can open a file in a Chrome web browser window and fling it to Chromecast, your television then mirroring this window as you do so. This feature requires that you actually keep the window open if you want to keep watching it on your TV since the content is not on the web, it’s on your computer.
This BETA mirroring feature can be used for photos and video as well – we’ll be seeing how close we can get to real web-based gaming mirroring soon!
What else do you want to know about Chromecast? Is this a device (at $35 USD) that you’ll be picking up, supposing it’s not already sold out every which way from physical stores to Google Play? Let us know!
SlashGear 101: What is Chromecast? is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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